Igor Krivtsun is the director of the E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute and an eminent Ukrainian physicist specializing in gas discharge physics and welding process theory. He has authored over 310 scientific publications and holds 17 patents. His research focuses on the interaction between low-temperature technological plasmas (like welding arcs and plasma jets) and materials during arc, plasma, laser, and hybrid processing. His pioneering work in hybrid laser-arc welding has earned international recognition and led to the development of foundational principles for laser-arc plasma torches. Under his leadership, this expertise has resulted in innovative processes like laser-microplasma welding, laser-plasma powder surfacing, and the deposition of diamond-like coatings.Leonid Golovko is a professor at the National Technical University of Ukraine ‘Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’ (KPI). As one of the founders of the scientific school of laser technologies at KPI in the 1970s, he headed the Department of Laser Engineering and Physical Technologies for nearly 20 years. His scientific activity has resulted in 356 publications, including 15 monographs (some republished internationally), and over 150 Ukrainian patents. His research involves studying physicochemical processes in materials under concentrated energy flows to create new materials and highly efficient processing technologies.Serhii Fomichov is a professor at the Institute of Materials Science and Welding at NTUU ‘Igor Sikorsky KPI’, director of an IIW/EWF Approved Training Body, and chairman of the Safeguarding Impartiality Committee of Bureau Veritas Ukraine. He has nearly five decades of experience in non-destructive testing (NDT) and condition monitoring for critical infrastructure like pipelines and pressure vessels, where he developed equipment and national standards. For over a decade, he has also focused on surface engineering using nano-sized powders to improve the wear resistance of equipment in the mining and transport industries.Oleksii Kaglyak heads the Department of Laser Systems and Advance Technology at NTUU ‘Igor Sikorsky KPI’. His scientific work is centered on laser surface technology, with a focus on forming shielding materials, sintering instrumental composites with diamond or cubic boron nitride, and laser-assisted formation of bimetallic materials. Dr. Kaglyak has published 40 scientific works, including one monograph and six patents.Yevgenia Chvertko is an associate professor at the Institute of Materials Science and Welding at NTUU ‘Igor Sikorsky KPI’ and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Welding (IIW). With over two decades of teaching experience at KPI, she instructs on pressure welding, quality control, and welding coordination. For more than 15 years, she has been a key figure in training and qualifying welding personnel according to IIW guidelines. As a member of IIW and ISO working groups, she co-authored Ukraine's national standard for welder training, harmonizing it with international requirements.
