Polytechnic University of Bucharest
Encyclopedia
Universitatea Politehnica din Bucureşti is a technical university in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. It was founded in 1864 based on the older technical school of Gheorghe Lazăr
Gheorghe Lazar
Gheorghe Lazăr , born and died in Avrig, Sibiu County, was a Transylvanian-born Romanian scholar, the founder of the first Romanian language school - in Bucharest, 1818.-Biography:...

 (1818) and it was renamed "Politehnica" in 1920.

History

Politehnica University of Bucharest is the largest technical university in Romania. Its traditions are connected to the founding of the first higher technical school in 1818 by Gheorghe Lazăr. Born in Avrig, Gheorghe Lazăr studied in Sibiu
Sibiu
Sibiu is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. Located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt...

, Cluj
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...

 and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. In 1817–1818 he endeavored to convince the local noblemen of the need for supporting a modern technical school in Romania.

Thus, on 24 March 1818, by a royal edict of Ioan Caragea, the premises of Saint Sava Abbey were converted into the new school, Şcoala Tehnică Superioară pentru Ingineri Hotarnici ("The Upper School for Surveying Engineers").

Later, in 1832 this school was reorganised, including four cycles, in accordance with the provisions of Organic Ordinance. Among other faculties, the one dealing with exact sciences included courses such as applied trigonometry
Trigonometry
Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies triangles and the relationships between their sides and the angles between these sides. Trigonometry defines the trigonometric functions, which describe those relationships and have applicability to cyclical phenomena, such as waves...

, geodesy
Geodesy
Geodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...

, mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...

, engineering graphics
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....

, descriptive geometry
Descriptive geometry
Descriptive geometry is the branch of geometry which allows the representation of three-dimensional objects in two dimensions, by using a specific set of procedures. The resulting techniques are important for engineering, architecture, design and in art...

, mechanical elements applied to ordinary machines, principles of building roads and bridges, elements of architecture, etc. The graduates were obliged either to work for three years for the state, or to return the grant received. In 1862, the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza had established by another Royal Decree a set of rules for the organisation of civil engineers, the hierarchy of engineers or conductors, their salaries, the conditions for admission and promotion, were clearly defined.
An important figure in the "School of Bridges, Roads and Mines" was Gheorghe Duca
Gheorghe Duca
Gheorghe Duca Moldovan academic and politician.- Biography :Gheorghe Duca has been the head of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova since February 5, 2004.- External links :* * -References:...

. As early as 1887, he analysed the content of courses, finding the weaknesses of the school, as well as the best solutions to improve its academic level. In those times, a substantial condition was the severity imposed on the conduct of students, in addition to evaluation. Students obtaining insufficient results, or having an erratic course attendance, were quickly removed from the school. Indeed, at the beginning, the preparatory year had no admission tests.

Starting with 1881, an admission test was introduced; the top priority was the quality of candidates, the number of the selected ones being less important. Gheorghe Duca tried and succeeded to bring the best professors to the “National School of Bridges and Roads”; among these were David Emmanuel
David Emmanuel (mathematician)
David Emmanuel was a Romanian Jewish mathematician and member of the Romanian Academy, considered to be the founder of the modern mathematics school in Romania.He received his Ph.D...

  (Elementary Mathematics), Spiru Haret
Spiru Haret
Spiru C. Haret was a Romanian mathematician, astronomer and politician. He made a fundamental contribution to the n-body problem in celestial mechanics by proving that using a third degree approximation for the disturbing forces implies instability of the major axes of the orbits, and by...

 (Higher Algebra and Analytical Geometry), C. M. Mironescu (Statistics and Engineering Graphics), Constantin Istrati
Constantin Istrati
-Sources:*...

 (Physics), or Anghel Saligny
Anghel Saligny
Anghel Saligny was a Romanian engineer, most famous for designing the Feteşti-Cernavodă railway bridge over the Danube, the longest bridge in Europe at that time. He also designed the storage facilities in Constanţa seaport, one of the earliest examples of reinforced concrete architecture in...

 (Bridges and Roads). Moreover, Gheorghe Duca himself was considered the greatest authority in railways at the end of the 19th century. This was perhaps a turning moment, when it was clearly demonstrated that Romania was capable of achieving on its own what had been deemed likely to be obtained only abroad, namely the training of highly qualified science and engineering specialists.

