Devising a Safer Way to Find Landmines

As his family endured two months of Russian occupation in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, “hearing explosions and constantly fearing for their life,” Ivan Dudiak  (Ukraine, UWC East Africa, Harvey Mudd ’26) began to wonder if drones could be used to safely scan his homeland for landmines.       

De-mining in Ukraine currently relies on manual work by combat engineers, which is costly and dangerous. Ivan and a fellow student attached a modular system to existing drones for rapid scanning of minefields, in a project they named Sokil, “falcon” in Ukrainian.  

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine and, in particular, the destruction in my Kherson region prompted me to look for ways to recover the natural beauty of my home,” Ivan writes. “I think we have a responsibility to help the place we’re from, and only those born there would care deepest about it.”         

Last summer the Sokil team, now grown to ten members, field-tested their newest prototype and won “Best Student Presentation” at a New York on systems and technologies for remote sensing applications. “We are a technically oriented team with a big heart,” Ivan notes, “to use our skills toward ideas that matter and can save lives.”      

His family is now relatively safe in western Ukraine, and “I’ve been away from my country and my people for three years already,” Ivan adds. “Sokil makes me feel like my team and I are making tangible steps to make the world a better place.  

“I am grateful to Harvey Mudd’s community and education for inspiring me to use my talents and skills to the benefit of society, and I’m grateful to UWC for building an understanding of the importance of using my education to create a positive impact at home and around the world.”

This profile is part of the “Undergraduates in Action” series from the 2025 Annual Report.