Our era of skepticism and restraint does not like too enthusiastic assessments like “outstanding figure,” “phenomenal personality,” “all nation’s treasure,” etc. However, these epithets are definitely not exaggerated when applied to the person who marked his 90th anniversary on November 27. Academician Borys Paton, president of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Hero of Ukraine, and a worldwide-known electric welding and materials scientist, truly belongs to Ukraine’s intellectual elite.
He had and still has opponents who blame him for a conservative style of managing science and a slow pace of reforms. He objects to his critics by stressing that reforms are absolutely necessary in science, but in this delicate sphere they should be carefully thought-out, responsible, and systemic. One thing is certain: this man, who has headed Ukrainian science since 1962 and steered our Academy of Sciences through the stormy waters of the wild market in the 1990s, is indeed a legendary person.
Paton understands better than anyone in our country the colossal role of science in developing the society of the third millennium, the society of information, intellect, and knowledge rather than one based on reckless depletion of raw materials and extensive development. On June 30, 1994, speaking from the country’s highest platform, the rostrum of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, Paton warned: the state should reconsider its attitude to the domain of science, intellectual activity, innovations, and technologies. This includes proper funding and, more broadly, respect for scholars’ hard work and raising its prestige. Otherwise Ukraine will inevitably roll back to the level of the developing countries. Admittedly, the words of the famous scientist fell on deaf ears.
A formal recognition of the importance of science is there now. However, we are witnesses to a destructive process-the brightest young Ukrainian scholars are emigrating, whereas the best, most advanced labs are still being financed on leftovers. Paton keeps saying that the best European and world-level examples should be a guideline for modern scientific research. But the minds of leading Ukrainian politicians are obviously occupied with something else than science: they need to sort things out among themselves.
Nevertheless, let us believe in the better future like Paton does. He is our “national treasure” (and this is a fact, not a compliment) and living history of Ukrainian science. The Day wishes the renowned academician good health, inexhaustible life strength and creative energy, and the realization of new large-scale plans to develop national science. Our statesmen need to pay attention to and follow one of the key principles of his life and work: to serve the interests of the cause rather than ambitions or the dictates of the situation.
COMMENTARIES
Anatolii KRYZHEVIN, Merited Coach of Ukraine in tennis:
“The whole world knows Borys Paton primarily as a talented scientist. Few people know what kind of person he is-he is unique in that he has always done good to people. What has helped him in this is the fact that he has always been energetic, active, and healthy. He played tennis regularly and did swimming.
I have worked with Paton for over 45 years: he played tennis twice a week and swam his usual thousand meters in the swimming pool. Even The Day before yesterday, on his 90th anniversary, he swam his distance before going to work.
“When he played tennis, he always wanted to win. This was his nature: nobody could leave the tennis court until he won. His main trait is a desire to win always and in everything. Thanks to his zeal for sport, a system of sports training for all the researchers at the Academy of Sciences was developed. For example, the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences adopted a decision to hold competitions in gymnastics and launch the sports competition within the Academy. This way scientists were able solve their problems faster thanks to being more active in their lives.
“Paton’s efforts led everyone in the Academy to go in for sports: researchers and their families, including children. Paton is a person who not only played tennis, but also made other people move, go in for sports, and improve their health. He had time for both science and sports.
“Striving to realize all his plans, he worked 14 hours a day. Paton was sure that no matter how busy a person is, s/he always has to make some time for sports, at least a couple of hours. All the people who used to play under my supervision (mostly academicians) have reached the age of 90. This was a kind of a club of likely-minded people both in science and in sports.
“When a tennis match ended, scientists would go to the swimming pool and then resolved different organizational questions. Even diplomats say that all questions are resolved on sports grounds, while documents are signed in official settings. Anyway, sport is an important part of a business or agreement. And Paton was able to prove this principle in practice. That is why he became a unique Person (with a capital P) both in science and on the tennis court.”
Yevhen HOLOVAKHA, Doctor of Philosophy, deputy head of the Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine:
“Only Borys Paton’s colleagues who have worked with him on scientific projects can make a real assessment of the contribution he made to the development of Ukrainian science. But nobody will deny the fact that the president of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences is indeed an outstanding individual in contemporary Ukrainian history. His scholarly works, ideas, and communication with other scientists are an exceptional example in our science.
“By way of a symbolical coincidence, Paton was born when the academy was established and he has headed it for half its existence. I don’t know any other examples of this kind in human history. For over 40 years Paton has supervised a huge social organism that has survived so many various collisions, social transformations, and internal crises. He has been someone to rely on and look to all through the years. No one took the academy’s problems as hard as he did. And he has successfully fulfilled his function for many years.
“One should take into consideration that on different occasions he managed to unite different people by a common scientific idea and rally them around a certain task. He still upholds this tradition. His is the worthiest example of what an outstanding person can be.
“From my own experience I know that he takes interest in any matter he encounters in his life. I had an opportunity to speak at the academy’s meetings that were attended by Paton. Even though my scientific domain is different from what he researches, he has always taken interest in the problems my colleagues were discussing. Such people are few and far between in our time, and this makes him an outstanding individual. That is why he became the president of the academy rather than a mere director of some well-known and important scientific institute. I would like to wish him good health and energy, for Ukraine is very much in need of such people.”
