www.sefindia.org

[Dr. N. Subramanian]

Dear Er Vivek & Shri Indrajit Barua,

First of all I am glad to see a posting from Er. Vivek, after a long gap, and thank him for providing the list of books by Prof.Stephen P. Timoshenko (the complete list of books with publisher names may be found from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Timoshenko) .

As Shri. Barua has said many engineering students do not like Prof. Timoshenko's books because of their mathematical rigor. But I still wonder how in those days without computers he was able to give closed form solutions to most of the problems. Today's computer and FE solutions are only improvements of the solutions given by him.(Though not connected to this topic, I just marvel the facts that the majestic 102-story Empire State building in New york was built in the year 1931, and the wonderful Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge was completed during the year 1937, when much of the sophisticated computer programs were not available)

I am not sure how many of his books I have but surely I have items.2,5,6,7&9. Once Prof. Sabnis asked me whether someone is interested in publishing item 12, for which he is having the copyright. I could not find any publisher till now. If anyone is interested inform me, so that I may put him/her onto Prof. Sabnis.

While at the topic of publishing, I wish to inform all that I have collected a number of Quotations over the years, and if someone knows a publisher who can publish it, please inform me.


Best wishes
Subramanian
For the benefit of younger Engineers, I am posting the brief bio-data of Prof.Timoshenko

He was the first in the Pleiades
of outstanding scientists.


                               Stepan Timoshenko         Stepan Prokofievich Timoshenko was born in the Ukraine. He studied and worked at the St. Petersburg Institute of Railroad Engineering. Upon graduation he was offered a job as laboratory assistant (and junior lecturer) at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute and a flat in the institute's teaching staff block. Then he left St. Petersburg for a short time and, when
he came back, he first started working as a professor at his alma mater Institute of Railroad Engineering and later - at the Polytechnic and Electrical Engineering Institutes. After the revolution of 1917, Timoshenko went to Kiev and, together with V.I. Vernadsky, became one of the founders of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine. In 1919 he went to Yugoslavia and then to the USA where he was recognized as "the father of American engineering."



Many years later during the winter of 1962-1963, at the insistence of Ye.N. Vechorin, chairman of the society of the former St. Petersburg polytechnic specialists in France, Timoshenko wrote an extensive book of his Memoirs. The book tells how, while living abroad the great Russian scientist developed, how he enriched his knowledge and extended his scientific views. It also tells of how the scientific cooperation with the outstanding professors V.L. Kirpitchev and I.V. Meschersky at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute guided Timoshenko to new ways of bringing theory and practice closer together. This was one of the specific features of Timoshenko's scientific style, which attracted students wherever he was teaching: in Russia, the Ukraine, Yugoslavia or the USA.

                                                                                                                                   
St. Petersburg Emperor Alexander I Institute of Railway Engineering (above, on the left); St. Petersburg Emperor Peter the Great Polytechnic Institute (above, on the right); St. Petersburg Emperor Alexander III Institute of Electrical Engineering. Photograph by Bulla 1900-1910.                                                     

In the USA, Timoshenko started working in the Westinghouse company plants as a technical consultant. Soon his consulting activities were extended and supplemented with teaching. Timoshenko's books attracted the attention of American academic circles, and in 1927 he was offered to head the Chair of mechanics for training future Doctors of engineering sciences at the University of Michigan. This was the beginning of his teaching and scientific careers in the USA.

                   
Timoshenko's lectures on applied mechanics at the University of Michigan attracted many students and young teachers from different departments. His fame as a brilliant lecturer quickly spread across the country. His listeners admired
his talent for explaining the most difficult subjects in simple and clear words.
During the years of his activities at Michigan and Stanford Universities, Timoshenko published a number of fundamental works. The last work by the world known scientist - The History of the Resistance of Materials from Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo to the Present Day - was published in 1953. The book was translated into Russian and published in Moscow. Although the number of copies reached as many as 15 000, it was sold out immediately.
                               S.Timoshenko (front row, second from right) with students and teaching
staff of the University of Michigan.
Photograph 1936.          Timoshenko's long-standing devotion and fruitful activities in science were duly recognized. He was elected a member of 17 Academies and scientific societies throughout the world and was awarded 10 prestigious gold medals for his scientific merits: two medals in Russia before 1917, three in the USA, one in France, one in Belgium, one in England and one James Watt International medal which is awarded every five years to the most outstanding engineer in the world.
Timoshenko's works have made it possible to reach many scientific and technical achievements in the present time, and his books have become manuals for leading mechanical engineers and builders throughout the world.  At the 12th international congress on theoretical and applied mechanics, which took place at Stanford University in the USA in 1968, chairman professor N. Fofth admitted that, "before professor S. Timoshenko's arrival, real mechanics in the USA did not exist." Visual evidence of Timoshenko's outstanding services to world science are his rewards, honorary diplomas and other certificates which were displayed during the congress in Timoshenko's memorial room situated at Stanford University.







--- On Tue, 4/14/09, ibarua <forum@sefindia.org> wrote:
[quote]From: ibarua <forum@sefindia.org>
Subject: [SEFI] Re: Books by Stephen P. Timoshenko
To: general@sefindia.org
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 12:08 PM

14th April 2009

I had come across many books by Timoshenko when I was at the IIT Kharagpur. However, most students tended to avoid them as they were much too esoteric for our tastes. I now possess the book co-authored by him and Prof. Winowsky-Kreiger titled 'Theory of Plates & Shells', which is a classic work on the subject, and which has helped to write a computer program related to plate bending under a strip load.

Indrajit Barua.

On Tue, 14 Apr 2009 abhy_vivek wrote :
      --auto removed--

Posted via Email

[thirumalaichettiar]

It is glad that not only me and Mr.Mallick are spending time on web site but also Dr.N.S joined in our train journey. Excellent presentation about  Prof.Stephen P. Timoshenko and we must thank Dr.N.S for his sincere service to SEFI.
In this context I am to inform that Indian Association of Structurual engineers who publish the new magazine STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING MAGAZINE also publish the eminent engineers and marvellous structure. The web site for the magazine is

http://www.sedigest.co.in/
Some of the eminent engineers profile that appeared in SED:
May-June/2008     Engineer M.Visvesvaraya.
Nov-Dec               Dr.Fazlur Rahman Khan.
Jan-Feb/2009        Engineer Freyssinet.

The above is for information only.

T.Rangarajan.