CONVERSATION WITH A SCIENTIST: Yuriy Gogotsi from Kyiv — a prominent global researcher in chemistry, materials science, and nanotechnology

 

Yuriy Gogotsi is a renowned global scientist in the fields of chemistry, materials science, and nanotechnology, of Ukrainian origin. He is a Web of Science/Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in Physics — a recognition comparable, in terms of scientific impact, to Nobel Prize-level achievements.

His h-index is 160 according to Google Scholar and 140 according to Web of Science. In 1995, he earned a Doctor of Technical Sciences degree at the Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Science of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Today, Yuriy Gogotsi is the founder and director of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute at Drexel University, where he also holds the title of Distinguished University Professor. He is the co-author of two books, has published over 700 scientific papers, and is an inventor with more than 60 patents.

Yuriy Gogotsi leads a team of researchers studying nanostructured carbon and two-dimensional materials, synthesizing new compounds, and developing supercapacitors that have the potential to drive an energy revolution.

Born in Kyiv, Yuriy Gogotsi now lives and works in the United States.

 

ON LUCK AND PATTERN

 

I do what I love, I have my own scientific school, and our research contributes to the advancement of global science. Is there an element of luck in that? Luck helps, but if you rely solely on it — nothing will happen.

When school students visit the university and ask what they should study, I tell them:

 

«Choose what you enjoy, what excites you. Then, first of all, you’ll do well; second, your work will feel like a hobby; and third, you’ll do it well, which means you’ll become successful.»

 

Anyone can overlook what truly fascinates them. My own path began with chemistry back in middle school. In fact, I was a bit of a failure at first — textbooks were being distributed, and for some reason, I didn’t receive a chemistry textbook.

I started attending the classes and memorizing everything the teacher said. I loved the subject so much that I quickly became the top student in the class.

That’s when my father (note: Heorhiy Gogotsi — professor, head of a laboratory at the H. S. Pysarenko Institute for Problems of Strength) stepped in: he suggested I join a chemistry club at the Palace of Pioneers, and that gave a real boost to my future career.

My work in the chemistry club on so-called aluminothermy — a reaction between aluminum and metal oxides that enables the extraction of pure refractory metals — was featured at the All-Union Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy (VDNKh), and this largely determined the direction of my education and research.

Later, I enrolled at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and earned a degree in metallurgical engineering.
I have always been fascinated by what happens during combustion and at high temperatures. This passion has stayed with me throughout my life.

 

ON TEACHERS

 

At the Palace of Pioneers club, there was an outstanding instructor — at the time, a postgraduate student — Serhiy Viktorovych Mykhalovskyi, who later became a professor at the University of Brighton in England. It was Serhiy Mykhalovskyi who inspired me to pursue science.

He showed me that scientists are truly passionate about what they do and gave me a knowledge of chemistry that went far beyond the school curriculum. Of course, my father also had a great influence on me — he has devoted his entire life to science and continues his work even now, at the age of 90.

 

SCIENCE — A TEAM SPORT OR A SOLO RACE?

 

Individual personalities play a colossal role. We all know famous scientists — from Einstein to our contemporaries. But today, at least in the natural and technical sciences, it’s rare to find articles written solely by a supervisor and a graduate student, and even rarer — by a single scientist.

Instead, if you open Science, Nature, or other leading journals, you’ll see papers created by dozens of researchers, often from four or five institutes and several countries.

In some fields, such as astronomy or nuclear physics, there are articles where the list of authors is placed at the end because it may include 100 or even 1,000 people.

These are the changes that have occurred in science over the past decades. Many complex problems require a multidisciplinary approach, and the internet enables researchers to collaborate even from different corners of the globe. As a result, people complement each other: someone works on modeling, someone on experiments, someone on new materials.

Even though ideas are still crucial, it is practically impossible to realize them without collaboration. Teamwork has accelerated research and scientific progress overall.

 

ON BUILDING TEAMS

 

First of all, I try to make my team as diverse as possible. From the very beginning, I’ve had people from different countries — men and women, Black and white, Christians and Muslims.

This is important in the scientific environment because science is international, and when a group includes people who represent different perspectives and academic traditions, they learn to understand one another — which means they’ll be able to work with anyone, anywhere.

At the same time, a newcomer will feel more comfortable, because there’s no situation where everyone speaks the same language or the team consists of 20 men, and a woman thinks: «How will I survive in this environment?»

Secondly, it’s important that the people in my team are like-minded — that they want to work on the same problems as I do. And finally, I don’t make decisions on my own. I trust my colleagues: 30 minds are better than one. I conduct the initial interview, review the CV, consult someone from the group, and then invite the candidate to give a seminar for the team.

After that, the team says: «Yes, we want this person with us,» or «No, maybe they’re a good scientist, but we feel they wouldn’t be a good fit for our group.»

 

Together with the team, we discovered an entire family of new two-dimensional nanomaterials — MXenes, described new forms of carbon, and a new metastable phase of silicon

 

ON EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

 

There’s a stereotype that in science, knowledge matters more than emotional intelligence

 

In reality, enthusiasm and the desire to work often turn out to be more important than a strong academic background or a degree from a top university. If someone has the motivation — they can be taught.

