Saint-Petersburg State Polytechnical University
	STRUCTURAL MECHANICS AND THEORY OF ELASTICITY DEPARTMENT

June 8, 1934 is the birthday of the department "Structural mechanics and theory of elasticity" as of the majority of other existing nowdays departments in Polytechnical university. On that day in accordance with the adopted institute directive, the teaching staff of the Leningrad Industrial institute was divided into faculties and more small-sized subdividings - departments. Laboratories were not included into the structure of faculties, and departments didh't have neither locations, nor auxiliary personnel. The department of structural mechanics and theory of elasticity was established at hydraulic engineering faculty, but wasn't considered to be a faculty department i.e. its teachers were to provide teaching of structural mechanics at all other faculties, where this discipline was in educational plans.

Professors B.G.Galerkin (the head of the department) and N.K.Gorchin, assistant professors A.V.Belov, L.S.Gilman, I.P.Yerokhin, N.A.Kandyba and S.A.Shoustikov, assistant lecturers S.G.Gutman, A.Z.Rotshild, A.D.Sapershtain and S.M.Starostin (new teacher - Ariadna Davydovna Sapershtain, graduated from Civil Engineering institute in 1931 and teached there theoretical mechanics, in one year left the Polytechnical institute) were included into the staff of the department.

In 1934, when scientific degrees and ranks, abolished in 1918, were restored, one of the first scientists in the country who received the doctoral degree was B.G.Galerkin. In September he became the doctor of engineering sciences and in December - the doctor of mathematics and the science and engineering honored worker. It was the recognition of huge Boris Grigoryevich Galerkin's merits in the solution of structural mechanics and theory of elasticity problems, introduction of computational methods to the analysis of buildings, constructions and machines.

On the decision of the USSR government from 22 April 1936 the Governmental Commission for the examination of the Moscow Palace of Soviets (a giant governmental building of 415 m height, which was planned to be built in the ceneter of the city) steel frame walls and overlappings initial project was organized. B.G.Galerkin was appointed a chairman of the Commission. Among nine other members of the Commission there also was N.A.Kandyba. This revealed high authority of the academician and of his scientific school.

At the photo (from left to right): N.K.Gorchin, G.N.Maslov, A.V.Belov, B.G.Galerkin, N.A.Kandyba, S.A.Shoustikov

In 1939 the Institute of Industrial Construction Engineers, wich absorbed the Polytechnical institute civil engineering faculty ten years before, was transformed into the Navy Forces military-construction-engineering school. Teachers of the Leningrad Industrial (Polytechnical) Institute structural mechanics and theory of elasticity department, who also worked in this institute, were included into the staff of the Navy Forces. B.G.Galerkin became general-leutenant and head of the structural mechanics department, professor N.A.Kandyba - colonel, head of the underground constructions department and deputy school headmaster, L.S.Gilman, who defended a doctoral thesis in 1945, became colonel and head of the department, S.S.Golushkevich, in 1945 got a doctoral degree, became professor, head of the reinforced concrete constructions department and colonel, S.A.Shoustikov - professor, head of the metal and wooden constructions department, colonel.

After including into the the Navy Forces staff B.G.Galerkin continued managing the structural mechanics and theory of elasticity department at the hydraulic engineering faculty, but the staff of the department has seriously changed, as many of its former members had to work in the military school. L.S.Gilman and I.P.Yerokhin worked as assistant professors for half-rates up to the beginning of the war, N.K.Gorchin worked as assistant professor for 1,5 rates. Other members of the department staff besides them were: assistant professors Olga Ivanovna Bugayeva, Galerkin's apprentice from Women's Polytechnical institute, from which she graduated in 1921 (she worked at the department since 1936 up to evacuation in March 1942), Alexander Ilyich Botkin and assistant lecturer S.M.Starostin.

In autumn 1940 one more nominal assistant professor - Gavriil Semyonovich Shapiro (1913-1984) appeared at the department. He graduated from the hydraulic engineering faculty in 1935. On B.G.Galerkin's recommendation he also became post-graduate student. For the beginning the post-graduate student has become an external student of the Leningrad University mathematics and mechanics faculty (since 1970-s it almost became mandatory for all young employees of the department). Since 1938 he, as the post-graduate student, conducted exersises in structural mechanics at the transport faculty, and after the defence of a thesis he was left at the faculty to work over doctoral thesis. On the 1st of September he began teaching and on the 9th of September he was sentenced by the Court to 4 months of compulsory works with a residue of a salary quarter. The young teacher mixed up watches arrows - instead of 13 he saw 11 and was late for half of an hour. In that severe time for similar violations of labour discipline he could be punished more seriously. After evacuation in August 1941 G.S.Shapiro didn't return to Polytechnical Institute. He worked in the USSR Academy of Sciences Mechanics institute, since 1956 - in Moscow University, became professor, doctor of sciences.

Due to the transformation of the Industrial Construction Engineers Institute into the military school, part of its students unsuitable for a military service, was transferred to the hydraulic engineering faculty where a speciality "Industrial and civil engineering" was organized.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (World War II) the teachers of the department were recruited to designing and erection managing of the defensive constructions around Leningrad. B.G.Galerkin supervised over a City Defence Headquaters Commission of experts. S.S.Golushkevich and N.A.Kandyba developed the projects of solidifyings, S.M.Starostin supervised over the organization of the defensive works around the institute and then - in the whole district. Since July 1941 Academician Galerkin was also included into the staff of the Commission, working over realization of the defensive inventions. In January 1942 S.S.Golushkevich was appointed a deputy head of the tanks ice ferry across Ladoga lake operation. He calculated the minimal admissible ice thickness and went across the lake on the head machine. In March, after successful completion of the operation, he returned to the school. This experience was used as a theme of his doctoral thesis, which was defended in January, 1945.

After evacuation of the institute in March 1942 at first to Pyatigorsk and then to Tashkent the structural mechanics and theory of elasticity department was almost lifeless. N.K.Gorchin and A.I.Botkin died during the blockade of Leningrad, G.N.Maslov died in Tashkent. Only S.M.Starostin was representing the department. In 1943 he defended a candidate thesis, became assistant professor and director of the Tashkent unit of the institute.

On July 12, 1945 B.G.Galerkin died in Moscow. The scientific inheritance, left by him is huge not in the quantity of the publications (convention of his transactions issued in 1952-1953 was laid in two volumes). The transactions of the academician in the field of structural mechanics and theory of elasticity promoted the introduction of modern numerical methods to the researches in the sphere of structures analysis. B.G.Galerkin, in particular, has developed effective methods of an exact and approximate integration of the theory of elasticity equations, has become one of the theory of plates bending founders, has offered the form of elastic equilibrium equation solution (with three biharmonic functions) for three-dimensional theory of elasticity problems.

	Saint-Petersburg State Polytechnical University
	STRUCTURAL MECHANICS AND THEORY OF ELASTICITY DEPARTMENT