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The PATON family
Yevhen Oksarovych Paton
Yevhen Oksarovych PatonAn outstanding Ukrainian scientist in welding and bridge engineering, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (since 1929), and Honored Scientist of the USSR (1940). Founder and first director of the Electric Welding Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Yevhen Paton was born on March 5, 1870, in Nice, France, and devoted nearly his entire professional life to the advancement of welding. He authored over 90 scientific works and made a fundamental contribution to the development of Ukraine as an industrialized state.
Between 1941 and 1943, the “father of welding” conducted research on welding special steels, the physical properties of arc combustion under flux, and the weldability of metals. He introduced a new class of welded structures and managed the development of welded pipelines, ships, and machinery for various uses. He was the author and lead designer of over 100 welded bridges, including one of the largest in the world – the all-welded bridge across the Dnipro River in Kyiv.
WELDING IS THE
FUTURE
O.P. Paton (Oscar Petrovych Paton), 1900
"...I want you to be a serious person — someone needed not only by yourself or your parents."
О.P. Paton
"... I know what brings the greatest joy — the ability to set a small but independent goal and persistently strive to achieve it. Knowing what you want in life is a great happiness. I made my choice firmly: I would build bridges.".
E.О. Paton
Yevhen Paton as a high school student, Breslau, 1886
I INHERITED FROM MY FATHER:
- Love of independence
- Low sociability – I rarely spent time in company and had a small circle of acquaintances.
- Success in work.
- Persistence in pursuing clearly defined goals
- Pride incompatible with precaution before superiors. That's why I was always ashamed to ask for myself.
- Strong sense of practicality – in any task, I’m primarily interested in its purpose and practical application.
- Demanding of both subordinates and myself
EDUCATION
In 1890, Yevhen Oksarovych Paton enrolled at the Royal Saxon Polytechnic Institute (Technische Universität Dresden), GermanyIn 1894, I began working at the Department of the Dresden Polytechnic Institute and quickly adapted to my new role.My involvement in the design of a major railway station in Dresden provided me with an invaluable opportunity to put my academic knowledge to the test in real-life conditions from the very outset of my independent career. In January 1895, at the largest bridge-building plant in Gutehoffnungshütte in Sterkrade, I was assigned to develop working designs for road bridges and other related engineering projects.
E.О. Paton
Main building of the former Royal Saxon Polytechnic Institute in Dresden, early 20th century
Institute of Railway Engineers. St. Petersburg, 1895
"Farewell, Germany – you hold nothing more for me. My place is in Russia. In August 1895, I returned to St. Petersburg to become a student once more, for one year… In just eight months, I had to pass exams in 12 subjects and complete five major graduation projects. It was work usually spread over two or three years. I began with the bridge project – the most demanding of them all, especially since I had already designed bridges in Germany."
— Yevhen Oksarovych Paton
Kyiv Polytechnic Institute offered me the newly created Department of Bridges...
Lectures, designing bridges, compiling textbooks ... Years passed for me in this ...
The creation of the Kyiv Pedestrian Bridge at the end of Petrivska Alley, a bridge well known to all Kyivites, brought me a lot of creative joy. The continuation of Petrivska Alley was hindered by the rest of the slope on the mountainous bank of the Dnieper, which had not yet slipped. Initially, a project was put forward to pass this land through the tunnel. This decision seemed to me uninteresting, boring. This beautiful corner of Kiev could be decorated with a light, beautiful bridge.Against the vast Dnipro and Kyiv's lush parks, such a structure would look truly magnificent.I proposed excavating the slope and spanning it with a light footbridge featuring crescent-shaped openwork trusses.My idea was well received and approved.
Yevhen Oksarovych Paton
Yevhen Oksarovych Paton – Dean of the Engineering Department at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, 1906
The park bridge in Kyiv was completed in 1912 based on the design by Yevhen Oksarovych Paton
Electric welding
On 2 February 1933, the Presidium of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences resolved to establish the Institute of Electric Welding. Subsequently, on 1 January 1934, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR formalized the creation of the world’s first specialized scientific and engineering center for welding. Yevhen Oksarovych Paton served as the Institute’s permanent director until August 1953. In its early years, the Institute primarily focused on studying the strength of welded joints and developing optimal structural designs for welded assemblies. These issues were of critical importance in the early stages of welding development. The research carried out by Yevhen Oksarovych Paton and his team laid the scientific foundation for the design, calculation, and production of welded structures.
Yevhen Oksarovych Paton with a group of researchers from the Department of Welding Technology, 1940
By 1939–1940,I had already recognized this crucial issue and believed it would define the core of our future scientific work. It was automatic submerged arc welding. "...In it, I saw the realization of all the goals my team and I had set when we began our work on welding mechanization." "We pursued them persistently, through all the trials, errors, and setbacks." "Our objectives were high productivity, superior seam quality, and relieving welders from arduous manual labor." .