But if a person is intellectually gifted, yet instead of working on the project plays computer games or ignores safety protocols — they simply don’t fit the team.

There’s also the opposite case — very diligent, good workers who are extremely dependent.

I provide people with ideas, financial and technical support, and connections with top experts around the world — but they need to work without daily supervision. Why hire smart people just to tell them what to do?

 

ON NATIONAL IDENTITY

 

The word «cosmopolitan» carries a negative connotation for some people. But I was born and raised in the former Soviet Union. Russian is my native language, just like Ukrainian, and I left Ukraine before the USSR collapsed — in 1990. My father, brother, and sister live in Kyiv.

 

I identify as Ukrainian, and my children proudly say they are Ukrainian — they wear T-shirts with the blue-and-yellow flag

 

At the same time, I look at life through an American lens, as I’ve been living in the U.S. for 24 years. My approach to life and work is more American, but living in different countries, including in Western Europe and Asia, has shaped me as a person.

 

ON EMIGRATION AND FRIENDSHIP

 

I spend a lot of time at the university, so most of my social circle is work-related. My children are grown and live independently in California. I live with my wife and our cat. But people always need connection, and we’ve always found friends. We never tried to isolate ourselves within an immigrant community.

Some people, no matter which country they move to, immediately seek out others from the former Soviet Union. They don’t assimilate for years and never feel comfortable, because the new environment always remains foreign to them. We, on the other hand, were never afraid to engage with people from other countries.

We have friends in Germany, we’re close with our neighbors who are doctors, we used to connect with Americans even back when we lived in Norway, and I maintain friendships with people I play tennis with.

More than that — I have a friend I went to math school with in Kyiv. Today he’s also a professor, just in a different department — electrical engineering. We reunited when I had just arrived in the U.S. for an interview at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

I walked into the room where I was about to give my seminar, and in walked my classmate Hena Friedman, whom I hadn’t seen in 17 years since he moved abroad with his family after we graduated. He asked: «Yura, do you recognize me?»

 

THE FORMULA FOR HAPPINESS

 

My formula for happiness is the same as everyone else’s: having family, friends, and a normal life. I feel truly happy doing what I love.

 

I usually dedicate 15–16 hours a day to my work. My job is my hobby

 

 

 

ON SCIENTIFIC DIRECTION

 

At heart, I’m a chemist; by training, I’m a materials scientist — which is, to some extent, also chemistry. We create new materials. Together with my colleagues, we discovered an entirely new family of two-dimensional nanomaterials — MXenes, described new forms of carbon, and developed new methods for synthesizing carbon nanomaterials such as nanotubes.

We recently held a conference dedicated to MXenes — two-dimensional carbides and nitrides. They are similar to graphene, but with a layer of metal atoms added. You can use different metals — niobium, titanium, molybdenum — to achieve different properties.

As a result, we’ve discovered a large family of 2D materials with very unusual and useful characteristics: 30 well-defined so-called stoichiometric materials and several dozen mixed solid solutions have already been obtained experimentally — and many more remain to be synthesized. That’s the chemical side of our research.

On the other hand, new materials only matter when they have practical applications. For example, in supercapacitors. We started with carbon materials and made significant progress — in fact, we helped shape the entire field of electrochemical capacitors.

We’ve just published a paper in Nature Materials together with a colleague from France on current trends in this area, aiming to outline the development trajectory for the next ten years.

Beyond supercapacitors, MXenes are used in lithium-ion batteries, enable printed antennas and the development of flexible electronics that can be applied to walls or clothing, forming the technological foundation for the Internet of Things.

Medical applications in dialysis and the development of artificial kidneys are no less promising and important.

 

We expect the impact of MXenes on advanced technologies to surpass that of graphene.

 

 

ON FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED SCIENCE

 

Scientists often debate the importance of fundamental versus applied research. For me, there is no dividing line.

All applied science is based on fundamental research. That’s why our first goal is to understand the material, learn how to produce it in a controlled way, obtain different compositions and particle sizes, and determine its fundamental electronic, optical, and chemical properties.
Only then do we begin to explore how the material can be applied.

 

ON SCIENCE IN THE WORLD AND THE FORMER USSR

 

When I was studying in the Soviet Union, scientists would start working on a problem during their postgraduate studies and continue researching the same thing until retirement. Of course, within their narrow topic, they could become more specialized than I am. But an applied problem rarely remains relevant for such a long period.

Elsewhere in the world, researchers are much more likely to switch to new questions.

That’s why American institutions offer professors a sabbatical year every 5–7 years — an academic leave that allows them to reflect and reshape their research programs. I’ve always been interested in engaging with something new.

 

I’m not afraid to enter fields where I’m not yet an expert. I find knowledgeable people, collaborate with them, and learn from them.

 

 

ON THE NEW ENERGY REVOLUTION

 

engines and are instead building factories for lithium-ion battery production. This means that within 10 years, we will all switch to electric transportation.

