Research infrastructure development: NUBiP of Ukraine will receive international technical assistance from Japan

     One of the priority tasks of the university's scientific and educational activities is to update the material and technical resources of the laboratories, to develop research infrastructure and to provide access to unique equipment through the centers of common use. This work has already begun in most of our divisions. An illustrative example is the Ukrainian Research Institute of Agricultural Radiology headed by Professor Valeriy Kashparov. In the past year, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine received the latest equipment worth UAH 430.769 in accordance with the Joint Research Agreement with the University of Fukushima National Corporation (Japan). Among these incredible devices are DJI Phantom 4 Pro unmanned aerial vehicle, Agisoft Photoscan specialized software for stereophotogrammetric 3D modeling, TruPulse 360B laser rangefinder, LAQUA F-74 water quality analyzer, HORIBA and a range of state-of-the-art laboratory equipment.

     The University of Fukushima will also send NUBiP of Ukraine Perkin Elmer Nex ION 2000 B (ICP-MS) mass spectrometer with an inductive plasma costing more than 6 million UAH in early April. ICP-MS is a modern device that allows to conduct analysis of elemental and isotope composition (including transuranium elements, which in the future will be the greatest threat to the Chernobyl exclusion zone due to their half-life in tens of thousands of years), any samples (agricultural products, biological materials, environmental objects) with high sensitivity (up to 1 ppb) and reproducibility. This device will help to solve many complex scientific and analytical tasks.

     At the same time, within the framework of the Joint Research Agreement with the University of Fukushima National Corporation NUBiP of Ukraine will receive several more modern devices worth 2 million UAH in order to improve environmental radiation control and legislative framework for environmental rehabilitation of contaminated territories in Ukraine.

     All this became possible due to the diligent work of the scientists of the Ukrainian Research Institute of Agricultural Radiology of NUBiP of Ukraine, who actively collaborated with Japanese colleagues after the Fukushima-1 accident. Head of the Laboratory of the Ukrainian Research Institute of Agricultural Radiology of NUBiP of Ukraine, Professor Vasyl Yoshchenko, has been working as a visiting professor at the University of Fukushima for 5 years. University scientists also are sharing their experience and undergoing internships in Japan (researcher Dmytro Golyak).

Volodymyr Otchenashko,
Head of the Research Department