Prof. em. Dr. Mahir Sayir

Mahir Sayir was Full Professor of Mechanics and head of the Center for Mechanics at ETH Zurich beginning in October,1976. He retired end of March 2005.

Prof. Sayir was born in Istanbul, Turkey on February 14, 1940 and studied in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Istanbul. He obtained his PhD from the ETH under Prof. Ziegler and was elected assistant professor of mechanics on January 1, 1969, was promoted to associate professor in 1972 and to full Professor in 1976. This was also the year he began supplementing his theoretical research with new experimental projects and when he directed his interests mainly towards applied dynamics. According to his credo, a professor of mechanics should prove his competence in both research and teaching, not only in his daily work with his graduate students at the diploma or doctoral level, but also in undergraduate courses of mechanics at the first and second year level. In 1985 he was "Lady Davis Visiting Professor" at the Technion in Haifa, Israel, and in 1987 he was invited as "Russel Spring Honour Professor" at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of California at Berkeley.