Vol.2, No 1, 1999
pp. 95-99
THE LIFE AND WORK OF PROF. VLATKO BRČIĆ,
PH. D.
Dunica Šerif
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Belgrade
1. WORKING BIOGRAPHY
Professor Brčić was born on 16th September 1919 in
Varazdin, where he completed his primary school and grammar school. He
finished his grammar school in June 1938 and enrolled at the Faculty of
Philosophy, Zagreb University, at the Department for Theoretical Mathematics
and Physics.
Professor Brčić graduated on 30th June 1942,
and the same year enrolled at the Civil Engineering Department of the Technical
Faculty in Zagreb, where he stayed one school year. By the end of November
1945 he enrolled the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the High Technical
School in Prague, Traffic Engineering Department as their scholarship holder.
He graduated in June 1947 and thus acquired the academic titles of the
graduate mathematician and graduate civil engineer.
After the completion of his studies, professor
Brčić was employed as a structural engineer and designer in the Design
Bureau of the Ministry of Buildings in Zagreb. By March 1948 he was transferred
to the building area in New Belgrade where he worked as a chief of construction
site, as a structural designer and as a manager of the expert courses from
different areas of the practical civil engineering and during three years
he was a teacher on the Workers' Technicum which was founded there.
By September 1951 professor Brčić was employed
as a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade
for the subjects of Mechanics and later for Strength of Materials. In October
1956 he defended his doctoral dissertation titled "Contribution to the
solution of Plane problem in the Elasticity Theory".
In 1957, professor Brčić was elected assistant
professor for the subject Numerical Methods for the students of the first
year of the Geodesy Department. He lectured the subject of Numerical Methods,
Mechanics and Strength of Materials. In 1962 he was elected an associate
professor for the subject of Strength of Materials, and in 1966 the full
professor for the same subject. He remained there till his regular retirement
in 1984. Between 1967 and 1969 he was the dean of the Faculty of Civil
Engineering in Belgrade.
2. TEACHING ACTIVITIES
2.1. Teaching at the undergraduate studies
During his teaching activities, professor Brčić taught
Numerical Methods, for which he published a text book (three reprints).
He formed very modern concept of this subject, introducing a rational-mathematical
approach in solving the practical technical problems.
From 1960 to 1967 a so called multi-stage teaching
existed at the University. In this form of teaching process, professor
Brčić lectured Mechanics 1 and Strength of Materials at the first teaching
stage at the newly founded Faculty of Civil Engineering in Nis, and he
taught Mechanics 2 (Dynamics) and Strength of Materials with the Elasticity
theory at the second stage of teaching process at the Faculty of Civil
Engineering in Belgrade. The multi-stage teaching was abolished in 1967
and the continual system of teaching was reestablished. Professor Brčić
then lectured Strength of Materials at the second year of studies. Because
of the retirement of certain teachers, he taught Mechanics and Structure
Testing for a while.
At the same time, professor Brčić taught Strength
of Materials at the Civil Engineering Department at the Faculty of Technical
Sciences in Novi Sad (1971-72), at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in
Subotica (1974-1993) and the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Podgorica
(1989-1994), while he taught the Elasticity theory with Strength of Materials
at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in Belgrade. From 1989
he taught Dynamics and Construction stability at the Faculty of civil Engineering
in Podgorica.
2.2 Teaching at the post-graduate studies
Professor Brčić taught the first course for the post-graduate
students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in Belgrade.
It was Plane Problem in the Elasticity Theory by application of the theory
of complex functions. In 1961 he taught Theory of Elastic and Plastic body,
at the Electrotechnical Faculty in Belgrade. The course was initiated by
the "Boris Kidric" institute in Vinca, for the mechanical, electrotechnical
and technological engineers.
In 1964 the post-graduate studies were initiated
at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade, so Professor Brčić taught
Structure Dynamics. It was the first time in the country that the structure
Dynamics appeared in the curriculum of the faculty. The disastrous earthquake
which ruined Skopje in 1963, intensified the need for the comprehensive
research work on the problems pertaining to the influence of the seismic
forces on structures. Professor Brčić wrote scripts and a textbook for
Structure Dynamics (the first of a kind in Yugoslavia, two reprints).
