With deep sorrow, we announce that on March 31, 2026, at the age of 97, the renowned scientist in the fields of hydromechanics, hydraulics, land reclamation, and water ecology, laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology and the O.M. Dynnyk Prize of the NAS of Ukraine, leading researcher at the Institute of Hydromechanics of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, and corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine, Oleksandr Yakovych OLIYNIK passed away.
Oleksandr Yakovych Oliynik was born on November 25, 1929, in the village of Vyshhorod, Kyiv region, into a family of a civil servant. He graduated from the Kyiv Hydromelioration Institute in 1953 and completed postgraduate studies at the same institute in 1956. From 1956 to 1964, he worked as a junior researcher at the Institute of Hydromechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1958, he defended his candidate’s dissertation, and in 1971, his doctoral dissertation. In 1964, he moved to work at the Institute of Mathematics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, where he worked until 1972 as a senior researcher. In 1972, he returned to the Institute of Hydromechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR as deputy director for scientific work. In 1973, he was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. From 1973 to 1981, he served as director of the Institute. In 1981, he headed the Department of Applied Hydrodynamics while simultaneously serving as head and later professor of the Department of Hydraulics and Drainage at the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture. In 2024, he took the position of leading researcher at the Institute of Hydromechanics of the NAS of Ukraine. He was a member of the National Committee of Ukraine on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and the International Association for Hydraulic Research.
O.Ya. Oliynik achieved important results in the theory and methods of calculating various drainage systems under complex hydrogeological conditions, land protection from flooding and waterlogging by groundwater, moisture and salt transfer in soils, iron removal from groundwater by filtration, biological treatment of wastewater in various bioreactors, and hydraulics of hydraulic structures. His name is associated with significant achievements in studying various problems of hydrodynamics of moving objects, turbulent flows, complex currents, pollutant migration in porous media, and purification of surface and wastewater from pollutants of various origins.
O.Ya. Oliynik’s scientific developments have been widely implemented in various sectors of water management, with research results summarized in over 300 scientific works. His students successfully work in scientific institutions and higher education establishments in Ukraine and abroad.
O.Ya. Oliynik was chairman of the Water Problems Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the scientific and technical council of the State Water Management Agency, a member of several scientific councils, chief editor of the scientific and technical collection "Problems of Water Supply, Drainage, and Hydraulics," and a member of the editorial board of the scientific journal "Applied Hydromechanics."
The scientific community, colleagues, friends, and students sincerely mourn the death of Oleksandr Yakovych and express their condolences to his family and loved ones.
Information about the place and date of the farewell will be announced additionally.
Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Section of Physical-Technical and Mathematical Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine
Department of Mechanics and Machine Science of the NAS of Ukraine