At the USUCT SEI, the Memory of Professor Yakiv Bilyi Was Honored on the 95th Anniversary of His Birth
On September 30, 2026, a meeting marking the 95th anniversary of the birth of Yakiv Ivanovych Bilyi (1931–2013) was held at the USUCT History Museum. He was a scientist in the field of chemistry and technology of silicate materials, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, and Rector who headed the institution from 1984 to 1998.
The event was attended by Yakiv Ivanovych’s students, his colleagues, and university staff who worked with him and continue the areas of research he initiated. Among those present were Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work, Advertising and Information Activities, and Communications of USUST, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Olha Ryzhova; Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Viktor Holeus; Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor, Deputy Head of the Educational Department of USUST Yaroslava Koltsova; Candidate of Technical Sciences, Senior Researcher, Associate Professor, Senior Researcher Oleksandra Amelina; Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Professor Oleksandr Kharchenko; as well as other staff members and colleagues of Yakiv Bilyi.
Particular attention during the meeting was paid to the memories of people who knew Yakiv Ivanovych personally. Professor Oleksandr Kharchenko and other participants spoke about their joint work with the scientist, his attitude toward science, colleagues, and young researchers. These stories portrayed not only a rector and scientist, but also a mentor who knew how to demand results, support professional growth, and create a scientific environment around himself.
The training of young scientists became one of the important components of his work. According to the university, under the supervision of Yakiv Bilyi, 23 postgraduate students defended their dissertations. Among his students were Olha Ryzhova and Viktor Holeus, who continued their scientific work at the university and the development of research in the fields of glass, enamels, ceramics, and functional coatings.
Yakiv Bilyi’s scientific activity was associated with the development of physicochemical foundations for producing new enamels, glasses, glass-ceramic and ceramic materials, and coatings for various functional purposes. He was a co-author of more than 300 scientific publications and 100 authors’ certificates and patents for inventions.
Together with Viktor Holeus and other representatives of the Department, Yakiv Bilyi worked on new enamel and ceramic materials. The scientific connection between generations can also be traced in publications: joint works by Yakiv Bilyi and Viktor Holeus were published for many years, including research on fluorine-free enamels. After the scientist’s death, a separate collection of his scientific works on steel enameling technology was published in 2015, edited by Viktor Holeus.
An important part of Yakiv Bilyi’s professional career was also his work as the head of the university. It was during his tenure as Rector that the Dnipropetrovsk Chemical Technology Institute was granted the status of the Ukrainian State University of Chemical Technology in 1993.
For the commemorative date, the USUCT History Museum prepared a photo exhibition dedicated to the life, scientific, and organizational activities of Yakiv Ivanovych. The archival photographs aroused particular interest among the guests: for many participants, these were photographs of people, events, and periods in the university’s history of which they themselves had been a part.
The commemoration of the 95th anniversary of the birth of Yakiv Bilyi was not limited to the museum exhibition. In the reading room of the USUCT SEI library, a thematic book exhibition was also prepared for the anniversary. It features the professor’s scientific works, monographs, textbooks, patents, and publications that tell about his activities as a scientist, educator, and head of the university.
The meeting marking the 95th anniversary of Yakiv Ivanovych Bilyi’s birth once again showed that the history of the university continues through professional and scientific ties between generations. His students are now professors, researchers, and mentors of young scientists themselves, while the areas of research initiated decades ago continue to develop in contemporary research at the USUCT SEI.