Everything around us — smartwatches, phones, iPads, laptops — runs on electricity and contains batteries. So, as a team of scientists, we are simply making our contribution to the energy and electronics of the future.

 

ON EMIGRATION

 

СToday, many Ukrainian scientists are forced to emigrate in order to build a career. I believe this situation can be changed, but it requires restructuring the archaic academic system and integrating Ukrainian science into the European and global framework.

Global science is driven by leading research centers. Because if I have a good idea, I need someone to discuss it with. I also need equipment, instruments, and funding. I have to secure financial support for my 30 team members. The university doesn’t pay for a single graduate student or researcher.

That’s why science thrives in countries that invest resources in it. Naturally, this factor draws many Ukrainian scientists to global research hubs.
At one time, those hubs in chemistry and physics were Germany, France, and the UK — later, it was the United States.

Unfortunately, current trends in U.S. policy may cause the country to lose its global leadership. New laws are being introduced that make it harder for talented professionals from many countries to come. Singapore, Australia, China, and South Korea are now stepping in to fill that space — they’re actively inviting top scientists, including Americans.

 

ON MISTAKES IN MANAGING UKRAINIAN SCIENCE

 

During Soviet times, Ukraine had a vast reserve of intellectual capital. Unfortunately, far too little was done to transform the scientific system and integrate it with the West. Ukraine lacked science management: the Academy’s mission was to preserve what remained from the Soviet Union. That was a mistake with catastrophic consequences.

I read a news story that the Ministry of Education and Science decided not to renew its contract with Elsevier because the publisher had listed a journal published in Crimea. Whom is the Ministry punishing? Elsevier? Or perhaps a third-rate journal hardly worth mentioning? No — they are punishing Ukrainian scientists by cutting off access to Scopus and global knowledge.

 

We need a system in which Ukrainian researchers can freely intern in the West — and have incentives to return home. A system in which support is given to the best scientists, not to those who have spent the most years in an institute

 

We need a grant system with independent review, one that enables top specialists to develop their ideas — regardless of age, language, or nationality. When it becomes routine for Ukrainian scientists to collaborate on projects with Spaniards, French, Japanese, and Americans; to receive funding from international foundations and corporations; and to publish their results in leading international journals — then Ukrainian science will become a true part of the global scientific community.

 

GLOBAL EXAMPLES OF CHANGE IN SCIENCE

 

I first visited China in 2002, when I received an international award at a conference. They took us to a university, and the laboratories were painfully reminiscent of the facilities at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where I worked on my PhD back in the 1980s.

But around 5–7 years ago, when I returned to Chinese universities, their labs were better equipped than those in most American institutions.
Chinese scientists began regularly publishing high-quality articles in the most prestigious scientific journals. In other words, this transformation took place within a single decade. Yes, it required funding — but it was absolutely achievable.

 

There is, however, a factor working in Ukraine’s favor — the globalization brought by the internet.

 

СToday, it’s possible to send samples to researchers around the world, to collaborate with other countries and leading universities. A vast number of computational studies are being conducted, and Ukraine is one of the leaders in the field of information technology. This doesn’t require massive capital investments.

What’s needed is the right focus — such as artificial intelligence or modeling the structure and properties of materials — along with the necessary knowledge and people capable of leading this work. Moreover, I attract funding from around the world, and potentially, someone in Ukraine can do the same.

 

ON ISLANDS OF SUCCESS IN UKRAINE

 

If the President of Ukraine called and invited me to become an advisor on science development — I would say «yes.»

 

I have the experience and knowledge. I’ve worked in various countries and understand how the system works — where there have been successes and where failures. There are many other scientists of Ukrainian origin who are well-versed in their fields and would be happy to help Ukrainian officials reform the Academy and improve the higher education system.

I give talks around the world, and in recent years, I’ve started getting invitations from Ukraine. Interestingly, the first invitations didn’t come from academicians or ministers, but from young women — Aliona Skirta and her like-minded colleagues, who organized a series of science popularization events (the inScience project) and gave me the opportunity to speak on radio and television.

Before that, I had written several times to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine: I’ll be in Kyiv, I’d be happy to give a talk — would you be interested in an exchange of experience? But there was no response.

Now, interest is starting to grow. New conferences are emerging — ones worth paying attention to. For example, I gave a virtual talk on August 26 at a conference on nanotechnology and nanomaterials in Lviv — again, organized by young scientists like Olena Fesenko. Right after me, a Nobel laureate from Cornell University, Roald Hoffmann, gave his presentation.

In other words, there are islands of success in Ukraine — and we need to look at the people who are creating them. These are the people who should be leading science policy — the future belongs to them.

 

Science Is the Future
You can’t get far relying solely on growing sugar beets or sunflowers. But even to cultivate them productively and profitably, it’s essential to develop advanced agricultural technologies — just as Israel and the Netherlands do, feeding Europe despite their small size and unfavorable climate. Ukraine can become a prosperous country if it develops cutting-edge technologies — and those will emerge only through the advancement of science.

 

---

When copying materials, please place an active link to www.huxley.media