On September 25, 2026, the Department of Ceramic, Refractory, Glass, and Enamel Technologies of NTU “KhPI” celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. Over the years, the Department has trained approximately 6,000 process engineers and more than 190 highly qualified specialists, including 25 Doctors of Technical Sciences and 166 Candidates of Sciences and PhDs.
Today, our Department is one of the leading departments at Kharkiv Polytechnic. It trains specialists in the technology of refractory non-metallic and silicate materials and coatings for a wide range of applications, including functional, technical, construction, decorative, and artistic purposes. Throughout its history, the Department has trained more than 6,000 specialists in the field of refractory non-metallic and silicate materials, as well as more than 190 highly qualified professionals, including 25 Doctors of Technical Sciences and 166 Candidates of Technical Sciences and PhDs. Its graduates have built successful careers in various sectors of industrial production and pursue research and teaching at higher education institutions both in Ukraine and abroad.
A hundred years is more than an anniversary for a department. It represents a century of searching for new knowledge, dedication to the profession, and belief in the power of science. It represents thousands of graduates working in industrial enterprises, research institutions, universities, and research centres. It is the legacy of generations of people whose talent, wisdom, and perseverance have shaped the Department of Ceramic, Refractory, Glass, and Enamel Technologies into the institution we know today.
At the beginning of the ceremony, participants observed a minute of silence in memory of all those who lost their lives defending Ukraine, its independence, and its freedom. Halyna Tymchenko, Acting Rector of NTU “KhPI,” addressed the Department’s staff with words of congratulations:
“Dear colleagues, dear friends!
Today, we are celebrating a significant milestone—the 100th anniversary of the Department of Ceramic, Refractory, Glass, and Enamel Technologies, which has become an integral part of the history and proud heritage of NTU ‘KhPI.’ I would like to explain what, in my view, makes your team and your Department so successful. Over the past century, you have not turned into a monument to your own past. You have preserved your traditions without becoming confined by them.
Some departments also have a distinguished history, a strong foundation, and a wealth of achievements. However, when they become museum exhibits and fail to adapt to the demands of the times, they struggle and, unfortunately, cannot withstand the challenges of modern life.
Your field is different from mathematics, where equations can be solved and theorems proved for decades under the same initial conditions. In engineering, practically everything changes. In 1926, no one could have imagined that you would be working in the research areas you pursue today. I had the opportunity to review the topics of the research projects your Department developed this summer, and I was truly impressed. Even in the early 2000s, it would have been difficult to predict that you would adapt so naturally to new challenges and move forward with such confidence in the modern world.
I sincerely wish you inexhaustible enthusiasm, creative energy, and an enduring passion for new scientific achievements. I wish you peace, good health, successful international projects, and substantial grant support. May you always retain the desire to move forward, explore new horizons, and respond boldly to the challenges of our time.
May your century of experience not be the culmination of a journey completed, but a solid foundation for future achievements. May the first century of the Department’s distinguished history be only the beginning of its continued development, and may the Department remain an important part of the great Kharkiv Polytechnic family for many decades and centuries to come, preserving its traditions and building on its achievements.
On behalf of the Kharkiv Polytechnic community, please accept our sincere support. While major international grants and new large-scale projects lie ahead, we would like to contribute to your future success by presenting you with a laptop. May it become another tool for new scientific discoveries, creative ideas, and significant achievements by the Department.”
Halyna Tymchenko, Acting Rector of NTU “KhPI”
Warm words and congratulations were also delivered by Yevhen Sokol, Chairman of the Academic Council of NTU “KhPI,” Adviser to the Rector, and Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine:
“Good afternoon, dear colleagues!
It is a great pleasure for me to be here for this anniversary. I worked in the university’s leadership for 26 years: 15 years as First Vice-Rector, followed by 11 years as Rector. Today, I am delighted to congratulate the Department and all of you whose daily work contributes to its distinguished history. Throughout the existence of the Department of Ceramic, Refractory, Glass, and Enamel Technologies, generations of academic staff, researchers, and students have helped it achieve the highest standards a university department can attain.
We understand very well that a university’s success is built on the achievements of its departments. They are the ones that create the golden pages in the history of Kharkiv Polytechnic. I would like to emphasise that your Department has been one of the leading departments at our university for many years, is one today, and, I am convinced, will remain so in the future.
Among the key indicators of its performance, the first is the high quality of specialist training. Your graduates are the best evidence of this: they have built successful careers in education, science, and industry, both in Ukraine and far beyond its borders.
