Inside the online efforts to help Ukrainian scientists

Dnipro is a city in central Ukraine where Vitalii Palchykov, a synthetic organic chemist, lives with his wife and son. He and his family are very nervous when bomb warning sirens go off. It doesn't feel safe to live in the middle of the Russian invasion. Research is out of the question.

The director of the Research Institute of Chemistry and Geology at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University said in an email that any research work involves a high level of focus. It's difficult to achieve that focus when he's constantly following the news.

It is impossible to not look at this. He said that when he sees what is happening with the cities of Ukraine, he has no words to describe it.

Members of the international scientific community have found it hard to ignore the plight of their colleagues in the conflict. In recent weeks, this desire to help has resulted in an earnest and extensive online movement made up of individuals, groups of volunteers, and institutions, which are using the internet and social media to offer Ukrainian scientists and students affected by war all the support they can: jobs, a place to continue

University students who escape from #Ukraine in the middle of their studies, please know that you are very welcome in #helsinkiuni to continue your studies with us. There is no entrance exam or fees. The university is high quality. For more information. One of the offers on social media was posted Saturday by Minna Huotilainen, an educational sciences professor at the University of Helsinki.

Within 48 hours, it had received more than 30,000 likes.

Dear university students who escape from #Ukraine in the middle of your studies, pls know that you are very welcome in Helsinki in @helsinkiuni to continue your studies with us. No entrance exam, no fees. High quality university. Dm for more details. Pls share.

— Minna Huotilainen (@minnahuoti) March 12, 2022

Many Ukrainian scientists will not be able to take advantage of the offers of help from around the world because they are not appreciated by the scientific community. Those who remain in the country are dealing with unimaginable destruction. Sometimes scientists can't get to the border or aren't allowed to cross it. Others have taken up arms to help the Ukrainian military or are volunteering in their cities to deliver clothing, food, and medicine.

The executive director of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine, which provides funding for fundamental and applied research, said she spends most of her time in bomb shelters. Every day she sends a message to the employee chat group asking if everyone is alive. She has not received bad news from the group so far.

Ukrainian researchers are part of the nation. Some of them have died. Some of them are in the military. Some of them are in the defense forces. Some of them have left the country. Polotska was not comfortable revealing her exact location, but she said that some of them are staying inside.

“This could be me”

Andrew Kern, a population geneticist at the University of Oregon, pioneered one of the earliest online assistance efforts. On February 24th, the first day of the Russian invasion, Kern told Ukrainian geneticists to contact him on the internet because his research group wanted to offer support. Kern put together a list of labs willing to support displaced Ukrainian scientists.

folks-- we are putting together a list of labs that could take on / help Ukrainian scientists as they make their way to safety. If you might be able to support a colleague with a position, please add your name here https://t.co/4UcjPvKK0k

— Andrew Kern (@pastramimachine) February 25, 2022

The list quickly grew to more than 200 labs, then 400. Bioinformatics researchers helped Kern adapt his early Google Doc to make it more manageable. They created a page called "Awesome Ukraine Support" that supports Ukrainian refugees more broadly. More than 1,900 labs have signed up to Kern's effort to support Ukrainian scientists, offering internship, fellowships, short and longer-term jobs, places for master's and PhD students, free accommodations, office space, and more.

One of the first things I think of when I see something like this is, "This could be me, this could have been my family."

Others are reaching out to help with personal ties to the conflict. Olexandr Isayev, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, shared an offer for a stay at his lab in Pittsburgh.

Dear Ukrainian brothers and sisters,if you are PhD student, postdoc, or scientist in the field of computational chemistry/data science my lab at @CarnegieMellon might help with a short time stay in the lab, finding other paces or funding. #ScienceForUkraine #compchem Please DM

— Olexandr Isayev (@olexandr) March 1, 2022

Isayev is from Dnipro, the same place as Palchykov. Isayev's family in Ukraine took shelter multiple times a night, which left him unable to sleep for days at a time.

Isayev said that two of the three Ukrainian students who escaped the country and are in Europe had contacted him personally about his offer for help and that his university was looking at their applications. He said that they can't study right now. Some universities in Ukraine are closed to students. There are people in a war zone.

In California, Robert Hunt has opened his lab to Ukrainian students. Hunt is a professor at the University of California Irvine and the director of the UCI Epilepsy Research Center. He was inspired to help after seeing someone else post an offer and telling his own story of how he narrowly escaped New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

Hunt said that after a week of living in his car at a shelter, he reached out to universities about transferring for a semester or two. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't continue my graduate studies.

