Borys Paton – President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1962 – 2020)
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on November 27, 1918 in the family of Yevhen Oskarovich Paton, a professor at the Kyiv Industrial Institute.
In 1941, he completed his studies at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
In 1945 he successfully defended his PhD thesis in technical sciences, and in 1952 he received the degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences.
Career
In 1941 – 1942, Paton worked as an engineer of the electrical laboratory at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant in the city of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod).
In 1942, he began his scientific activity – first as a junior, and later as a senior researcher. Over time, he became the head of the department and took the position of deputy director.
In 1951, he was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and in 1958 – a full member of the Academy.
Since 1953, Paton headed the E.O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding.
Since 1962, he became a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
He died on August 19, 2020 at the age of 101 in Kyiv.
Achievements
Paton was a prominent scientist in the fields of electric welding, metallurgy, and metal technology. His scientific activity included the study of the processes of automatic and semi-automatic submerged arc welding, the development of theoretical foundations for the creation of welding machines and power sources.
He paid special attention to the management of welding processes, as well as the development of the latest designs and functional materials focused on the future.
Under the leadership of Paton, a fundamentally new method was developed – electroslag welding. He also led research related to the use of heat sources used in welding to improve the quality of smelted metal.
It was Paton who was the first to initiate scientific research on the use of welding and related technologies in outer space, in particular to create structures in space.
As President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, he has gained recognition as a leading specialist in this field of scientific and technical activity. In addition, he was the main initiator of the unique technology of welding living tissues, which began to be used in surgery.
Paton is the author and co-author of more than 720 inventions, among which more than 500 are patented abroad. He is also the author of more than 1200 scientific publications, including 20 monographs.
By 2017, he had set three world records:
- became the oldest president of the State Academy of Sciences in the world in terms of age and tenure;
- The only head of the state academy who was born on the same day as the date of its foundation: November 27, 1918.
Marital Status
Borys Paton’s wife, Olga Borisovna Paton (1921 – 2013), worked as a scientist and engineer at the Institute of Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
The couple had a daughter Yevhenia (1965 – 2009), who at one time held the position of head of the laboratory at the Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
