As an employee of the laboratory of aerial methods of Kyiv University, Ponomarenko served in various institutions, dealing with geodesy and topography.

She studied numerous plans and descriptions of Ukrainian cities of different eras, primarily Kyiv; among the materials considered by her, many were discovered and introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.

Found in Leningrad a manuscript of the book "History of the City of Kyiv..." by Maxim Berlinsky, which was considered lost (now published).

[3] Starting from the 1960s, Ponomarenko studied the toponymy of Kyiv, compiled an extensive card index on the history of city names.

Since 1970, Ponomarenko was a member of the City Commission on Names and Memorable Signs, the initiator of the introduction and revival of a number of Kyiv toponyms.