Science is global, and interconnected

Sanita Reinsone, a digital humanities and autobiographical studies researcher at the University of Latvia and her team are behind the initiative Science for Ukraine.

Science for Ukraine began as a social media account, using the #ScienceForUkraine and #SciforUkraine names. It wanted to spread information about support for Ukrainian scientists and students. The offers to help increased so much that it became difficult for Reinsone to put them all together. The international scientific community was more than willing to join her.

30 countries have volunteer coordinators for Science for Ukraine. The initiative has a dedicated website with an interactive world map with hundreds of pins, as well as being active on social media, where it posts support offers daily. It has collected and published offers of support from 850 institutions across all science and research disciplines around the world.

It is important to reach people not only on the web, but also at the border and in refugee centers.

The organization has grown quickly in a short period of time. This response is not out of the ordinary for the scientific community.

Many institutions have mechanisms in place to promote scientific exchanges and visits according to researchers who spoke to The Verge. People work in many places and depend on each other. Many have worked with a Ukrainian scientist. Some might be working with Ukrainian scientists who live outside of the country.

Many fields and subfields are small and many of us have grown up together as we advanced in our careers.

Some people, like Reinsone, say they were moved to help because of the brutal nature of the war. She said that she was motivated to start the initiative because of the shock, anger and feeling of helplessness she felt at seeing Russia attacking Ukraine.

“Everyone wants to go back home.”

The Ukrainian scientific community has received the resources provided by the individuals, volunteer groups, and institutions with gratitude, although experts say it is difficult for people to take advantage of the opportunities at this time. The growing catastrophe in the country makes research not a priority right now. The focus is on fighting the Russians and staying alive.

Yevheniia Polishchuk is the vice head of the Young Scientists Council at the Ministry of Education and Science in Ukraine and she spoke to The Verge from the city of Krakow in Poland.

Courtesy of the Young Scientists Council at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Most Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country if they are called to fight. Physical limitations are also present. Some Ukrainian scientists are stuck at the border while others can leave cities with intense fighting. Some people don't want to leave their country out of patriotism.

She said that not all Ukrainian scientists have the skills needed to find a job outside the country. Many don't have a good command of English. Others were focused on teaching.

Some of them will leave forever, but I know a lot of researchers who decided to stay. Everyone wants to go home.

The Young Scientists Council expected a lot of scientists to leave the country, but only a small number of petitions for academic migration have been received. Polishchuk encourages those who wish to help to consider offering remote working options.

The future of Ukrainian science

Polotska, the director of the country's national research foundation, said that there is no certainty about the future of science in the country. It's too early to talk about when the war will end because research isn't the priority, she said.

People die in front of you. Polotska said that you have to spend most of your time underground where it is cold and sometimes there is no electricity. Many of our research institutions and universities have been leveled down to the ground, as soon as we win, and there is no doubt that we are going to win.

Polotska said that the foundation wants the international scientific community to stop collaborating with Russia. The Young Scientists Council is asking international colleagues to stop working and funding projects with Belarus, which aided Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, according to Polishchuk.

Courtesy of Vitalii Palchykov

Plans for the future aren't clear for the chemist in Dnipro. On the morning of March 11th, three Russian missiles hit an area of his city densely populated with civilians, despite the fact that things were relatively calm in the city in recent weeks. The attack was close to his home.

He works from home because it is not feasible for him to work in the lab. All of his students are at home. He is using the large amount of data he has on hand to write his papers. He goes to the volunteer center in the city to help deliver clothes, food, sand, and medicine. He helps make Molotov cocktails.

Courtesy of Vitalii Palchykov

People with weapons are walking around with him. Since the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was captured by the Russians, they have prepared more than 1,000 doses of the anti-radiation drug, which can help protect people from some forms of radioactive injury in the event of a disaster. At all times, they carry doses with them.

Scientists in Ukraine will continue to do research after the war. He believes that many young scientists will leave the country to work in Europe, the US, and elsewhere, which made him sad. It will be difficult to find young scientists to work with him.

He doesn't know if he will continue his work in Ukraine. After the war, he plans to use the initiative to search for opportunities.

If we can keep funding for our research, then we can work here in Ukraine. He told The Verge via email that if not, then no. He has received many offers to move with his family to Slovakia and Poland, but he is staying put. He is in need of help in Ukraine.

The dark hour is just before the sun rises.