Mykola Holeho

On June 15, it was the 110th anniversary of the birth of the Ukrainian scientist-mechanic Mykola Holeho. He was born on this day in 1914 in the village of Khrystynivka (now a city in the Cherkasy region). Seeking education, the young man went to Kyiv and in 1938 graduated with honors from the Aviation Institute. Additionally, after attending flight courses, he became a Class IV pilot. He began working at the Kharkiv Aircraft Repair Plant No. 242, and during the German-Soviet War, he was evacuated with it to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Since 1942, he worked as the chief engineer of the Aircraft Repair Plant No. 406 in Aktobe.

Mykola Holeho returned to his homeland when the Nazis had not yet been fully expelled from Ukraine. In 1944, he was tasked with organizing a new aircraft repair plant in Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro) to serve the front's needs. He brilliantly accomplished this task and managed the enterprise for nearly four years. After being transferred to Kyiv, Mykola Holeho in 1949 headed the newly created Aircraft Repair Base No. 410 of the civil air fleet (now SE "Civil Aviation Plant 410").

Simultaneously, he engaged in scientific research, particularly in the field of friction and wear. After defending his candidate's dissertation, Mykola Holeho moved to the Kyiv Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers (now NAU), where in September 1953 he became the head of the Department of Aircraft Repair Technology. In January 1954, he became the head of this institution and led it for nearly 22 years. During this time, the institute became a leading educational institution in the country and known worldwide. Its educational and laboratory base was significantly strengthened, an entire institute campus was built, the level of the faculty increased, and scientific research activities significantly intensified. Mykola Holeho himself became a Doctor of Technical Sciences, a professor, and a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.

It seemed that upon reaching retirement age, Mykola Lukych could quietly retire. However, in 1977 he was appointed director of the Scientific and Technical Center of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine "Tribotechnics," which dealt with research on the operation, repair, and durability of machines, among other topics, and worked on space industry projects. The scientist dedicated over 20 more years to his work. Overall, he authored over 300 scientific papers and four monographs.

Mykola Lukych Holeho passed away on August 27, 2012. In his honor, in 2017, Lebedieva-Kumacha Street in Kyiv, located near NAU, was renamed.