CTR welcomes Ukrainian scholar Oleksandr Bondarenko for collaborative transportation research
The Center for Transportation Research (CTR) is proud to welcome Associate Professor Oleksandr Bondarenko to Knoxville for the month of July. Visiting from the Ukraine’s #1 technical university, the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Bondarenko is engaging with UT researchers to share knowledge and cultivate long-term international research partnerships.
During a presentation to UT researchers on July 7th, 2026, Bondarenko provided valuable insights into his home country and institution. Additionally, he detailed his cutting-edge engineering research, which holds significant implications for the future of clean energy and transportation technology:
- Optimizing Battery Lifespan & Performance: His lab’s recent work focuses on developing specialized DC-DC converters for active battery-balancing systems. By managing energy transfer between individual cells, his research aims to mitigate cell imbalance in multi-module lithium-ion battery packs.
- Power Converters for Specialized Electro-Technologies: Bondarenko also discussed his expertise in modeling power electronics, including creating innovative solutions to problems in the medical world.
About the Exchange Program
This valuable exchange is made possible by the BridgeUSA Ukraine Program for Resilience and Reconstruction (UPRR), an initiative dedicated to fostering critical international research collaborations.
BridgeUSA UPRR builds links between Ukrainian and U.S. scholars for long-term collaboration on joint research, shared pedagogy, course development, and publications. By fostering lasting and productive partnerships of Ukrainian universities with U.S. institutions of higher education, these programs aim to help educate and train professionals critical to Ukraine’s capacity to recover and rebuild.
The program includes a month-long visit to a U.S. university where scholars may engage in research, observe classes in their field of study, develop new courses or course materials, deliver presentations and lectures, explore U.S. higher education administrative policies and culture, and attend conferences in their academic fields.
CTR is honored to host Associate Professor Oleksandr Bondarenko for the month of July. This partnership is part of our ongoing commitment to advancing global innovation and shaping the next generation of transportation technologies.