Famous Ukrainian inventor and scout Lubomyr Romankiv has died in the United States. Photo

Ukrainian scientist and member of the Plast scouting organization Lubomyr Romankiv died on June 28 in the United States at the age of 93. He was a leading scientist at IBM, the world's largest computer manufacturer, and helped invent thin-film magnetic heads for hard drives that completely changed the computer industry and accelerated the recording of information by millions of times.

Together with the IBM team, Romankiv produced the world's first hard disks, which were acquired by Apple, and soon presented the first desktop computer. Ukrainian historian and public figure, Plast member Yurii Yuzych, reported the loss on his Facebook page.

"Tonight (Ukrainian time), Ukrainian inventor Chief Scout Lubomyr Romankiv died in the United States. He was the third Ukrainian Chief Scout who raised and invested at least $500,000 in the development of Plast in the 1990s. He professionalized the central office of Plast in Ukraine," he said.

It is largely due to the efforts of Liubomyr Romankiv that Ukrainian scouting has become the most massive youth movement in Ukraine, added Yurii Yuzych.

In addition, Mr. Romankiv is the author and co-author of more than 65 patents. In particular, it was he who, while working as a leading computer engineer, came up with the idea of recording and reading information from hard disks.

"Every time we turn on the computer, at least seven inventions of Ukrainian Romankiv start working. His name is in the US Hall of Fame," the historian said.

Liubomyr Romankiv was born on April 17, 1931, in the city of Zhovkva, Lviv region. At the age of 12, he became a member of the then-secret Plast, which under the Nazi occupation operated under the legal name of the Educational Communities of Ukrainian Youth (ECUY).

After the Second World War, he continued his scouting, joining Plast in 1946 in the Bavarian city of Berchtesgaden.

He was also a member of the "Wolves" group in the Sviatoslav the Conqueror hut. He completed the entire youth Plast educational program, achieving the degree of Plast Scout.

For over ten years, he devoted a total of ten years to educational work in Plast, working with children. After moving to the United States in 1958-1961, he worked as a youth educator in Boston.

In 1957, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Alberta. Later he completed his master's degree. He went on to earn a PhD in metallurgy and materials science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1962. He has authored more than 150 articles and edited ten volumes of proceedings of various technical symposia.

In 1993, he was awarded the Perkin Medal, the highest honor of the U.S. Chemical Society, for his outstanding achievements.

In 1994, the Electrochemical Society of the United States awarded Lubomyr Romankiv the Vittorio de Nora Medal. In the same year, he received the Morris Liebman Memorial Award from the IEEE.

In 2000 and 2001, he was named Inventor of the Year.

The scientist has received 13 awards for outstanding inventions and contributions to science from IBM and 25 awards for inventions and achievements.

In March 2012, Lubomyr Romankiv was inducted into the U.S. National Hall of Fame. He is one of only ten inventors (along with Steve Jobs) to receive this honor.

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