KIRPICHOV
Viktor Lvovich

Viktor Lvovich Kirpichov was the first lecturer on applied and structural mechanics in St.Petersburg Polytechnical Institute. He was one of the founders of the institute, brilliant organizer of higher school, excellent teacher and versatile scientist.

Viktor Lvovich Kirpichov was born in 1845 in Saint-Petersburg, in the family of military school teacher. He graduated from a military schhol, Mikhailovskaya artillery school and in 1865 from Mikhailovskaya artillery academy, where later he became the teacher of mechanics. Since 1870 V.L.Kirpichov worked in St.Petersburg Technological Institute (professor since 1876), read the courses of materials strength, graphostatics, machinery.

V.L.Kirpichov was an author of polytechnical institutes conception in Russia. According to his ideas, polytechnical institutes had to become centers, where last achivements of science, technics and pedagogics should be concentrated and atmosphere in them should promote students' creative potential development. V.L.Kirpichov wrote, that polytechnical institute graduate should be not only a good specialist in his area, but also a versatile and well-educated person. Besides, engineers' training in polytechnical institutes is much cheaper, than in specialiszed institutes. V.L.Kirpichov actively participated in organizing of Kharkov Polytechnical Institute (he was its first rector since 1885) and Kiev Polytechnical Institute (he was its first rector since 1898).

Last 10 years of V.L.Kirpichov's life were devoted to St.Petersburg State Polytechnical Institute, where he was invited as an experienced specialist in organizing of new institutes, after he had been dismissed from the rector post in Kiev Polytechnical Institute because of students' disturbances in 1902. V.L.Kirpichov took the post of the Petersburg Polytechnical Institute Construction Comission head. Since 1903 V.L.Kirpichov started reading lectures on applied and structural mechanics to our institute first three technical faculties students. V.L.Kirpichov was considered to be a head of Petersburg mechanical scientific school. His disciples were future academicians A.N.Krylov, B.G.Galerkin, structural mechanics of a ship founder I.G.Bubnov, S.P.Timoshenko.

V.L.Kirpichov's experience was used again, when new faculties of St.Petersburg Polytechnical Institute (civil-engineering and mechanical) were being organized. After their foundation and beginning of their work (1907) V.L.Kirpichov started reading lectures to their students as well. Besides, V.L.Kirpichov organized the laboratory of applied mechanics and friction in St.Petersburg Polytechnical Institute, where optical method of sterss analysis was used for the first time in Russia. V.L.kirpichov is also an author of one of the first articles in Russia, devoted to the security of workers at the industrial plants.

V.L.Kirpichov had a big authority among scientists and students. His books "Odd Unknown in Structural Mechanics" and "Conversations About Mechanics" were very popular and didn't lose significance until ourdays. Some generations of engineers studied using them. V.L.Kirpichov had high official rank (state adviser), was awarded with a lot of orders.

V.L.Kirpichov died in 1913. Civil-engineering faculty students and teachers named their scientific soceity after V.L.Kirpichov. A monument to V.L.Kirpichov as an outstanding scientist, teacher and higher education organizer in Ukraine and Russia was opened in front of the Kiev Polytechnical Institute main building in 1998 (at the photo).

V.L.Kirpichov's brothers also devoted their lifes to science. Lev Lvovich Kirpichov was a scientist in military sphere, Konstantin Lvovich Kirpichov was a teacher in Mikhaylovskaya artillery academy; Nil Lvovich - was a professor in Nikolayevskaya engineering academy and has developed a formula of fortification works under shelling strength analysis (it is still being used nowadays), Mikhail Lvovich Kirpichov was a - chemist, D.I.Mendeleyev's assistant, studied gases elasticity. Viktor Lvovich Kirpichov's son Mikhail Viktorovich Kirpichov became academician, specialist in chemistry and heating engineering, and his son-in-law - Alexander Alexandrovich Radtsig was a famous scientist in thermodynamics, the first dean of the mechanical faculty and the institute rector in 1917-1918.

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