The year 1890 also represented a momentous point, when at the National School of Bridges and Roads a new commission was set up. Its main role was to issue equivalency certificates for the engineering diplomas obtained abroad, thus transforming this national school into a model for evaluating higher technical studies.
Nicolae Vasilescu-Karpen
Nicolae Vasilescu-Karpen
Nicolae Vasilescu-Karpen was a Romanian engineer and physicist, who did pioneering work in the field of telegraphy and telephony...

 was appointed director of the School in February 1920. As a direct result of his endeavors, the government approved the establishment of Polytechnic Schools in Romania, conceived as higher education institutions, similar to universities, having as their final aim engineering training under the Ministry of Public Works.

No surprise, the first Polytechnic School was set up by transforming the "National School of Bridges and Roads" into the "Polytechnic School of Bucharest". In its initial stage it consisted of four sections:
  • Civil Engineering;
  • Mechanics and Electricity;
  • Mines and Metallurgy;
  • The Industrial Section.


In this period, in addition to the Polytechnic School, there were Institutes for Engineers within Universities. For instance, the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...

 hosted an institute for electrical engineering, an institute for industrial chemistry and another one for agricultural and food chemistry.

Another important cornerstone was the decree 3799 of 1938 stating that higher education could be provided only by universities, Polytechnic Schools, or Academies for Commercial Studies. As a direct result, the Academy of Higher Agricultural Studies, The Academy of Architecture, The Institute of Industrial Chemistry and Agricultural and Food Chemistry, respectively, were introduced in the framework of "Bucharest Politehnica". The change of name from "Polytechnic School of Bucharest" into "Politehnica of Bucharest" was accompanied by other changes as well. Thus, Politehnica depended on the Ministry of National Education (instead of the Ministry for Public Works), the former director became Rector of Politehnica, the different sections became Faculties, their presidents in turn, became Deans etc.

Between 1938 and 1948 Politehnica of Bucharest had seven faculties: Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

, Electro-mechanics, Metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...

, Industrial Chemistry, Silviculture
Silviculture
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values. The name comes from the Latin silvi- + culture...

, Agronomy
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...

, and Architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

.

Another important transformation took place in 1948, when several Politehnica or even specialities became independent, or even moved to other towns. So, a lot of universities, institutes and faculties have their roots in the old "Politehnica of Bucharest". Thus, the following establishments, were initially faculties or departments at "Politehnica" University of Bucharest: The University for Civil Engineering - Bucharest; Silviculture Faculty - Braşov
Brasov
Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....

; The Agronomy Institute - Bucharest; The School of Mines - Petroşani
Petrosani
Petroşani is a city in Hunedoara County, Romania, with a population of 45,447 .-History:The city of Petroşani was founded in the 17th century...

; The University for Gas and Oil - Ploieşti
Ploiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....

; The Architecture Institute - Bucharest; Faculty for Food Chemistry - Galaţi
Galati
Galați is a city and municipality in Romania, the capital of Galați County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, in the close vicinity of Brăila, Galați is the largest port and sea port on the Danube River and the second largest Romanian port....

; Faculty for Textile Industry - Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...

.

The name of this school was "The Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest". Based on a resolution of the Senate (November 1992), due to the fact that the energy bill for Institutions was no longer a state subvention but for Universities was, the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest turned into University Politehnica of Bucharest.

Achievements

At the 29th Annual ACM
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...

 International Collegiate Programming Contest, held at Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University or SJTU), sometimes referred to as Shanghai Jiaotong University , is a top public research university located in Shanghai, China. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is known as one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China...

, on April 6, 2005, Politehnica was ranked 10th in the world. ACM-ICPC World Finals.
The university organizes important conferences such as INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONTROL SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE and symposiums like INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES IN FRACTAL ANALYSIS.

Faculties

The university is structured into faculties. The faculties are distinct academic entities, each having its own admission criteria, largely distinct staff and limited interaction. However, there are a number of commonalities: all the faculties provide only engineering degrees, there is a largely common curricula that is observed in the first year of studies, there are shared teaching facilities and shared student facilities. Currently there are thirteen faculties. :
  • Faculty of Electrical Engineering
  • Faculty of Power Engineering
  • Faculty of Automatic Control and Computer Science
    Faculty of Automatic Control and Computer Science
    The Politehnica University of Bucharest in Romania has a Faculty of Automatic Control and Computer Science. The institute trains engineers in three domains: Computer science, Information Technology and Automatic Control...

  • Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology
  • Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics
  • Faculty of Engineering and Management of Technological Systems
  • Faculty of Biotechnical Systems Engineering
  • Faculty of Transports
  • Faculty of Aerospace Engineering
  • Faculty of Material Science and Engineering
  • Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science
  • Faculty of Engineering Taught in Foreign Languages
  • Faculty of Applied Sciences
  • Faculty of Medical Engineering
  • Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Engineering and Business Management

Technical Colleges

Since 1991, University Politehnica of Bucharest offers short-term (three years) studies equivalent to an Associate Degree within the two Technical Colleges, simply called College Number 1 and College Number 2.

Notable alumni

  • Andrei Alexandrescu
    Andrei Alexandrescu
    Andrei Alexandrescu is a Romanian C++ programmer and author. He is particularly known for his pioneering work on policy-based design implemented via template metaprogramming. These ideas are articulated in his book Modern C++ Design and were first implemented in his programming library, Loki. He...

     widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on C++ programming, head research scientist at Facebook, developer on D 2.0
    D (programming language)
    The D programming language is an object-oriented, imperative, multi-paradigm, system programming language created by Walter Bright of Digital Mars. It originated as a re-engineering of C++, but even though it is mainly influenced by that language, it is not a variant of C++...

  • Radu Georgescu
    GeCAD Software
    GECAD Software was established in 1992 by Radu Georgescu as a Computer Aided Design software development company. Over time, GECAD’s focus shifted from CAD software to security-related software, mainly antivirus software. Its most prominent product, Reliable Antivirus, or RAV, was first developed...

     software engineer, entrepreneur and founder of GeCAD Software
    GeCAD Software
    GECAD Software was established in 1992 by Radu Georgescu as a Computer Aided Design software development company. Over time, GECAD’s focus shifted from CAD software to security-related software, mainly antivirus software. Its most prominent product, Reliable Antivirus, or RAV, was first developed...

     (technology bought by Microsoft that became Windows Security Essentials)
  • Mihail Roco
    Mihail Roco
    Mihail Roco is the chair of the US National Science and Technology Council subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology , and is Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation...

     chair of the US National Science and Technology Council subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET), Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation, founder of National Nanotechnology Initiative
    National Nanotechnology Initiative
    The National Nanotechnology Initiative is a United States federal nanoscale science, engineering, and technology research and development program...

  • Dinu Brătianu
    Dinu Bratianu
    Dinu Brătianu , born Constantin I. C. Brătianu, was a Romanian politician, who led the National Liberal Party starting with 1934.-Early career:...

     politician, led the National Liberal Party (PNL) starting with 1934
  • Elie Carafoli
    Elie Carafoli
    Elie Carafoli was an accomplished Romanian engineer and aircraft designer. He is considered a pioneering contributor to the field of Aerodynamics....

     aeronautics engineer
  • Silvia Ciornei
    Silvia Ciornei
    Silvia Ciornei is a Romanian politician and Member of the European Parliament. She is a member of the Conservative Party, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and became an MEP on 1 January 2007 with the accession of Romania to the European Union.-External links:**...

     politician, member in the European Parliament
    European Parliament
    The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

  • Sergiu Cunescu
    Sergiu Cunescu
    Sergiu Cunescu was a Romanian social democratic politician, the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Romania between 1990 and 2001.-Biography:...

     politician
  • Mircea Gradu Head of Transmission and Driveline Engineering of Chrisler
  • Ion Iliescu
    Ion Iliescu
    Ion Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains....

     former president of Romania
  • Liviu Librescu
    Liviu Librescu
    Liviu Librescu was a Romanian-Israeli-American scientist and academic professor whose major research fields were aeroelasticity and aerodynamics...

     aeronautics engineer and scientist, hero of the Virginia Tech massacre
    Virginia Tech massacre
    The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...

