IN MEMORIAM OF ACADEMICIAN PETRO GOZHYK – THE OUTSTANDING RESEARCHER OF THE QUATERNARY AND ORGANIZER OF SCIENCE

Abstract

Academician Petro Feodosiyovych Gozhyk is a prominent Ukrainian geologist, palaeontologist, palaeogeographer and researcher of the Quaternary. All his scientific activity was related to the Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, in which he worked his way up from graduate student to the director position. The scientific interests of the researcher cover a wide range of Earth sciences – from the study of molluscs to marine geology and Antarctic research. The publication presents the main milestones of Petro Gozhyk's life and scientific and organizational work. The article analyzes the scientist's contribution to the development of Antarctic research in Ukraine. In particular, it was noted that in 1993, on the initiative of P. Gozhyk, the Center for Antarctic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (now the National Antarctic Scientific Center of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine) was established in Ukraine, which he headed. Thanks to the efforts of Petro Gozhyk and his like-minded people, in 1994, Ukraine was admitted to the International Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research, and in 1995 Great Britain and Ukraine signed a Memorandum on the transfer of the British Faraday Antarctic Station to Ukraine. In 1996, the flag of Ukraine was raised at the station. It was named “Academician Vernadsky” and our country became one of the 30 Antarctic states of the world. Special attention is paid to P. Gozhyk's organizational skills. For a long time, he was the President of the Paleontological Society of Ukraine and devoted much time to organizing the society's congresses. It is worth noting the scientific and organizational activities of P. Gozhyk in the Department of Earth Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, under whose leadership targeted programs of applied research were carried out. The scientist also headed the National Stratigraphic Committee of Ukraine (in particular, its Cenozoic Commission and the Quaternary Subcommission) and rightfully held the position of a scientific leader in the study of Quaternary deposits. Petro Gozhyk played a significant role in organising and conducting Ukrainian-Polish field loess seminars. Joint research on the territory of Ukraine and Poland contributed to clarifying the stratigraphy and correlation of Quaternary deposits of neighbouring states. In general, P. Gozhyk put a lot of effort into establishing international cooperation among Ukrainian scientists, representing Ukraine in the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), and his works are widely known in Europe and the USA. Key words: international cooperation; marine geology; palaeontology; palaeogeography; Pleistocene; stratigraphy; Antarctica.