Mourning in the family of Politehnica. Former rector Alexandru Nichici passed away
Mourning in the family of Politehnica. Former rector Alexandru Nichici passed away
The academic community of Politehnica University Timișoara suffered a heavy loss on January 21, 2020, by passing into eternal of Professor Emeritus dr.ing . Alexandru Nichici, rector of the institution from 1992 to 1996. The school lost not only an exceptional personality, but also a remarkable OM, a warm person, a convinced family member, a true colleague, a special interlocutor, from whom you had something to do. learned at every meeting and around which it was a pleasure to stay.
Through his entire academic, scientific and managerial activity, professor Alexandru Nichici has made a significant contribution both to the formation of generations of professionals in the field of engineering, and, implicitly, to the institutional development and increase of the prestige of the Timisoara Polytechnic.
Professor Alexandru Nichici was born on May 29, 1935 in Ivanda, Timiș County. He graduated from the Electric Engineering Faculty, the Electromechanical Engineering specialty in 1958. He became a teacher of the Polytechnic Institute in Timişoara in 1959, working within the Department of Materials Technology of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. He obtained the scientific title of Doctor in 1970, with the thesis "Fundamental phenomena in processing with electrical sparks with oscillating electrode". In 1980 he was appointed university professor, mentioning that between 1974 and 1976 he worked at the National University of the Republic of Zair in Kinshasa. Since 1990 he has become a PhD supervisor in the "Technological Engineering" specialty, with a preferential orientation towards the optimization of the processing by electric and laser erosion.
On the didactic side, he made himself noticed especially through the development or initiation of university courses Science and technology of materials, Laser systems and technologies, Statistical design of experiments. Towards the end of his career, between 2008 and 2011, he was the coordinator and titular professor of "Objectives, strategies and methods in scientific research", and "Scientific communication and deontology" subjects, from the program of advanced training of doctoral students, publishing, in 2009 "Scientific works: conception, writing, communication", a book meant to support young PhD students in their work.
Of the numerous scientific papers, 99 are published in the country, 27 abroad, 8 being in ISI journals. Of the total papers, approx. 30% are in the field of electric erosion processing technologies and approx. 55% in the field of laser beam materials processing. He published five books and has two applied invention patents. He established a series of contracts for scientific research and technological development with economic and research units in the field of mechanical engineering and unconventional materials processing technologies.
Along the way, he held many positions of leadership within the university, including the dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (1977-1982), Head of the Department of Mechanical Technology (1985-1990), rector of Politehnica University Timișoara (1992 -1996), Scientific Secretary of the University Senate (1996-2000), member of the Academic Council of UPT. The rector's mandate was exercised during a difficult period, marked by profound changes, in particular through the reintroduction of university autonomy, the restructuring of study programs, the adoption of the University Charter and standardization in accordance with European norms in the field.
In 2014 he published the autobiography "Chance and determination", in which he recalls with sincerity facts, experiences and opinions that defined the 50 years at Politehnica, and in 2017 he launched his volume "With sincerity about everything: The story of my life". In 2018 he was the organizer and the soul of the 60-year meeting since graduation of the generation of which he is part, one of the elite of the Timisoara Polytechnic.
