acebookHistory of Institute of Structural Mechanics
1899–1939
The history of the Institute of Structural Mechanics dates back to the foundation of the Czech university of Technology in Brno in 1899. Founders of the school were aware of the fact that the technical education can not get along without theoretical grounds. Therefore, besides the departments of mathematics and physics also the department of general mechanics and hydromechanics were established. The first professor at the institute was Václav Řehořovský. The names and coverage of lectured subjects reflected the potential at that time:
- general mechanics (statics = structural analysis),
- graphical statics,
- technical mechanics.
1945–1970
After the resettlement of university’s activity in 1945 the education of Structural mechanics was provided by three departments. The active department at the Faculty (formerly branch) of Civil Engineering was, under the leadership of professor Záruba, the institute of Structural mechanics. Later on, the department of mechanics, steel structures and bridges was founded under the leadership of prof. ing. Dr. Ferdinand Lederer, DrSc. In 1951 the Military Academy of Technology was established which resulted in reduction of the University of Technology to University of Civil Engineering. At the Faculty of Architecture the new department of technical mechanics was founded at that time. The department was renamed to Department of building statics and finally to Department of mechanics and building construction. The founder of the department and also the first head was prof. Ing. Dr. Alois Král, dr.h.c. In connection of amalgamation of the Faculty of Architecture and Faculty of Civil Engineering were merged in 1960 the Institute of Structural Mechanics was established. Prof. Ing. Dr. Zbyněk Drahoňovský, CSc was named to the position of the head. During 1962–1970 the Institute was chaired by prof. Ing. Dr. Vladimír Kolář, DrSc. The decade during which the Institute was chaired by the two last named professors (who also lectured and function there) can be qualified as an exceptionally successful period of evolution. At that time, the Institute became pedagogically and scholarly widely recognized institute.
1970–1990
At the Institute there was nobody politically suitable to chair the Institute since 1970 and during the period of so-called political normalization. The normalization period negatively influenced also the team: five experienced lecturers had to leave the Institute and also three teachers went into exile. Moreover, under the guise of “personnel reinforcement” some staff enrolled the Institute even without necessary professional experience and profile. As lately as in 1971, Doc. Ing. Jaroslav Čermák, CSc (who was called from the Military Academy of Technoloty) became the head. After his retirement prof. Ing. Jiří Novotný, DrSc was named the head of the Institute.
1990–2000
Prof. Ing. Břetislav Teplý, CSc. headed the Institute during the period of 1990–1999. At that time besides the classical disciplines an increased attention has been paid to education of Finite Element Method, Nonlinear Mechanics and newly established subjects of Reliability of Structures and Fracture Mechanics. Moreover, all basic subjects were taught also in English since 1994. During the coursework of professional and scientific research topics related to structural reliability were pursued and also methodologies of estimation of durability (especially for reinforced concrete structures and considering their gradual degradation). Great attention has been paid to structural treatments in connection with panel buildings’ rehabilitation, dynamic solution of complicated systems and problems of cables structures. Thanks to the new environment, an international cooperation with universities in Innsbruck, Kyoto, Opole, Weimar, Newcastle and Lausanne has been established. Many research projects were granted to the Institute by the Grant agency of Czech Republic, Ministry of Education and others. During 1999–2000 the Institute was headed by Doc. Ing. Alois Materna, CSc.
2000–2003
For part of the year 2000, the head of the institute was Assoc. Prof. Alois Materna. Shortly after the appointment of Assoc. Prof. Jaroslav Žák as the new head, he left for VŠB–Technical University of Ostrava, where he served as dean.
2003–2024
For 22 years, Prof. Ing. Drahomír Novák, DrSc., served as the head of the institute. During this period, there was a gradual increase in performance, particularly in theoretical but also in applied research. Institute staff were involved in numerous projects funded by GAČR, TAČR, and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, as well as bilateral projects with international partners. Cooperation with foreign institutions developed significantly during this time. Key scientific and research topics included: automation and enhancement of methods for static and dynamic analysis of structural systems with consideration of the real properties of materials, modeling of structural systems interacting with their environment, theory and analysis of cable and suspended structures, analysis of thermoplastic structures, reliability theory and numerical simulation methods, influence of imperfections on the reliability and sensitivity of steel structures, degradation processes and lifespan estimation of structures, fracture mechanics of silicate-based and other materials, fractal aspects of fracture surfaces and cracks, model parameter identification, neural network, buckling, nonlinear dynamic systems, bhaotic behavior, and metamodeling. The qualification structure of the institute improved significantly between 2003 and 2024; while in 2003 there was one professor and three associate professors, by 2024 there were six professors and seven associate professors. The institute provided teaching in the master’s program Civil Engineering, both in full-time and distance formats. It also taught students in the newly introduced bachelor's and follow-up master’s programs. Considerable attention was paid to the use of modern numerical methods and the application of software tools (ANSYS, LS-DYNA, ATENA, NEXIS, SCIA, RFEM).
2024–present
In 2024, Prof. Ing. David Lehký Ph.D. took over as head of the institute.