High-speed submerged arc welding not only gained widespread recognition, but also became the main technological process in armor production facilities.Tens of thousands of combat vehicles were produced with seams welded under flux.By the war’s end, tank hulls no longer had any manually welded seams.Tank production for the front increased manifold. By the end of the war, over 55,000 units had been manufactured.
— Yevhen Oksarovych Paton
At the end of 1941, there were only three automatic welding plants in the country. By the end of 1942 – 40; by the end of 1943 – 80; in March 1944 – 99; and by December 1944 – 133! At that time, the Institute was operating at 52 factories.
«Tanks go to the front»
Universal TC17 welding machine for butt and corner joints
Yevhen Oksarovych Paton and the developer of the TS17 welding tractor, Borys Yevhenovych Paton – son of Yevhen Oksarovych
Automatic welding heads designed by the E.O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding
On June 9, 1947, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution "On expanding the use of automatic submerged arc welding in industry." The Institute was assigned the responsibility of providing scientific and organizational support for all welding operations across the USSR.To discuss this resolution, the All-Union Conference on Automatic Welding was held in Kyiv in October 1947, where Yevhen Oksarovych Paton presented a report titled “Prospects for the Further Development of Automatic Welding in the USSR.”
Science goes into production
In 1948, he introduced a laboratory car in Ukraine.
For introducing new technologies and equipment into the welding industry and establishing professional welder training, Yevhen Oksarovych Paton created a mobile laboratory car at the Institute of Electric Welding. Thanks to this innovative idea, Institute specialists were able to quickly deliver new knowledge to enterprises in even the most remote parts of the country.
Laboratory car
M.S. Khrushchev and Yevhen Oksarovych Paton: business discussion (late 1940s)
Farewell, Germany, you have nothing to keep me, my place is in Russia. In August According to a conclusion by Academician Yevhen Oksarovych Paton, based on scientific and practical data, the use of automatic submerged arc welding in bridge construction could save an average of 20% in metal and over 2 million man-hours of labour… In addition, it reduces the need for rolling, improves the corrosion resistance of structures, and eliminates unnecessary transportation of excess metal.
From the note of MS Khrushchev to the Central Committee of the CPSU
Yevhen Oksarovych Paton with his son Borys on the Dnipro cliffs
Automatic welding of a butt seam of a wall
Bridge structure during construction
The main volume of welding for the primary beams was carried out using automatic and semi-automatic machines developed by the E.O. Paton Institute. The assembly and welding process of the main beams was organised as a flow operation; 97% of all seams were welded using automatic and semi-automatic machines.
I look at our talented youth with hope. Though many of them still lack extensive scientific experience, they have already learned to work as a team—cooperatively and cohesively—while critically reflecting on their achievements and staying closely connected to real-life production. This gives me confidence that the Institute of Electric Welding we established will continue to meet its important challenges…
— Yevhen Oksarovych Paton
LIFELONG WORK
Borys Yevhenovych Paton
(1918-2020)
Borys Paton
A prominent Ukrainian scientist in welding technology, metallurgy, and materials science. Doctor of Technical Sciences (1952), President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1962–2020), twice awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor, and the first recipient of the Hero of Ukraine distinction. He served as Director of the Yevhen Paton Institute of Electric Welding (from 1953), General Director of the Interdisciplinary Scientific and Technical Complex “Y.O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding” (from 1986);
President of the International Association of Academies of Sciences (from 1993); member of the Council for Science and Science and Technology Policy under the President of Ukraine (since March 1996); Chairman of the Committee on the State Prize of Ukraine in the Field of Science and Technology (since December 1996); member of the State Commission for Reform, Development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military formations, armaments and military equipment (since March 2003); First Deputy Chairman of the National Council for Sustainable Development of Ukraine (since May 2003).
I take great joy in passing on knowledge and nurturing a whole new generation of welding scientists. It’s a promising shift, and they are successfully carrying our shared mission forward. Among them are my sons.
— Yevhen Oksarovych Paton
Academician EO Paton with his sons Vladimir and Boris in the design department of the institute
Biography
He had to defend his diploma on the very first day of the war. Due to the emergency situation, all graduates were allowed to present simultaneously. On his way to the Polytechnic Institute, near what is now Victory Square in Kyiv, Borys came under fire from German aircraft.
"We were young and reckless: I couldn’t think of anything better than hiding from the bombs in the doorway of the nearest house — as if it were just rain. Luckily for me, that house wasn’t hit. Under those circumstances, I graduated from the institute and was assigned to Leningrad, to the Zhdanov Shipbuilding Plant, where I had completed my pre-diploma internship. It was a well-known enterprise, and I really liked Leningrad."
