Ivan Puluj — the first Ukrainian scientist of Nobel caliber: through the lens of scientific integrity

Based on the significant expansion of access in Ukraine to original 19th-century world scientific literature, and the growing culture of preserving historical memory in the field of science and technology—as exemplified by numerous university-led digital initiatives worldwide—this work offers a new interpretation of the scientific achievements of the eminent Ukrainian experimental physicist Ivan Puluj, in comparison with those of his contemporaries. Drawing on the criteria for Nobel laureates as formulated by the administrators of the inaugural prize in 1901, the study rigorously demonstrates that limiting recognition to Wilhelm Röntgen alone was unjustified, and that the candidacy of our compatriot possessed notable advantages over his closest competitors. It is shown that Puluj’s scientific contributions were effectively silenced by represent-atives of the dominant imperial scientific schools of the time. This pattern of omission persists even in the materials of such a democratic source of information as the modern global Wikipedia. In this context, the work underscores the vital importance of cultivating principles of scientific integrity—principles consistently exemplified by both Michael Faraday and Ivan Puluj.