Russian National Committee
and All-Russia Congresses
on Theoretical and Applied
Mechanics
Russian National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Vernadsky Avenue, 101, bldg.1, Moscow, 117526, Russia
e-mail: gkmikh@viniti.ru
The Russian National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (the
USSR National Committee) was established in 1956 in connection with the
enlargement of international scientific contacts allowed at that time by the
USSR Government. The By-laws of the National Committee, approved in 1957 by the
USSR Academy of Sciences, provided for a broad spectrum of activity of the
Committee with entering in the International Union of Theoretical and Applied
Mechanics (IUTAM), with arranging various scientific-organizational meetings in
the country, including All-Union Congresses on Mechanics. Academician
N.I.Muskhelishvili was elected as the first President of the Committee and held
this position during 20 years. Later on, the Committee was headed by
Academician M.A.Lavrentiev, and since 1981 by Academician I.F.Obraztsov.
Academician G.G.Chernyi was elected as President in 1995.
The
initial staff of the Committee (48 persons) was approved by the Presidium of
the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1956. Subsequent augmentation of the Committee
members was realised by (secret-ballot) elections at the sessions of the
General Assembly of the Committee. Now the Committee has 295 members. The
greatest USSR/Russian scientists in various fields of Mechanics were Members of
the Committee: Academicians (i.e., full members of the USSR/Russian Academy of
sciences): I.I.Artobolevsky, N.N.Bogolyubov, V.N.Chelomei, A.A.Dorodnitsyn,
M.V.Keldysh, S.A.Khristianovich, P.Ya.Kochina, M.A.Lavrentiev,
M.D.Millionshchikov, N.N.Moiseev, N.I.Muskhelishvili, A.I.Nekrasov,
V.V.Novozhilov, G.I.Petrov, Yu.N.Rabotnov, B.V.Raushenbakh, L.I.Sedov,
V.V.Struminsky, N.N.Yanenko, B.N.Yuriev, Ya.B.Zeldovich. At present we have
among the members of the Committee Academicians V.V.Bolotin, F.L.Chernousko,
G.G.Chernyi, K.V.Frolov, A.Yu.Ishlinsky, D.M.Klimov, V.V.Kozlov, N.N.Krasovsky,
G.I.Marchuk, V.M.Matrosov, A.S.Monin, D.E.Okhotsimsky, Yu.S.Osipov,
V.V.Rumyantsev and others.
Since
1960 the National Committee began to organise regularly All-Union Congresses on
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (at first, one - in four years; after - one
in five years). In the period from 1960 till 1991 seven Congresses were
arranged: in Moscow (1960, 1964, 1968, and 1991), Kiev (1976), Alma-Ata (1981),
and Tashkent (1986). Complicated economico-political situation did not allow to
organize a Congress in 1996. The regular 8th All-Russia Congress on Theoretical
and Applied Mechanics was held in Perm (August 2001).
All-Union
Congresses on Mechanics (especially the first three held in Moscow) attracted
an extremely high interest of the scientific and engineering community. The 1st
Congress (1960) has gathered about 3000 participants, the 2nd Congress (1964) –
about 5000 participants, and the 3rd (1968) – more than 7000 persons – a number
which is at a bound of the real possibility to take part in one conference of
such type. Many foreign guests also presented papers at those Congresses,
including several greatest scientists from the leading countries of the world:
B.Budiansky, J.P.Den Hartog, D.Ch.Drucker, N.Hoff, W.T.Koiter, H.W.Liepmann,
Sir James Lighthill, R.D.Mindlin, W.Prager, E.Reissner, R.S.Rivlin, M.Roy,
I.N.Sneddon and others.
In
1972 (instead of a regular All-Union Congress) the 13th International Congress
of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics was organized in Moscow.
The
following All-Union Congresses were held in main scientific centres of the
former republics of the USSR.
