International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

Abstract

Prior to 1946, international congresses were the only activity conducted by the group of mechanicians. Professor Jan Burgers (Delft) presented a plan at the 1946 Congress in Paris to expand the activities of the group under the umbrella of a Union. A British scientist by the name of Stratton, who was general secretary of the International Council of Scientific Unions, proposed (to Burgers) that the Congress of Applied Mechanics transform itself into a Union so that it would have a more permanent character and could adhere to the International Council. This was described in a letter from Burgers to G. I. Taylor dated January 18, 1946. Taylor responded, “If he (Taylor) sees Kármán, he would ask him what he thinks”. H. Villat, head of the French organizational committee for the Paris Congress, wrote to Burgers in June 1946 that several of his colleagues generally approved of the idea.