Valery M. Shulga

Ukraine

1944-2022

Obituary:

V.M. Shulga was born on August 16, 1944 in the city of Krasnograd, Kharkiv region, Ukraine. In 1966, he graduated with honors from the Kharkiv State University (now –V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University) in the specialty “radiophysics and electronics” and continued his studies at the graduate school of this university. After completing his postgraduate studies, he worked at the Institute of Radiophysics and Electronics of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine and lectured at the Kharkiv State University since 1972.

From 1986 until the end of his life, V.M. Shulga worked at the Institute of Radio Astronomy of the NAS of Ukraine.

On December 4, 1997, Valery Shulga was elected a corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine, and on May 6, 2006, he was elected a member of the NAS of Ukraine.
Valery Shulga was the first to conduct experimental studies of spin-phonon interactions in paramagnets with impurities of iron group ions at ultrahigh frequencies at ultralow (down to 0.05 K) temperatures, discovered the existence of the phenomenon of phonon overheating in these systems and found evidence of the influence of classical dipole and exchange interactions to the processes determined by the spin-phonon coupling.

With the participation of V.M. Shulga, the most high-frequency quantum amplifiers (masers) at frequencies of 45 GHz and 95 GHz with record characteristics were developed. In 1989, this work by V.M. Shulga and his colleagues was recognized and awarded by the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology. Since 1990-ies, V.M. Shulga initiated in Ukraine the spectral studies of the Galaxy in the millimeter wavelength range. In recent years, his scientific interests have spread to cosmological problems: the formation of the large-scale structure of the Universe, the existence of dark matter and dark energy. V.M. Shulga also began a new field of research regarding the seasonal changes in the state of the Earth's atmosphere at the heights of the stratosphere and mesosphere using the molecular radiation analysis in the millimeter range.

In 2001, Valery Shulga was awarded the M.P. Barabashov Prize of the NAS of Ukraine for a series of works entitled "Study of spectra and variability of cosmic radio radiation in the millimeter range using the RT-22 radio telescope”. In 2008, he was awarded the State Order of Merit, III degree.

V.M. Shulga is the author of more than two hundred scientific papers published in the world's leading professional journals and co-author of three patents. He headed the Scientific Astronomical Council of the NAS of Ukraine, was a member of the Expert Council of the Ministry for Education and Science of Ukraine on the issues of expertize of dissertation works in physics and astronomy. As an official representative of the NAS of Ukraine at the International Center for Future Science of the Jilin University (People's Republic of China), he developed a fruitfil scientific cooperation.

V.M. Shulga combined intensive scientific work with organizational and pedagogical activities. For more than 30 years, he headed the Department of Millimeter Radio Astronomy at the Institute of Radio Astronomy of the NAS of Ukraine, during 17 years he was the Deputy-director for scientific work of this institute.

Valery Mykhailovych Shulga devoted his life to the faithful service of science. With his creative output, Prof. Valery Shulga enriched world and national science in the field of radio physics and radio astronomy.