JAKOV MATVEJEVIČ HLITČIJEV

(1886 - 1963)

Jakov Matvejevič Hlitčijev was born on November 29,1886, in Nahičevan on Don river (former Soviet Union). He was of Armenian nationality. In 1919, during the Revolution, he left Russia and came to Belgrade in 1920, where he lived until he died in 1963.

J. M. Hlitčijev attended Gymnasium in Rostov on Don river, where he completed secondary school in 1904, and for his study achievements he was awarded gold medal. Between 1904 and 1911 he studied at the Petersburg Polytecnical Institute, where he graduated at the Department for shipbuilding in 1911. He spent some time at the High Technical School in Berlin. Upon graduation, he worked in a ship building project bureau. Parallel with this activity, he lectured at the Petersburg Polytecnical Institute, where in 1912, he was elected assistant and later lecturer for shipbuilding mechanics. He left Petersburg in 1918 and the same year joined the Polytecnical Institute at Herson on Don where he was elected associate professor and remained there until 1919.

In 1920 J. M. Hlitčijev was appointed part time professor at the Technical Faculty for the subject „Mechanics and Graphostatics" and „Hydraulics and Graphostatics". With this appointment his activity within the Belgrade University started. In 1922 he was appointed contractual associate professor for the subject „Strength of Materials" at the Department for Technical Mechanics and Thermodynamics of the Technical faculty. Head of this department was Professor Ivan Arnovljević. It was not before 1928 that professor Hlitčijev was full time employed at the Belgrade University, and in 1937 he was promoted to full professor for the subject „Strength of Materials". Active professional work of professor Hlitčijev with the Belgrade University lasted until 1957 when he was retired, but even after his retirement he continued to lecture on Theory of Elasticity at the Faculty of Civil Engineering.

His first four works were published while he was in Russia. Between 1919 and 1927 there was an interruption in his scientific activity, but between 1927 and 1932, a new phase of his scientific work began, when he published another three works. After that, a period of almost thirty years of fruitful period of scientific activity began. It was a period of full scientific maturity when he published another 36 works. It should be emphasized that in 1926 professor Hlitčijev, published a book Science on Strength of Materials that contained elements of Theory of Elasticity. For the time it was published, that book represented great progress and contribution to the theoretical education of future mechanical engineers and civil engineers.

Scientific activity of professor Hlitčijev could be classified into six areas: General Problems of the Theory of Elasticity; Torsion; Bending of Beams, Beam on Elastic Supports, Beams on Cross-Girders; Plate as Plane Problem and as Problem of Bending; Stability of Equilibrium of Beam Systems and Plates; Works on Strength of Ships Structures.

Between 1926 and 1963 professor Hlitčijev published nine books, mainly in the area of strength of materials and theory of elasticity. His book was published posthumous and is even today in active use. Professor Hlitčijev translated eight books.

Professor Hlitčijev was very active in a wide sense of scientific meaning. He was one of the initiators of setting up the Departement of Mechanics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Belgrade. Due to his enthusiasm and efforts this Departement was founded in 1953. He also initiated the idea of establishing the Yugoslav Society of Rational and Applied Mechanics and this society was formally founded in 1954. He took a prominent part in the setting up of the Department for Shipbuilding at the Mechanical Engineering Faculty. For a number of years professor Hlitčijev took active part in many scientific institutions, editorial boards of scientific journals in country and abroad and he maintained numerous personal and professional contacts with other scientists in the area of mechanics.

His exceptional contribution to the development of science earned professor Hlitčijev election as full member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences on June 10,1955. In 1958 he received high public recognition 7th of July State Award.

Author: Naerlović-Veljković, Natalija