Oleksandr Mykolaiovych Miliakh: Commemorating the 95th Anniversary of His Birth

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Oleksandr Mykolaiovych Miliakh (29 August 1906 – 25 October 1985) was an outstanding scientist in the field of electrodynamics, Doctor of Technical Sciences (1954), Professor (1962), and Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (1964). He was awarded the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology for the development of the theory of inductive-capacitive converters and the creation of stabilized current systems based on them for powering electrical and electronic equipment (1975), as well as the H. F. Proskura Prize of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for his monograph Three-Degree Electrical Machines (1983). He was named an Honored Worker of Science of the Ukrainian SSR (1981) and was decorated with numerous Soviet orders and medals.
Oleksandr Mykolaiovych Miliakh (29 August 1906 – 25 October 1985) was an outstanding scientist in the field of electrodynamics, Doctor of Technical Sciences (1954), Professor (1962), and Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (1964). He was awarded the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology for the development of the theory of inductive-capacitive converters and the creation of stabilized current systems based on them for powering electrical and electronic equipment (1975), as well as the H. F. Proskura Prize of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for his monograph Three-Degree Electrical Machines (1983). He was named an Honored Worker of Science of the Ukrainian SSR (1981) and was decorated with numerous Soviet orders and medals.
In 1931, he began working as a design engineer at the Kharkiv branch of Teploelektroproekt. In 1932, he was invited to join the Research Sector of KhETI and enrolled in postgraduate studies at the Department of Central Electric Power Stations. As a postgraduate researcher, O. M. Miliakh was the first in the USSR to develop tensor and matrix methods for calculating electrical circuits, aimed at analyzing normal and emergency operating conditions of complex electrical systems. The results of this research were summarized in his Candidate of Sciences dissertation, A Tensor Method for Calculating Short-Circuit Currents (1936).
He taught at the Kharkiv Electrotechnical Institute (KhETI), where he held the positions of Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Theoretical Foundations of Electrical Engineering, Associate Professor of the Department of Central Electric Power Stations, and Head of the KhETI Postgraduate Studies Sector (1932–1941). 
Beginning in 1941, the talented KhETI graduate served as a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Power Plants and Power Systems of the Institute of Energy of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Scientific Secretary of the Division of Technical Sciences, and a member of the Institute’s Academic Council (1941–1947).
From 1949, he was Head of the Automation and Electrical Apparatus Laboratory at the newly established Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR and also served as a consultant to the Special Projects Department of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences (1949). He held the position of Director (1959–1973) of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (renamed the Institute of Electrodynamics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR in 1963). From 1973 to 1985, he headed the Department of Conversion and Stabilization of Electromagnetic Processes at the Institute of Electrodynamics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.
O. M. Milyakh was the first to propose the creation of three-degree-of-freedom electrical machines. He developed their design concept and investigated the mathematical model of a device incorporating a stationary winding and a three-degree-of-freedom moving three-section winding. The results of these studies were presented in his doctoral dissertation, Fundamentals of the Theory of Electrodynamic Systems with Three Degrees of Freedom of Motion (1954).
His theoretical and experimental research in the field of conversion and stabilization of electromagnetic processes laid the foundation for scientific investigations aimed at developing the theory of three-degree-of-freedom electrical machines. These developments were focused on creating high-speed devices intended for space-scanning applications. The solutions obtained found practical application in the aerospace and aviation industries.
O. M. Milyakh developed the theory of multi-degree-of-freedom electrodynamic systems and laid the foundations of the theory of static converters capable of transforming direct-voltage sources into direct-current sources. He significantly advanced the theory of complex nonlinear electrical circuits and power systems and further extended the theory of multiphase linear systems with irreversible properties. He proposed innovative methods for the conversion and stabilization of electric power parameters using static electromagnetic and semiconductor converters.
The scientist made a substantial contribution to the development of the theory of complex electrical circuits and electrodynamic systems, as well as to methods for investigating electromagnetic processes. He authored more than 200 scientific publications, including six monographs, and held 73 inventor’s certificates. During the period from 1959 to 1973, he published numerous works on the history of electrical engineering and the development of various electrical engineering research fields in Ukraine.
Oleksandr Mykolayovych’s scientific achievements played an important role in the advancement of electrical engineering science both in Ukraine and internationally. Under his leadership, the research team of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (later the Institute of Electrodynamics) achieved significant results that became the foundation for further development of fundamental and applied research in power conversion technology. The theory of multi-degree-of-freedom electrodynamic systems that he developed became a key factor in the establishment and growth of the Ukrainian scientific school of electromechanics.
He passed away on 25 October 1985 in Kyiv. He was buried at Berkovetske Cemetery in Kyiv. By Order No. 53 of the Department for the Protection of Historical, Cultural, and Historic Environment Monuments, dated 4 November 1998, his grave was designated a cultural heritage site of the Podilskyi District of Kyiv.