Meeting at BUT commemorated 100 years since the birth of mathematician Miloš Zlámal

The Institute of Mathematics at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology (BUT) organized a Commemorative Afternoon and Seminar to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Professor Miloš Zlámal from BUT. The event took place on January 15, 2025, at the Auditorium of the BUT Rectorate and highlighted the international significance and main contributions of the founder of the mathematical theory of the Finite Element Method (FEM). It also reminded attendees of the beginnings of computers at BUT and provided insights into current FEM theory and practice. This event followed previous meetings in 2005 and 2015.

“It was a great source of pride for me to discover that the origin of these mathematical methods is connected with BUT and Professor Zlámal,” said BUT Rector Ladislav Janíček in his opening speech, recalling his experience using FEM during his time at the Department of Computational Methods at the LET Kunovice aircraft factory.

“In 1990, Professor Zlámal and his entire research group moved from the BUT Regional Computing Center to the Institute of Mathematics of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering BUT. This marked the start of the department's recognition as one of the leading mathematical institutions. It was also crucial that his scientific stature contributed to the accreditation of the prestigious Mathematical Engineering study program,” said Petr Vašík, Director of the Institute of Mathematics, in a brief greeting. He also reminded that today, Professor Zlámal’s legacy is carried on by the seminar created in the 1960s, which has been maintained thanks to the significant efforts of another department member, Jan Franců.

The Finite Element Method (FEM) is a numerical technique used to approximate the solution of complex engineering and physical problems. FEM divides the region to be analyzed into small parts called finite elements, typically triangles in 2D and tetrahedrons in 3D. The solution is sought as a continuous function over the entire area, which is typically linear on each element. The resulting equations have "good" properties for numerical computation. This method allows solving problems on complex domains.

After the opening speakers, the afternoon continued with presentations from representatives of BUT, the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Charles University (UK), VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava (VŠB-TUO), the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (ZČU), and the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STU).

Michal Křížek from the Institute of Mathematics CAS introduced the biography and major mathematical problems that Zlámal addressed. He also highlighted Zlámal’s publication activity in prestigious journals such as Numerische Mathematik, the American Mathematical Society, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

The latest advances and trends in the development of high-performance computing systems were presented by Tomáš Kozubek, Scientific Director of the National Supercomputing Center IT4Innovations at VŠB-TUO. He also provided a detailed overview of the current capabilities of supercomputers in the Czech Republic and the European Union.

Even the enormous power of today's computers is often insufficient for modeling technical problems. Therefore, sophisticated approaches to transforming problems into FEM equations and solving them on computers are required. At the same time, computational strategies must be sought that allow achieving sufficiently accurate results in the shortest possible time. These issues were addressed by Václav Kučera and Vít Dolejší from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at UK, Tomáš Vejchodský and Jakub Šístek from the Institute of Mathematics CAS, and Marek Brandner from the Faculty of Applied Sciences at ZČU.

Karol Mikula from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at STU in Bratislava presented the use of FEM for biological and environmental applications, such as processing and analyzing videos from a confocal microscope. From BUT, Jindřich Petruška, Director of the Institute of Solid Mechanics, Mechatronics, and Biomechanics at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, BUT, spoke. He introduced the process of gradually integrating FEM into professional and pedagogical work at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering BUT in several stages.

The event was organized and moderated by Jan Franců. Between presentations, the event was accompanied by organ music performed by Professor Jiří Jan from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT.

For those interested in a deeper insight into the life and work of this prominent Brno scientist, the VUTIUM Publishing House released a publication in 2006 titled Miloš Zlámal, Founder of the Mathematical Theory of FEM (in Czech language).

Miloš Zlámal was a world-renowned Czech mathematician, the founder of the mathematical theory of the Finite Element Method, which underlies most of the current computational methods for solving differential equations in various technical fields such as continuum mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and many others. He was born on December 30, 1924, near Kroměříž. He studied mathematics and physics at Masaryk University. From 1961, he worked at BUT as the head of the newly established Laboratory of Computing Machines. Under his leadership, the laboratory became the most significant institution of its kind in the country and played a key role in introducing computational methods and computers into practice, not only at BUT but also in research institutes and manufacturing plants. In 1990, he moved to the Institute of Mathematics at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at VUT, where he remained even after his retirement until his unexpected death on June 22, 1997.

Authors: Petr Kubíček in collaboration with Jan Franců