— Borys Yevhenovych Paton
But the war changed his path: he was reassigned to Gorky, to the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant, where he worked until February 1942. At his father’s request, he was then transferred to the Institute of Electric Welding, which had been evacuated from Kyiv and relocated to Nizhny Tagil. They lived and worked on the premises of a tank factory, conducting research directly on the shop floor. In an unprecedentedly short time, their work produced remarkable results.
They developed modes, methods, and technologies that ensured high welding speed and exceptional seam quality. The complexity and pioneering nature of these studies is evidenced by the fact that Nazi Germany never succeeded in using automatic welding for tank armor, and the United States only adopted it in 1944. Day after day, month after month, the “Paton seam” reliably fused the legendary T-34 and other combat vehicles into a single monolithic structure. It proved stronger than the armor itself — even under direct fire, it continued to hold together damaged armor plates. It was a true scientific feat by the Institute and its leaders.
Academician Yevhen Oksarovych Paton with his sons Volodymyr and Borys in the Institute’s design department, 1950
At first, it was difficult — his knowledge, experience, and authority still did not match his father’s. Being his father’s deputy was one thing; leading the Institute was another. But, as the saying goes, “It’s not only saints who make clay pots.”
— Borys Yevhenovych Paton
At the age of 35, Borys Yevhenovych Paton became Director of the Institute of Electric Welding and held this position until 2021.
The practical implementation of many space exploration ideas is impossible without the use of welding metals directly in space — one of the most promising and universal methods for joining materials.
— Yevhen Oksarovych Paton
In the space technology laboratory of the E.O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding. From left to right: B.E. Paton, V.V. Stesin, Y.I. Drabovych, O.A. Zahrebelnyi. 1967
S.E. Savitska performs cutting, welding, soldering, and coating operations in open space outside the Salyut-7 space station. 1984
In the 1960s, Paton began developing a device capable of performing welding in space under conditions of weightlessness and vacuum. The research team faced numerous technical challenges that needed to be overcome. In particular, welding in space required overcoming deep vacuum, microgravity, extreme temperature fluctuations, radiation, and varying electromagnetic fields from Earth and other celestial bodies.
After extensive research and experimentation, Paton concluded that the most promising methods for space applications included electron beam welding, low-pressure compressed arc welding, fusion techniques, and butt welding.
The “Vulcan” was the first welding device sent into Earth orbit. It enabled the first-ever welding operations aboard a spacecraft.
It operated using automatic electron beam welding, compressed arc at low pressure, and melting techniques. The first welding in open space took place in 1984, using Paton’s “Universal Hand Tool.” This tool allowed astronauts to not only cut metal in a vacuum but also to perform welds of various seam types.
“On the eve of May 1, 1975, Volodymyr Vasyliovych Shcherbytsky called and told me: ‘Suslov wants you to become President of the Union Academy.’ I said, ‘No, Volodymyr Vasyliovych, I won’t go.’ He replied, ‘How can you not go! This is Moscow — the CPSU Central Committee. Brezhnev wants this too.’ I answered that I had no ambition to go to Moscow. I have my Institute here, the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences...”
— Borys Yevhenovych Paton
“This is an unacceptable location for building a nuclear power plant.”This conclusion — supported by arguments such as the station’s proximity to Kyiv, the Pripyat and Dnipro Rivers (whose water is used by 70% of Ukraine’s population), and other factors — was signed by B.E. Paton and submitted to the leadership of Ukraine.This was clearly an act of great personal courage and high civic responsibility on the part of Borys Paton.
Academician V.G. Baryakhtar
Throughout May and the summer months, the President of the Academy began his workday early in the morning and finished late at night.Formulating scientifically grounded priority actions and recommendations to mitigate the consequences of the reactor explosion required first-hand familiarity with the situation, close cooperation with the USSR Government Commission, the Kyiv City Commission, coordination with numerous Academy institutes, the ability to choose optimal strategies, and the management of many participants.The President personally assumed the bulk of these complex and highly responsible tasks.Working daily — including weekends — he defined the Academy’s main activities, chaired the final sessions of the Presidium’s emergency commission, approved the measures proposed, and ensured their implementation.
B.М. Malinowski
He did not pursue a career — he worked. That was the natural state of his soul. It’s hard to name a single driving force: scientific curiosity, the need for action, or service to society — probably all three played a role.
М.М. Amosov
There is an irresistible force of Ukraine in men like O.O. Chalapchiy.
— Borys Yevhenovych Paton
Remember: we were not born to stand still. Do not let the current of action weaken. Value every day and every hour. Even the ancient thinkers understood — man, human life — is the measure of all things. Your life is no exception…
— Borys Yevhenovych Paton
I repeat: youth is everything. Without youth, there are no scientific schools — and scientific schools are the foundation of all science.
— Borys Yevhenovych Paton
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