By the decree of ministerial Council USSR from June 6, 1961 about creation of Institute of Superhard Materials and tool (ISM) in Kiev was the beginning of our activity.
The organization of such institute was determined by necessity of many industries of country in new tools for high technology of productive processes(machining) of processing of metals and alloys, for building industry, production of mineral wealths, for acceleration of the issue of new nuclear engineering, items of radio electronics, for engineering of assimilation of space. In conditions of an operation of a system planned economics those years the government of country chosen significant volumes of appropriations for construction of the institute, the list and amount of the necessary capital equipment, presses, machine tools, furnaces, analytical scientific and other industrial equipment, materials with the purpose of fast process of scaling, in essence new process for country, of synthetic diamonds in industrial conditions.
In an outcome of creative cooperation of Kiev with the Moscow institute of physics of high pressure AS USSR, using it laboratory method of synthesis of diamond, was in a short time, all for nine months, the big technical problem is solved -  is advanced known and created new equipment of high pressure, the new high-duty equipment for a commercial production of diamond for want of extreme parameters, unattainable earlier in production, on pressure and temperature of heat (above 5 Gpa and about 2000 К) is made. Persevering, without care on time, the self-denying creative activity of the first collective of ISM has allowed ahead of schedule to execute the governmental task and to receive the first 2 thousands of carats (400 g) of synthetic diamonds  in October, 1961.
The joint work of collectives of institutes from Moscow and Kiev went down in domestic history of major scientific and technical achievements of second half of the ХХ century.
Up to an extremity of 1963 on a pilot factory of institute 171 879 carats (more than 34 kg) synthetic diamonds were manufactured, are created various types of new diamond tools for cutting, grinding and polishing materials of low-mach inability rating, natural stone, semiconducting materials, glass, tree, drilling of slits for petroleum and gas, for sharpening hard-alloy tools, editing of abrasive circles are tested in an industrial condition at the various enterprises of Ukraine, Russia, Byelorussia, Baltic republics. One carat of diamond in the tool brought on a comparison with usual abrasive domestic tools economic benefit till 20-50 rubles, and on occasion reached up to 150-200 rubles. It was the present break in quality and productivity of technological processes of hundreds kinds of productions.
Production and application of synthetic diamonds in large volumes, their broad availability on a comparison with natural become actual force of scientific and technical progress of the ХХ century. For 50 years only by subdivisions of institute and pilot factory were made more than 100 tons of synthetic diamonds. This amount corresponds to annual world production (without USSR) in an extremity of the 80-th years of the ХХ century or general annual production of synthetic diamonds in our large country on technology by ISM.
December 30, 1963 reached success by the scientists and by the experts is worthy marked by the governmental awards. On banners of the Kiev and Moscow institutes were attached awards of a Labor Red Banner, and both directors – V.N. Bakul and L.F. Vereshagin were honored of a high rank of the Heroes of a Socialist Labor. Tens experts and workers were awarded with awards and medals. Under the belt of creative group of scientists and experts are one hundred scientific and applied achievements acknowledged in world science. The not prime path to it is represented in the book. Today, in 2011, ISM, carrying the name of the founder V.N. Bakul, celebrates the 50-year's anniversary. Looking back on passed years, we can with pride mark the significant totals of creative transactions of the collective and most significant achievements.
On volumes of production of synthetic diamonds USSR more than 30   years kept a place in the first triple of the world leaders, has supplied diamond independence of defensive and all industry of thousands of the enterprises of import of the necessary tools and high technologies. In large country of a thousand of the enterprises used synthetic diamonds and tools from them only of domestic production. The diamond technologies were transmitted to countries of Comecon, and their export to distant foreign countries - in USA, Japan, European countries has begun.
The institute since a 1963 had the status of head scientific organization of  the country on production process of superhard materials, equipment for their production, creation of new kinds of tools. The new factories in Poltava, Lviv, Yerevan, and Tashkent etc. - total eight were created.
For past period in the institute about 100 varieties of superhard materials  -  diamonds, cubic boron nitride, aggregates on their basis, powders, polycrystals, film materials, the license technologies of deriving nano- and micropowders, growth of large diamond crystals are created.
Fundamental character the scientific researches which are carried out by the collective of ISM, since 1972 member of organizations of the Academy of sciences of Ukraine, have reduced in essential applied outcomes. Particularly, is synthesized undetected in nature of cubic structures boron carbonitride, standing on a scale of hardness on the second place after the diamond. The synthetic diamonds of weight up to 3 Carats of various color scale - from transparent color " of pure water " up to red, yellow, green and even black (most valuable from natural diamonds) are obtained semiconductors very rare in nature and large pure on quality. Up the 90-th of ХХ century it was considered as an insoluble technically problem. Is created new superconducting nanostructural material with a high level of physical mechanical properties of functionality for new engineering.
The new processes of superprecision processing (polishing) of metal mirrors of space equipment, and also high-quality forming of items from scintillation materials for new engineering are developed. Many main developments of ISM are competitive in the world market, are protected by the patents of Ukraine, have demand abroad.
It is necessary to mark significance of activity of V.N. Bakul institute for Ukraine. Considering as a primal problem, advanced by the president of Ukraine V.F. Yanukovich, - up to 2020 to lead Ukraine in the first twenty of advanced developed industrial countries of the world, in the program of practical operations of ISM it is necessary to allocate sectors, which it is possible to achieve only by directed innovative investment policy and scientific technological and industrial operations of the Ukrainian organizations of state and private sectors of economy. Such active work of the institute for the last 50 years, generated potential in mechanical engineering, instrument making, mountain business, a military-defensive industry allow to ensure fulfillment of new problems in the solution of the indicated problem. The materials of all sections of the book testify to it.
The achievements of the employees of the institute are marked by 17 state premiums of USSR, Ukraine, by two international premiums, ten international awards, premium of Lenin's Comsomol for the young scientists, 11 premiums after the name of honored scientist of Ukraine and premiums of the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and city administration for the young scientists.
The intellectual property of the institute makes 3000 copyright certificates and patents, 115 monographies, more than 8000 scientific articles, 20   license agreements. The scientific works of the leading scientists of the institute are widely quoted by the foreign and domestic scientists. The journal "Superhard Materials" comes out simultaneously in Russian and English languages and is included in prestigious for reviewed and quoted works of world sources of information.
The employees of the institute protected 51 doctoral and 303 Candidate thesises.
Nowadays the direction and collective of the institute is heading to innovative investment activity development, extension of communications with known international centers of science, realization of joint researches on modern scientific equipment, extension of training abroad, on broad participation in international conferences and symposiums. The special attention is given to preparation of the young scientific experts, their growth in post graduate courses and doctoral candidacy.
With hope and confidence in a bright perspective of development of science in Ukraine and the augmentation of achievements of our institute creatively is working intense the collective of V.N. Bakul Institute for Superhard Materials, respected and wide known in the world.
N.V. Novikov, D.Т.S., Prof.,
Deserved figure of science
and engineering of Ukraine,
academician of NAS of Ukraine