Eric Lusito
Travelling in Ukraine in 2021, I met in the city of Kharkiv a scientist who agreed to show me his laboratory classified as "National Treasure of Ukraine". I discovered a fascinating universe that reminded me of the comic books of my childhood. My curiosity was aroused and I decided to find out more, embarking on a journey that took me from Ukraine to Georgia, Latvia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Romania. Finally, I returned to Kharkiv at the end of 2023 to find out how scientists are facing up to the war.
INSTITUTES is a documentary project that bear witness to the human unstoppable quest for knowledge. Over the past hundred years, science and technology have deeply transformed our societies. The project highlights an overshadowed heritage that deserves more attention. Synchrotron, high voltage laboratory, nuclear research reactor, radio telescope, cyclotron, linear accelerator, stellarator... are like science sculptures. The photographic work focuses on utterly unique scientific installations, spanning one hundred years of physics all the way to today's state-of-the-art laboratories.
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Specific publications on the consequences of the war for Ukrainian scientists:
-Physics World (UK): Physics in Ukraine: scientific endeavour lives on despite the Russian invasion
-Science (US): A shattered window to the radio sky - Amid Russian attacks, Ukrainian astronomers fight to salvage a unique observatory
