Professor Augustin Iuliu PETRE was born on November 13, 1923, in Cehul Silvaniei, in Sălaj County. In 1924, his parents moved to Târgu Mureș. His father, Liviu Petre, was an illustrious mathematics teacher at the “Alexandru Papiu Ilarian” College, with university studies in Budapest. During the Hungarian occupation, Augustin Iuliu PETRE took refuge, together with his family, in Deva. In 1945, he returned to Târgu Mureș and managed to resume his life in the same house he had left five years earlier. Augustin Iuliu PETRE had attended six years of school at the “Alexandru Papiu Ilarian” College, but finished high school in refuge, in Deva.

He graduated from the Bucharest Polytechnic School as an aviation engineer in 1947. He attended the Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Bucharest, obtaining his bachelor’s degree in 1948, and the Faculty of Philosophy with his bachelor’s degree in 1947. He defended his doctorate in technical sciences in 1966 with the thesis Study of static aeroelastic phenomena based on the lift-resistance system, and in 1969 he became a docent in sciences. During his student years, as a fervent Greek Catholic believer, he was the spiritual son of Monsignor Vladimir Ghyca, a great theologian who died in prison in 1954.

Professor Augustin Iuliu PETRE went through all the stages of his academic career, standing out from a very young age as a highly valued teacher. Thus, in 1948 he was appointed assistant professor at the Faculty of Mechanics of the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, university lecturer in 1953, associate professor in 1957 and university professor in 1967. He taught courses on aeroelasticity, aircraft calculation and construction and was head of the Department of Aircraft and Onboard Installations at the Faculty of Aircraft (currently the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering) in the periods 1971-1985 and 1989-1996. In addition to the teaching activity carried out at the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest (currently the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest), he also carried out a sustained scientific research activity, his favorite research areas being the strength of materials, elastic stability, vibrations, aeroelasticity theory and thin-walled bars.

Being recognized as an exceptional researcher nationally, between 1950 and 1960 he was the head of the Department of Structural Dynamics of the Institute of Applied Mechanics of the Romanian Academy, and in 1971 he was appointed head of the Research Laboratory in the Field of Aviation Structures of the same institute.

He also received international recognition when he was invited as a visiting professor at Stanford University in California, from 1972 to 1975. While he was a visiting professor at Stanford, he presented some of his research results in an American research program called SILLABUS. This presentation was considered by NASA as the most important scientific event in aeronautics in the field of aeroelasticity in 1974. He was named a member of the American Academy of Sciences and awarded honorary doctorates by several universities around the world.

Professor Augustin Iuliu PETRE, together with Professor Holt Ashley from Stanford University, California, played an important role in the study of aeroelasticity, by including the effect of aerodynamic drag.

Professor Augustin Iuliu PETRE had a long experience at Boeing and NASA, and a company like Lockheed, with a special unit MUTT (Military Unit Tactical Trucks) used the professor’s research. He published over 200 papers and conducted experimental research on aircraft prototypes. He was a UN expert since 1975, on which occasion he made expertises regarding aeroelastic phenomena and the aeroelastic and resistance behavior of assemblies and installations causing accidents, air and transport catastrophes. He studied the flutter bending and twisting effect and the influence of this phenomenon on the airfoils.

Among the publications of Professor Augustin PETRE, the following can be mentioned, as representative: Aeroelasticity Theory, vol. 1 Statics and vol. 2 Periodic Dynamic Phenomena, Design of Aircraft and Spacecraft Structures at the RSR Academy Publishing House and Calculation of Aviation Structures at the Technical Publishing House, all reference works in the field.
Professor Augustin Iuliu PETRE passed away on January 6, 1999, leaving behind an extremely valuable scientific contribution.

Emeritus Professor Dr. Eng. Mircea DEGERATU

The article IN MEMORIAM – Professor Dr. Eng. Doc. Augustin Iuliu PETRE (November 13, 1923 – January 6, 1999) published by Emeritus Professor Mircea Degeratu in Annals of the Academy of Romanian Scientists, Series on Engineering Sciences, ISSN 2066-8570, Volume 16, Number 1/2024. The illustrations are from the archive of the Politehnica Aerospace Engineering Alumni Association.