  • Radu Manicatide
    Radu Manicatide
    Radu Manicatide was a Romanian engineer and aircraft constructor.He obtained an engineering degree from the University Politehnica of Bucharest, and then pursued his studies at École supérieure des techniques aéronautiques et de construction automobile , in Paris...

     engineer and aircraft constructor, inventor of the M.R. microcar
  • Mihai Nadin
    Mihai Nadin
    Mihai Nadin is a scholar and researcher in electrical engineering, computer science, aesthetics, semiotics, human-computer interaction , computational design, post-industrial society, and anticipatory systems...

     computer scientist, Human Computer Interaction pioneer, director of the Institute for Research in Anticipatory Systems
  • Sergiu Nicolaescu
    Sergiu Nicolaescu
    Sergiu Florin Nicolaescu is a Romanian film director, actor and politician. He is best known for his historical films, such as Mihai Viteazul , Dacii , Razboiul Independenţei , as well as for his series of...

     film director
  • Ion Mihai Pacepa
    Ion Mihai Pacepa
    Ion Mihai Pacepa is the highest-ranking intelligence official ever to have defected from the former Eastern Bloc. He is now a United States citizen, a writer, and a columnist....

     chemist, general and the highest-ranking intelligence official ever to have defected from the former Eastern Bloc
  • Cristian Tudor Popescu
    Cristian Tudor Popescu
    Cristian Tudor Popescu is a Romanian journalist, essayist and short-story writer. Author of science fiction stories during his youth, he has also hosted talk shows for various television stations, and had contributions as a literary critic and translator...

     journalist and SF author
  • Vasile Mihai Popov controls engineer
  • Dumitru Prunariu
    Dumitru Prunariu
    Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu is a retired Romanian astronaut who flew aboard Soyuz 40.-Early life and career:Born on September 27, 1952 in Braşov, Romania, Prunariu graduated from the Physics and Mathematics high school in Braşov in 1971 and from the University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest in 1976,...

     astronaut and first Romanian in space
  • Petre Roman
    Petre Roman
    Petre Roman is a Romanian politician and a former Prime Minister of Romania. He served from 1989 to 1991, when his government was overthrown by the intervention of the miners led by Miron Cozma. Roman is a member of the Club of Madrid, grouping 66 democratic former heads of state and government...

     politician
  • George Necula
    George Necula
    George Ciprian Necula is a Romanian computer scientist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley who does research in the area of programming languages and software engineering, with a particular focus on software verification and formal methods. He is best known for his Ph.D...

     computer scientist
  • Liviu Eremia engineer General Motors and General Electric
  • Adriana Soveja materials scientist

Notable faculty members

  • Irina Athanasiu
    Irina Athanasiu
    Irina Athanasiu was a Romanian professor of Computer Science at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Faculty of Automatic Control and Computer Science.-Lectures and achievements:Lectures...

  • Elie Carafoli
    Elie Carafoli
    Elie Carafoli was an accomplished Romanian engineer and aircraft designer. He is considered a pioneering contributor to the field of Aerodynamics....

  • Henri Coandă
    Henri Coanda
    Henri Marie Coandă was a Romanian inventor, aerodynamics pioneer and builder of an experimental aircraft, the Coandă-1910 described by Coandă in the mid-1950s as the world's first jet, a controversial claim disputed by some and supported by others...

  • Traian Lalescu
    Traian Lalescu
    Traian Lalescu was a Romanian mathematician. His main focus was on integral equations and he contributed to work in the areas of functional equations, trigonometric series, mathematical physics, geometry, mechanics, algebra, and the history of mathematics....

  • Mihail Manoilescu
    Mihail Manoilescu
    Mihail Manoilescu was a Romanian journalist, engineer, economist, politician and memoirist, who served as Foreign Minister of Romania during the summer of 1940...

  • Costin Neniţescu
    Costin Nenitescu
    Costin D. Neniţescu was a prominent Romanian chemist, and a professor at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. He was a member of the Romanian Academy, a corresponding member of the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin, and a member of the Leopoldina Academy of Natural Scientists in...

  • Aurel Persu
    Aurel Persu
    Aurel Persu was a Romanian engineer, and the first to apply aerodynamics principles to automobiles. He came to the conclusion that the perfectly aerodynamic automobile has the shape of a falling water-drop....

  • Vasile Mihai Popov
  • Simion Stoilow
    Simion Stoilow
    Simion Stoilow or Stoilov was a Romanian mathematician, creator of the Romanian school of complex analysis, and author of over 100 publications.-Biography:...

  • Gabriel Sudan
    Gabriel Sudan
    Gabriel Sudan was a Romanian mathematician, known for the Sudan function , an important example in the theory of computation, similar to the Ackermann function .Gabriel Sudan received his Ph.D...

  • Nicolae Vasilescu-Karpen
    Nicolae Vasilescu-Karpen
    Nicolae Vasilescu-Karpen was a Romanian engineer and physicist, who did pioneering work in the field of telegraphy and telephony...

  • Paul Flondor

External links

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