Exhibition Halls\Kazan University Museum of History - Kazan (Volga region) Federal University
Exhibition Halls

No less attention is paid to achievements in mechanics. The exhibition tells us about research work and teaching activity of P.I.Kotelnikov, whose lectures were very popular among students.

One of his disciples, F.M.Suvorov, recollected how much love Pyotr Ivanovich put into teaching: "If those lectures were shorthanded and issued, they would be a brief but complete course of Mechanics. According to Suvorov, his lectures were astounding..."

P.I.Kotelnikov's son, A.P.Kotelnikov, laid the foundation for vector calculus and mechanics in non-Euclidean spaces and made a lot to explain the importance of Lobachevsky's works.

In the 1880s hydro-mechanics was intensively developed and this fact was first of all connected with the graduate of Moscow University I.S.Gromeka, who suggested principles of contemporary mathematical theory of capillarity. N.Ye.Zhukovsky gave a brilliant characteristic of his scientific work: "Works by Professor of Kazan University I.S.Gromeka are not well-known unfortunately, but nevertheless they solve many problems of hydro-mechanics. He gave an original interpretation of the capillary phenomena theory, investigated the movement of vortexes on sphere, studied movement of drops and movement of viscous liquid in tubes..."

The main trend of D.N.Zeiligher's researches was the theory of movement of changing body. He described statistics, kinematics and dynamics of such body. The scientist and lecturer of bright personality D.N.Zeiligher gained great respect of students and advanced scientists, however, in 1914 he was dismissed from the university for his democratic views and could returned only after 1917. 

Among his disciples is N.G.Chetayev, a prominent scientist in the field of Mechanics, correspondent member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and Lenin Prizewinner. The scientific school created by him and known as Kazan (or Chetayev's) School of Stability Theory was widely recognized.

The scientist's works were of great importance for aviation industry. In the beginning of the 1930s N.G.Chetayev took active part in organizing aerodynamic department of Kazan Aircraft Institute on the basis of the university department of Physics and Math. 
Photos and hand-written pages of his lectures, reprints and a book of selected works are the evidence of all mentioned above.