Dr. Konstantin Pokhodnya

Konstantin (Kostia) Igorovych Pokhodnya, an accomplished materials scientist and a devoted family man, passed away on June 24, 2026, surrounded by his loving family. He will be missed by his wife of 48 years, Sophia Pokhodnya; daughters Yuliya (Thomas Falz) of Fairfield, CT and Katia (Phil Imus) of Baltimore, MD; his adoring grandchildren — Daniel, Sophia, Lukas, and Roman — and all those whose life he brightened with a quick joke and a warm smile. He was predeceased by his parents, Igor and Galina Pokhodnya and his brother, Alexander Pokhodnya.

Kostia was born in Donetsk, Ukraine, when it was still the Soviet Union, to two young scientists. At age two, Kostia’s family moved to Kyiv, where he lived most of his life and met his best friend for life, Andrey Bibikov. From an early age, Kostia set high academic goals for himself, earning a place at Kyiv’s top mathematics school and later at the prestigious Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. There, he thrived — balancing the study of molecular and chemical physics with playing guitar and chess. After receiving his PhD, Kostia returned to Kyiv to join the Physics of Organic Conductors and Semiconductors Laboratory at the Institute of Semiconductor Physics. Although the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991 interrupted his scientific career in Ukraine, he forged ahead, taking on positions abroad before immigrating to the United States in 1998. He first joined the University of Utah and later became a Senior Research Scientist at North Dakota State University.

Although Kostia racked up numerous scientific publications (cited over two thousand times), his biggest pride and joy was his family. He met the love of his life, Sophia, in 1976 at a student camp near Odesa, Ukraine. Together, they faced challenges of historic proportions but worked hard to create a home for their girls filled with delicious food, good books, and easy laughs. Kostia and Sophia supported each other’s careers, which often took them all over Europe and beyond. Many card games were played on the beaches of Greece and Croatia, art enjoyed in London and Paris museums, and mushrooms picked on hikes in Slovenia and the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine. Wherever he went, Kostia made friends easily — people were drawn to his gregarious and open spirit. His light shone brightest on his grandchildren. Kostia loved playing cards with Roman, walking Lukas to school, fishing on the pier with Daniel, and watching Sophia dance. No place felt more like home than Deda’s warm bear hug.

Family and friends are invited to gather at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1 at Spear Miller Funeral Home in Fairfield, CT. A memorial service will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by a burial at Oak Lawn Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Come Back Alive Foundation (https://savelife.in.ua/en/), a non-profit supporting Ukraine’s defenders by providing critical equipment, training, and life-saving assistance. This cause was important to Kostia because he deeply cared about Ukraine and its fight for freedom and independence.

May his memory be eternal. Вічна пам'ять.