The Department’s research activities also deserve special recognition. One of its defining traditions has always been conducting research projects of national importance. This has helped establish a strong and influential scientific school. No other department at the university has as many Doctors of Sciences working together today. All these factors create a synergistic effect that enables the Department to maintain its position among the university’s leaders with confidence.
This is further confirmed by such distinctions as the honorary titles of Honoured Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine and Honoured Education Worker of Ukraine, along with other prestigious awards that recognise the outstanding contributions of educators and researchers.
Today, our meeting began with the sound of an air-raid alert, and we are all well aware of the difficult conditions in which we live and work. Therefore, above all, I wish for you and your families to be protected and safe. University buildings can be rebuilt, equipment restored, and new laboratories established. But human lives cannot be brought back. That is why peace, safety, and the preservation of every human life are of the utmost importance today.
I would also like to say a few words about Professor Mykhailo Ivanovych Ryshchenko, who headed the Department for many years and with whom I was fortunate to work. His professionalism, integrity, wisdom, and thoughtful leadership provided a strong foundation for the Department’s development and have become a lasting legacy for its current team.
We must never forget our teachers. The most valuable things they pass on to us cannot be fully found in books or discovered through information resources. They are wisdom, life experience, and vision—qualities passed from Teacher to Student, from one generation to the next.
I sincerely wish you and your families good health, prosperity, peace, new scientific achievements, and inspiration for further development. Congratulations on this magnificent anniversary! Happy 100th anniversary of the Department!”
Yevhen Sokol, Chairman of the Academic Council of NTU “KhPI,” Adviser to the Rector, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Professor
The congratulations also included addresses by Magomedemin Hasanov, Professor and Vice-Rector of NTU “KhPI”; Oleksandr Trush, Professor and Vice-Rector of NTU “KhPI”; Anatolii Fomin, Chair of the Trade Union of NTU “KhPI” Employees; Oleksandr Zaichuk, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, and First Vice-Rector of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies in Dnipro; and Alla Korohodska, Head of the Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, as well as representatives of related departments.
Magomedemin Hasanov, Professor and Vice-Rector of NTU “KhPI”
Oleksandr Trush, Professor and Vice-Rector of NTU “KhPI”
Address by Anatolii Fomin, Chair of the Trade Union of NTU “KhPI” Employees
A congratulatory address was delivered by Oleksandr Zaichuk, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, and First Vice-Rector of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies in Dnipro. He attended the ceremony together with representatives of the university’s Department of Chemical Technologies of Ceramics, Glass, and Biomedical Materials: Viktor Holeus, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor; Oleksandra Amelina, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Senior Researcher; Yaroslava Koltsova, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor; and Oleksii Sihunov, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor.
Oleksandr Zaichuk, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, First Vice-Rector of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, and Head of the Department of Chemical Technologies of Ceramics, Glass, and Biomedical Materials
Colleagues from the Department of Chemical Technologies of Ceramics, Glass, and Biomedical Materials: Viktor Holeus, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor; Oleksandra Amelina, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Senior Researcher; Yaroslava Koltsova, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor; and Oleksii Sihunov, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor
Congratulations from the staff of the Department of Chemistry and Integrated Technologies at O.M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv were conveyed by its Head, Oksana Savvova, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor.
Congratulatory address by Oksana Savvova, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor, Head of the Department of Chemistry and Integrated Technologies at O.M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv
The anniversary Department also received congratulations from the heads of related departments at Ukrainian higher education institutions:
- The Department of Chemical Technology of Silicates at Lviv Polytechnic National University, headed by Zenon Borovets, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor;
- The Department of Chemical Technology of Ceramics and Glass at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, headed by Viktoriia Tobilko, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor;
- The Department of Chemical Technology of Composite Materials at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, headed by Oleksii Myroniuk, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor;
- The Department of Materials Science and Metal Technology at Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding in Mykolaiv, represented by Yuliia Kazymyrenko, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor;
- Oksana Drozd, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor, Head of the Kherson Educational and Research Institute; and Serhii Tolmachov, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor at Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University in Kharkiv.
Congratulations were also extended by Edwin Gevorkyan, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor at Kazimierz Pulaski University of Technology and Humanities in Radom, Poland, and colleagues from research institutions:
- V.M. Bakul Institute for Superhard Materials, represented by Yevhen Pashchenko, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor, Head of the Department of Technology for the Formation of Structured Tool Composites;
- A.S. Berezhnoy Ukrainian Research Institute for Refractories, represented by Valerii Martynenko, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Director, and Inna Khonchyk, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Scientific Secretary.