Along
with All-Union Congresses, the National Committee arranged during thirty years
(1961–1990) – in frame of the IUTAM activity – eleven International Symposia on
actual problems of Mechanics: theory of non-linear vibrations (Kiev, 1961),
applications of the theory of functions in continuum mechanics (Tbilisi, 1963),
cosmical gas dynamics (Crimea, 1969), non-steady high-velocity water flows
(Leningrad, 1971), group-theoretic methods in mechanics (Novosibirsk, 1978),
theory of shells (Tbilisi, 1978), non-linear waves of deformations (Tallinn,
1982), laminar-turbulent transfer (Novosibirsk, 1984), non-linear acoustics
(Novosibirsk, 1987), magneto-hydrodynamic of liquid metals (Riga, 1988),
dynamical problems of rigid-elastic systems and structures (Moscow, 1990),
separated flows and jets (Novosibirsk, 1990). The last IUTAM Symposium in
Russia was on Optimal Control of Mechanical Systems (Moscow, 1992).
The
8th All-Russia Congress on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (Perm, 23–29
August 2001) worked, according a tradition, in three sections: I.
General and Applied Mechanics (with subsections: Analytical Mechanics and
Motion Stability, Control and Optimisation of Mechanical Systems, Vibrations of
Mechanical Systems, Mechanics of Systems of Solid and Deformable Bodies,
Mechanics of Space Flight, Mechanics of Machines and Robots); II. Fluid
and Gas Mechanics (with subsections: General and Applied Hydrodynamics, General
and Applied Gas Dynamics, Hydrodynamic Instability and Turbulence,
Physico-Chemical Hydrogasdynamics, Hydrogasdynamics of Multiphase Media,
Hydromechanical Problems in Microgravity, Combustion and Detonation); III.
Deformable Solid Mechanics (with subsections: Elasticity and Viscoelasticity
Theory, Plasticity and Creep Theory, Waves in Continuous Media, Fracture and
Damage Mechanics, Structural Mechanics, Non-Classic Models in Deformable Solid
Mechanics). Besides, out of the frames of these three sections, five
independent subsections worked at the Congress: Biomechanics, Problems in
Mechanics of Natural Processes, Mechanics of Technological Processes, Teaching
and History of Mechanics, Progressive Computer Technologies in Mechanics. The
above-mentioned list of Congress subsections demonstrates, by itself, the
enormous scale of problems of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics covered by the
Congress programme.
The
Congress was held under the guidance and patronage of the Russian National
Committee on Theoretical and Applied mechanics, Institute of Continuum
Mechanics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Perm State
University, Perm State Technical University and the Perm Regional
Administration, under additional financial support of the Russian Foundation of
Fundamental Researches, of Federal Specific Programme «State Support for
Integration of Higher Education with the Fundamental Science» and of several
enterprises from Perm.
The
Organising Committee of the Congress worked under the guidance of G.G.Chernyi
(Chairman), D.M.Klimov, G.A.Lyubimov, V.P.Matveenko, G.K.Mikhailov, N.F.Morozov
(Vice-Chairmen), V.A.Polyansky, G.S.Tsaplina (scientific secretaries). The
Local Organising Committee presided by V.V.Malanin, T.I.Margolina,
V.P.Matveenko has ensured an extremely high level of preparation and execution
of the Congress.
Despite
of economical difficulties of our time, 1077 scientists, engineers and
representatives of higher schools took part in the Congress, including 1034
persons from 70 Russian cities, 31- from 8 CIS countries, and 12 - from 7 «far
foreign countries». 197 young scientists were among them, whose participation
was supported by a special material fund.
Totally
852 papers were presented at all sections and subsections. The following
lectures were given at the opening sessions of sections: «On Routh equations
and variational principles» by V.V.Rumyantsev, «Dynamics of controlled motions
of multi-link systems on a plane» by F.L.Chernousko, «Hamiltonian systems,
statistical mechanics and equilibrium thermodynamics» by V.V.Kozlov, «Some
problems of the stability and non-linear vibrations of Hamiltonian systems» by
A.P.Markeev, «Influence of the energy release in domains of electrical
discharges near bodies moving in air on their aerodynamical characteristics» by
G.G.Chernyi, «Initiation of gas detonation in an open space» by V.A.Levin,
«Powerful shock waves and extremal states of the matter» by V.E.Fortov,
«Mechanics of mixing of viscoplastic media» by L.M.Klimov.
It
is planned to convene the next Congress in five years (2006).
A
regular session of the General Assembly of the Russian National Committee on
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics took place during the work of the Congress.
80 new members of the Committee and the new staff of its Presidium (for
2001-2006) have been elected at the session. Academician G.G.Chernyi was
re-elected as the President of the Committee.