Professor Brčić taught Structure Dynamics courses
at the faculties of civil engineering in Nis and Novi Sad. As the need
arose that the practical civil engineers should be additionally educated
in the area of Structure Dynamics, Professor Brčić organised, in cooperation
with the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade and the Union of engineers
and technicians, the short courses in this discipline. His work at the
improvement of the technical regulations in the field of seismic building,
where all of the civil engineering research organisations from the whole
former Yugoslavia participated, should be mentioned, too.
Structure Dynamics was introduced into the undergraduate
programmes at the civil engineering faculties in 1968, so the Structure
Dynamics course at the post-graduate studies was reduced to certain chosen
chapters, which got modernised in time. Those were the seismic influences,
including the non-linear dynamic analysis and the stochastic character
of the seismic incitations, then the effect of the wind on the structures,
the effect of the impact and explosive load, dynamics of machine foundations,
non-linear problems and so on.
Professor Brčić taught the course of Material
Rheology and the theory of Plasticity at the Faculty of Civil Engineering
in Zagreb on alternate years from 1971 to 1991. He also taught Introduction
to the Continuum Mechanics for the students of the Geotechnical Section
at the Mining-Geological Faculty in Belgrade from 1970 to 1978.
3. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES
Immediately after his coming to the university
in 1951, professor Brčić dealt with researches in the field of Structure
Stability (stability of slabs reinforced with stiffeners), then in the
field of the Elasticity theory including application of the complex functions
and conformal representation in solving the plane problem in the elasticity
theory.
In his doctoral dissertation, professor Brčić
solves the problem of the determination of stress and deformation states
with slabs loaded in its plane, with special accent on the problem of stress
concentration. The problem was treated in three aspects: analytically –
through the application of Mushelishvili's methodology, then numerically
– by the differential procedure and through relaxation method, as well
as experimentally – through the application of the photoelasticity method.
Professor Brčić was an external associate at
the "Jaroslav Cerni" Water Resources In-stitute at the model testing of
the high dams through the plane and space photoelasticity methods. He dealt
with the following non-linear problems (photoviscoelasticity, photo-thermoelasticity,
testing of discontinual and anisotropic environments and with the appli-cation
of holography in photoelasticity.
In 1958 professor Brčić sojourned in Munich and
Zurich for two months, where he acquainted with the work of the laboratories
for experimental stress analysis.
In 1963, professor Brčić spent 10 months in the
USA as a scholarship holder of a technical aid, where he worked in improving
the Moire method (with F. Zandman from the USA and S. Holister from the
UK), then he dealt with the modern structure dynamics, and specially with
the analysis of the seismic influences on structures. He participated at
the summer course for the university teachers, in the field of the experimental
stress and deformation analysis.
Upon the invitation of the American Science Association,
he spent 12 months (1966-1967) as a visiting full professor at the Wayne
State University, Detroit, Michigan. He lectured at the post-graduate courses
in Structure Dynamics and participated in the research project in application
of holography in photoelasticity, as well as in some current researches
in the field of Biomechanics. He worked at the holographic researches with
a team of associates at the Physics Institute of the Ann Arbour University,
which was a pioneer work in this field in the world. He wrote and published
scripts from the Structure Dynamics for the students of the post-graduate
studies.
From 1969 till 1974 professor Brčić lectured
the courses at the International Centre for the Mechanical Sciences in
Udine, Italy. The courses comprised areas of the modern experimental methods
(holography, non-linear problems, especially photoplasticity, photoviscoelasticity,
photothermoelasticity). All the lectures were published in the "CISM" centre
as well by the Springer publishing house, (Vienna, Berlin).
Professor Brčić worked to solve various problems
pertaining to the testing of the dynamic behaviour of the machine foundations
with the group of associates at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Subotica.
His research work in Structure Dynamics was especially
intense in the analysis of the structure vibrations under the effect of
the stochastic incitation due to earthquakes or winds, as well as the work
in modernization of the technical regulations for the aseismic design.
Professor Brčić was a member of many committees
for the defence of doctoral dissertations and MA theses, and was a mentor
for 16 defended doctoral dissertations, and 13 defended MA theses.
Professor Brčić also participated in the research
projects at the faculties of civil engineering in Belgrade and Novi Sad.
In Belgrade, he was a coordinator of the strategic project in civil engineering
for four years.
During his working years, professor Brčić published
over 70 scientific works (both in the country and abroad), he actively
participated at the scientific meetings in the country and abroad, and
he delivered the introduction lectures at the international meetings in
Palermo, Rostock, Tbilisi, and Waterloo, Canada. He had a seminary in the
Institute of Fundamental Sciences with the Polish Scientific Academy in
Warsaw.