Congratulations and gifts from Valerii Martynenko, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Director of the A.S. Berezhnoy Ukrainian Research Institute for Refractories, and Inna Khonchyk, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Scientific Secretary of the Institute
Alla Korohodska, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Senior Researcher, Head of the Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, delivered congratulations on behalf of the staff of the Educational and Research Institute of Chemical Technology and Engineering and in her own capacity.
Alla Korohodska, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Senior Researcher, Head of the Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, extends her congratulations
The festive day was filled with sincere words and warm wishes. On the occasion of the anniversary, the Department received numerous congratulations from partner enterprises, reflecting strong professional and personal ties, as well as from postgraduate students, undergraduate students, and graduates for whom the Department has played an important role in their professional and personal development.
Congratulatory address by Yana Pokroieva, PhD and Chief Technologist at the Kharkiv Tile Plant PJSC. She received a letter of appreciation from the Department in recognition of the plant’s support and longstanding cooperation in training young specialists.
Warm congratulations were also extended by young researchers, postgraduate students, and undergraduate students currently studying at the Department.
Congratulations from postgraduate student Vitalii Kostyrko and students Iliiana Hordiienko and Pavlo Myronichev
The recollections shared by the Department’s long-serving former staff members, whose lives are closely intertwined with its history, added special significance to the celebration. Liudmyla Bragina, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor, and Georgy Lisachuk, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor, shared warm memories of their student years, decades of academic and research work, and the Department’s major achievements. Professor Bragina is President of the Ukrainian Enamellers Association and a member of ASM International (USA). Professor Lisachuk is an Honoured Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine and a laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology.
Professor L.L. Bragina shares her memories
The celebration provided an opportunity to express sincere gratitude to everyone who has helped shape the Department’s history over the decades, develop its research areas, educate highly qualified specialists and researchers, and strengthen Kharkiv Polytechnic’s reputation in Ukraine and internationally.
During the ceremony, members of the Department of Ceramic, Refractory, Glass, and Enamel Technologies received a number of awards and distinctions.
Awards from the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration and the Kharkiv Regional Council
A letter of appreciation from the Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration was awarded to Stanislav Lihezin, a research fellow.
Awards from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
The Ministry’s Certificate of Merit was awarded to Halyna Shabanova, Professor of the Department and Deputy Director for Research of the Educational and Research Institute of Chemical Technology and Engineering.
Letters of appreciation from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine were awarded to Professors Oksana Borysenko, Victoria Taranenkova, and Lyudmyla Shchukina, as well as Associate Professor Andrii Nahornyi.
Awards from the Mayor of Kharkiv, the Kharkiv City Council, and the Administration of Kharkiv’s Kyivskyi District
Letters of appreciation from the Mayor of Kharkiv were awarded to research staff and engineers of the Department.
Awards from NTU “KhPI”
Certificates of Merit from the Rector of NTU “KhPI” were awarded to Olena Fedorenko, Head of the Department of Ceramic, Refractory, Glass, and Enamel Technologies; Yaroslav Pitak, Professor; and long-serving members of the Department, Professors Georgy Lisachuk and Liudmyla Bragina.
The gifts presented to Olena Fedorenko, Doctor of Technical Sciences and Professor, Head of the Department of Ceramic, Refractory, Glass, and Enamel Technologies, were an important expression of the partners’ support and trust, as well as a symbol of the university leadership’s and alumni’s commitment to the Department’s future. New instruments, computer equipment, and an interactive display will strengthen the Department’s technical facilities and support the training of a new generation of specialists and the implementation of promising research and educational projects, continuing the proud traditions established over the Department’s century-long history.
As Professor Olena Fedorenko, Head of the Department of Ceramic, Refractory, Glass, and Enamel Technologies, noted:
“A hundred years represents the history of many generations of researchers, lecturers, engineers, and students. It is a century of dedicated work, scientific discoveries, and the training of specialists who have made significant contributions to the development of Ukrainian industry.
It is also the story of people who devoted decades of their lives to the Department: teaching students, establishing laboratories, developing scientific schools, mentoring young researchers and lecturers, and shaping the traditions of which we are proud today.
Thanks to the talent, commitment, and tireless work of generations of academic staff and researchers, the Department has earned well-deserved recognition and a high standing within the scientific and educational community. We express our sincere gratitude to both the current staff and the Department’s long-serving colleagues—distinguished experts in their fields—who laid a strong foundation for its achievements today and set the course for its development for years to come.
The Department’s century-long history convincingly demonstrates a simple truth: meaningful achievements speak louder than words. The best evidence of the Department’s success is the professional accomplishments of its graduates, their contributions to science, education, and industry, and the continuation of the traditions of professionalism, responsibility, and creative inquiry that have been cultivated here over many decades.”