Jul 30 2013
Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe and was a part of the former Soviet Union until 1991 when the USSR dissolved. It covers an area of 603,550 km2 and had a population of 44,854,065 as of July 2012.
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Ukraine has moved to a market economy, and in 2011, it was the world's third-largest exporter of grains. The World Bank has identified Ukraine as a middle-income state. The GDP of the nation for the year 2012 was reported at $344.7 billion.
After Russia, Ukraine was a clear second in terms of economic importance to the former Soviet Union. Currently, the main industries in Ukraine ranked by value are coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing.
Nanotechnology Organisations
Ukraine has a few organisations and networks promoting nanoscience and exploring the challenges and future of nanotechnology. A brief introduction to the key nanotechnology-related organisations in Ukraine is given below:
Nanotwinning project - The project consists of a number of events, which are focused on stimulation of cooperation between Ukrainian scientists and European representatives of science, education and business in two basic ways:
- Strengthening of scientific collaboration
- Enhancement of high-tech cooperation.
The objectives of the project include the following:
- Increase of collaboration opportunities in the field of nanotechnology via twinning of IOP with institutions of European Research Area.
- To stimulate development of nanotechnologies as a priority development area for ensuring Institute’s regional leadership while Ukraine is moving towards the innovation and intelligence based economy.
Nanotechnology Companies
The major nanotechnology companies in Ukraine are listed below along with brief introductions to each of them:
NanoMedTech LLC - The private company Nano Medical Technologies (NanoMedTech LLC) was created in December 2009 to carry out advanced nanobiotechnology research and development aimed at designing innovative drugs and diagnostic systems. A close collaboration between research groups to solve complicated biomedical problems is the unique feature of NanoMedTech.
BukNanoTech- BukNanoTech is one of the first Ukrainian companies focused on nanotechnology. Their scientific team is constantly working on the improvement of their quality standards, to satisfy customer needs. BukNanoTech produces and sells fluorescent nanoparticles under the brand "UBright".
Nanotechnology Education and Research
Ukraine is home to a few universities that offer research and educational opportunities in nanotechnology. Given below is a list of universities and academic institutions in Ukraine and the courses or research opportunities they offer.
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine – The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is the highest state-supported research organization. The Academy is involved in several projects in the area of nanostructured systems, nanomaterials and nanotechnologies in sensor systems and other related technologies.
- The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine promotes the M. Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Sciences. The primary areas that are explored by the researchers at this Institute include nanocrystalline metals, nanoceramics and nanocomposites; synthesis of novel nanostructured refractory substances and materials.
Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University – This university hosts the faculty of Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnologies
National Technical University of Ukraine - Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (NTUU KPI) - offers a Bachelor’s program in Micro and Nanoelectronics.
Recent Developments
The 13th International Young Scientists Conference Optics and High Technology Material Science - SPO 2012 was held from 25 to 28 October 2012, at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. The Conference was attended by scientists, researchers, and engineers involved in research and development of technologies related to optics and high technology material science. The organizers aimed to use this conference as a platform for joint effort to strengthen the role of high optical education in today’s industrial society. The 14th edition of this conference will take place from 24-27 October 2013 at the same venue.
The 2013 International Scientific Electronics and Nanotechnology (ELNANO) conference took place from 16 to 19 April 2013 at Kiev, Ukraine. The conference was a forum where university, laboratories and industry researchers from various fields such as biomedical electronics and signal processing, nanotechnology, power electronics, electronic systems could discuss advanced concepts, new techniques, and experimental findings.
The 2013 International Conference on “Nanomaterials: Applications & Properties’ has been scheduled for 16 to 21 September 2013 at Alushta, the Crimea, Ukraine. The topics that will be covered at this conference are nanotechnology, nanoparticles, carbon nanomaterials, nanocomposites, thin films, nanopolymers, nanomagnetism, spintronics, nanosystems, nanodevices, biotechnology, and nanostructured coatings.
In June 2013, the Belarusian Defense Minister announced initiatives for improved cooperation between CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) members. One specific area he highlighted as nano and biotechnology.
Despite having implemented reforms economic development has been slow and the private sector remains depressed. Corruption is pervasive and laws are poorly administered making it hard to promote privatisation. These problems need to be addressed to attract private funding which can in turn be channeled in part to scientific development. This development could also be accelerated if collaboration between CIS members can be agreed upon. As things stand, science is grossly underfunded and this is no doubt having a negative impact on developing areas such as nanotechnology.
Sources and Further Reading