Pavlo Plotko

I am a PhD student at DESY. I am a high-energy astrophysicist and I have a keen interest in outreach and bouldering.

Young Scientists’ Conference on Astronomy and Space Physics (Ukraine)

The premier international conference in Ukraine for bachelor, master, PhD students, and young postdocs. Unique to this conference is that its Local Organizing Committee (LOC) consists solely of students. My first engagement with this conference was in 2013 when I presented a poster. The following year, I joined the LOC, while in my first year of my Bachelor. By 2018, I had become the secretary of the conference, and by 2021, I was named the chairman of the “High-Energy Astrophysics” section.

  • Chair “High energy astrophysics” section [2021 – Current]
  • Local Organizing Committee [2014- Current]
  • Secretary of Local Organizing Committee [2018 - 2020]

Ukrainian International Cosmic Ray Day 2022 and 2023

We partnered with DESY (2022 and 2023) and Auger (2023) to host the International Cosmic Ray Day for Ukrainian school students. Three organizers were involved. In 2022, we had four mentors and 16 participants; in 2023, there were five mentors and 20 participants.

Astronomy Battles Tournament by AstroSendbox

AstroSendbox is a nationwide Ukrainian astronomy competition designed for high school and undergraduate university students. You can learn more on the official website. I liaise with sponsors from Germany and assist in organizing the event. Additionally, I’m a judge for the tournament.

DESY Ukraine Summer School 2024, DESY Ukraine Winter School 2023

I was involed in organizing of the

Workshop “Presentation of scientific results 2021” for Ukrainian students

Main Organizer. Series lectures to help the Ukrainian astronomy student improve their presentation and writing skills. One of the lectures was integrated into the DESY-Ukrainian winter school.

Judge Committee:

  • International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics Ukraine [2022 – Current]
  • Astronomy Battles Tournament by AstroSendbox Ukraine [2021 – Current]
  • Experimental Physics Olympiad for school students Ukraine [2014 – 2021]

Helping with organizing:

  • Laboratory Practicum in Vacuum Physics DESY (a tutor for Ukrainian kids);
  • Universe on Tour 2023 Munich, APPEC Town Meeting 2022(Chair of roundtables);
  • NASA International Space Apps Challenge 2018 (230 participants);
  • Global Hack Weekend 2018 (1300 participants);
  • Data Scientarium 2017 (300 participants);
  • X Reality Hack 2017 (600 participants);
  • IT Forum Kyiv 2016 (200 participants);
  • Web Standards Days Kyiv 2016 (200 participants);
  • Media Hack Weekend 2016 (700 participants);