The history of the Department of Technology of Inorganic Substances and Electrochemical Industry of the Vyatka state University is connected with the creation of the Department of electrochemical industry, the first head of which was appointed T. M.Ovchinnikova.
In different years, the Department was also headed by Yu.P. Khranilov and V. A. Likhachev. Since 1987 to the present days, the Department is headed by Сandidate of technical Sciences, Professor S.V. Shishkina.
The staff of the department train bachelors in the direction «Chemical Technology», also there are magistracy program (direction «Chemical Technology») and the post-graduate program (direction «The technology of electrochemical processes and corrosion protection»). The department conducts scientific research in the field of electrochemistry, the spectrum of which is quite extensive.
Currently, the Department is actively engaged in solving environmental problems of electroplating.
The methods and computer programs of balance calculations of material streams and standards of water consumption developed at the Department are used at the enterprises of Kirov region.
The object of research of the Department staff are also chemical sources of current and corrosion processes of metals. According to the results of this work in the field of current sources acquired 15 inventor's certificates, one of which was implemented.
Researches in the field of high-temperature electrochemistry of systems containing rare earth metals are actively conducted. Professor, doctor of technical Sciences A. V. Kovalevsky, laid the basis of these systems research.
Rare earth metals are traditionally used in metallurgy as alloying additives, and in rapidly developing high-tech industries such as Biomedicine, information technology, environmental protection, energy saving, electronic and electro-optical industries.
They are used for the production of catalysts for the oil refining and automotive industries, luminophores, fiber optics, industrial ceramics, oxygen sensors, lasers, long - life batteries for electric vehicles, film and photographic equipment, superconductors, permanent magnets, high-quality glass.
At the Department there are in two directions of the research work in this area: «Physico-chemical basis of technology for producing rare earth metals and their alloys in salt melts» and «Electrolytic separation of REM from ion melts». As the result of these research work 17 invention's certificates were acquired, 2 of which were introduced at the enterprises of the Kirov region.
Under the guidance of the Department staff, 23 candidates of sciences were trained.
During its existence, the Department has trained more than 2,500 graduates working all over Russia.
Many graduates work in environmental departments of enterprises and in environmental municipal services.
More than two hundred graduates of the Department successfully work at the chemical enterprises of Kirovo-Chepetsk («HaloPolymer», Kirovo-Chepetsky branch of the Uralkhim company).
Among the graduates of the Department, there are 51 Candidates of Science and two Doctors of Sciences.
