Stephen Timoshenko facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stephen Timoshenko
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Stepan Prokopovych Tymoshenko (Степан Прокопович Тимошенко)
December 22 [O.S. December 10] 1878 Shpotovka, Chernigov Governorate, Russian Empire
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| Died | May 29, 1972 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | Russian Empire, then United States after about 1927 |
| Alma mater | Petersburg State Transport University |
| Known for | Timoshenko beam theory |
| Awards | Louis E. Levy Medal (1944) Timoshenko Medal (1957) Elliott Cresson Medal (1958) Fellow of the Royal Society |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Engineering Mechanics |
| Institutions | Kiev Polytechnic Institute, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, University of Michigan, Stanford University |
| Doctoral students |
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Stephen Timoshenko (born Stepan Prokopovich Timoshenko on December 22, 1878) was a famous engineer and professor. He was born in the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) and later became an American citizen.
Many people call him the "father of modern engineering mechanics". He was an inventor and a key engineer at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. Stephen Timoshenko also helped start the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences.
He wrote very important books about engineering mechanics, elasticity, and strength of materials. Many of his ideas are still used today. He began his science career in the Russian Empire. Later, he moved to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and then to the United States. He passed away on May 29, 1972.
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His Life Story
Stephen Timoshenko was born in a village called Shpotovka. This village was in the Russian Empire at the time. Today, it is part of Ukraine.
Early Education and Career
From 1889 to 1896, he went to a school called a Realschule in Romny. There, he became friends with Abram Ioffe, who later became a famous physicist. Timoshenko then studied at the St Petersburg Institute of engineers Ways of Communication.
After graduating in 1901, he taught at the same institute. From 1903 to 1906, he worked at the Saint Petersburg Polytechnical Institute. In 1905, he spent a year studying at the University of Göttingen in Germany. He worked with a famous scientist named Ludwig Prandtl.
Teaching in Kyiv
In 1906, Timoshenko became a professor at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. This move back to his home country was very important for his career. From 1907 to 1911, he researched how materials behave under stress. He worked on a method similar to the Finite Element Method.
During these years, he also studied how structures might bend or break under pressure, which is called buckling. He published the first version of his well-known textbook, Strength of Materials. In 1909, he was chosen to be the dean of the Structural Engineering department.
In 1911, he signed a protest against the Minister for Education. Because of this, he was fired from the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. He received a prize that helped him during this time. He then moved to St Petersburg. There, he taught and became a professor at other institutes until 1917. During this period, he developed theories about elasticity and how beams bend. He also continued his work on buckling.
In 1918, he returned to Kyiv. He helped Vladimir Vernadsky create the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. This is the oldest academy among the former Soviet republics, besides Russia. From 1918 to 1920, Timoshenko led the new Institute of Mechanics within the Academy. Today, this institute is named after him.
Moving to Yugoslavia
After some difficult times in Kyiv during the Russian Civil War, Timoshenko moved to Rostov-on-Don. He then traveled through several countries and arrived in Zagreb, which was in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He became a professor at the Zagreb Polytechnic Institute. In 1920, he went back to Kyiv briefly to reunite with his family. Then, they all returned to Zagreb.
Students in Zagreb remembered him for giving lectures in Russian. He tried to use as many Croatian words as he could, and his students understood him well.
Life in the United States
In 1922, Stephen Timoshenko moved to the United States. From 1923 to 1927, he worked for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. After that, he became a professor at the University of Michigan. There, he started the first college and doctoral programs in engineering mechanics.
His textbooks have been printed in 36 different languages! His first books were in Russian. Later in his life, he mostly wrote in English. In 1928, he was invited to speak at a big math conference in Italy. From 1936, he was a professor at Stanford University. He was also chosen to be a member of important groups like the American Philosophical Society and the United States National Academy of Sciences.
Timoshenko's younger brothers also moved to the United States. One was an architect named Serhii, and the other was an economist named Volodymyr.
In 1957, the ASME created a special award named after Stephen Timoshenko. He was the very first person to receive the Timoshenko Medal. This medal honors his amazing work in mechanical engineering. It also celebrates his contributions as a writer and a teacher. The Timoshenko Medal is given every year to people who make great contributions to applied mechanics. In 1960, he moved to Wuppertal, West Germany, to live with his daughter.
Besides his textbooks, Timoshenko wrote a book in 1963 called Engineering Education in Russia. He also wrote his life story, an autobiography, in Russian called As I Remember. This book was later translated into English.
One of his important ideas is the Timoshenko-Ehrenfest beam theory. He worked on this theory with Paul Ehrenfest. This theory helps engineers understand how beams bend, taking into account more details than older theories.
Stephen Timoshenko passed away in 1972. His ashes are buried in Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto, California. You can find many of his original writings and letters online.
Notable Students
Stephen Timoshenko taught many students who became successful engineers. Here are some of his doctoral students:
- Donnell, L. H., (1930)
- Frocht, M. M., (1931)
- Goodier, J. N., (1931)
- Hetenyi, M. I., (1936)
- Bergman, E. O., (1938)
- Hoff, N. J., (1942)
- Popov, E. P., (1946)
See also
- Timoshenko beam theory