Professor Brčić actively cooperated in the work
of our state organisations which dealt with organising and policy of the
scientific-research work, so from 1958 till 1964 he was a president of
the Committee for the civil engineering, water resources and traffic in
the Federal Council for scientific work, and he was a member of the committees
in the Republic association for the scientific work in Serbia.
Professor Brčić was very active in the Yugoslav
Society for Mechanics, so from 1954 till 1962 he was its secretary general
and from 1974 till 1978 its president.
From 1961 till 1993 professor Brčić was a standing
editor in the referential journal Zentralblatt fur angewandte Mathenatik
un Ihre Grenzgebiete (Germany) and from 1973 he was a member of the editorial
board of the American magazine "Research Mechanics Communications", Chicago
USA.
Between 1978 and 1983 professor Brčić was a member
of the European committee for mechanics, cooperating in organisation of
the special courses "EUROMECHCOLLO-QUIA" in the specific areas of Mechanics
(two of those colloquies were held in Yugosla-via). For two years he was
a delegate of Yugoslavia in the executive board of the Interna-tional Union
for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, "IUTAM".
From 1973 till 1984 professor Brčić was a Head
of the Mechanics Department in the Mathematical Institute of the SANU (Serbian
Academy of Sciences and Arts). He was a member of the editorial boards
of the following magazines: Nase Gradjevinarstvo, Facta Universitatis,
Nis, Scientia Yugoslavica, Zagreb, Gradjevinski Kalendar (Union of the
civil engineers and technicians of Yugoslavia) and from 1984 till 1994
he was the editor-in-chief of the Gradjevinski kalendar editions.
Professor Brčić collaborated for years with the
Gradjevinska Knjiga, he was a member of the structure committee, and he
was the president of the Gradjevinska Knjiga Programme Council.
Professor Brčić was a member of the following
scientific organisations:
- GAMM (Gesellschaft fur angewandte Mathematik
un Mechanik), Germany
- SEM (Society for Experimental Mechanics), USA
- RILEM (Reunion International des Laboratories
et des Materiaux) France – for two years he was a member of holography
board
- Yugoslav Mechanics Society
- Society of Designers of Yugoslavia
- SANU Mathematical Institute.
Professor Brčić wrote reviews for the articles
in magazines and other publishing organisations: "Nase gradjevinarstvo",
"Izgradnja", :"Teorijska i primenjena mehanika", "Facta Universitatis",
Akademija nauka i umjetnosti BiH, Sarajevo, Jugoslavenska akademija nauka
i umjetnosti, Zagreb, "Gradjevinski kalendar". Professor Brčić wrote reviews
for the textbooks in the Strength of Material, Elasticity Theory and Mechanics
of our civil and mechanical engineering faculties as well as the Natural-mathematical
Faculty in Belgrade (21 different titles in total).
He wrote three entries for the Technical Encyclopaedia
of the Yugoslav Lexicographic Institute: Holography, Strength of construction
Materials and Vibrations in civil engineering.
Professor Brčić spoke several foreign language:
English, German, French, Russian and Czech. He translated several books
in the field of the theoretical and applied mechanics.
***
Professor Brčić spent most of his working life at
the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade, at the Chair of technical
mechanics and theory of structures. He was very esteemed and respected
by his colleagues because of his outstanding human and ethic principles.
He was very modest, unintrusive, measured and always apt to help and advise
his younger associates. Working with him was characterised by peacefulness
and optimism. It was a pleasure and honour to be professor Brčić's associate.
As a professor and pedagogue, professor Brčić
was highly esteemed and respected by his students as well. He was one of
the most favourite professors of many generations of students because of
his most correct relationship towards them. He devoted his efforts to simplifying
the complex and extensive matter from the disciplines he taught, and passing
it on to his students. He will be remembered by his extremely interesting
lectures and amphitheatres full of students, with no sponge or auxiliary
papers. Let us mention one interesting case which took place at one of
the lectures when professor Brčić talked about the effect of earthquakes
on the structures. Exactly then, the earth began to tremble. To calm down
the apparently frightened students, he continued to lecture commenting
that there was no reason to be afraid since the building could easily withstand
that intensity of earthquake.
Professor Vlatko Brčić has gone forever, and
he was one of the most favourite professors of our Chair and the Faculty,
who left a significant trace in the science and trade. We will cherish
the memory of him and his deed with pride and respect.
