OPENING OF THE 2017-2018 CONCERT SEASON TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY TAKES PART IN DEMO METAL BRAȘOV 2017 THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE RESEARCH CENTRE DIMOS (REGENSBURG) PREMIERS IN BRAŞOV COPED 2017 THE HIKIKOMORI PHENOMENON AT THE MULTICULTURAL CENTRE

INTRODUCING AND TESTING HI-TECH EQUIPMENT CHAMBER JAZZ INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH. CHALLENGES, MEASURES, AND SOLUTIONS - ISEG 2017 ERASMUS EVENT STUDY AND PROMOTION TRIP AS PART OF THE PROJECT MY FACULTY SUMMIT OF THE BOOK PLANET PETRILA – A STORY FROM POST-COMMUNIST ROMANIA THE WHITE NIGHT OF THE ART GALLERIES 2017 IMAGO MUNDI AT BRAȘOV VIRTUAL REALITY – AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION FOR PROTECTING AND PROMOTING OUR HERITAGE PROFESSORS WE TAKE PRIDE IN

NEWSLETTER No. 67 November 2017

OPENING OF THE 2017-2018 CONCERT SEASON

EXTRAORDINARY RECITAL BY HORIA MIHAIL (PIANO) - CIPRIAN DANCU (CLARINET)

The recital of Horia Mihail and Ciprian Dancu lived up to the expectations of such an event as the opening of the concert season at Transilvania University. On 2 October, we witnessed an exquisite interplay of solo and duo piano pieces. The first part of the program was dedicated to Schumann’s celebrated masterpieces – Fantasiestücke op. 73 and Kinderszenen op.15, and continued with Poulenc’s Sonata for clarinet in B-flat and piano, a musical piece that revealed the complex potential of the clarinet whose brisk notes completed the harmony of piano play.

Ciprian Dancu’s interpretative technique introduced us to a consummate musician whose virtuosity exceeds by far any ordinary limits. To complete the picture, Horia Mihail’s artistry and sensitivity were revealed in the performance of Chopin’s Waltz Opus 69, No.1 and 2. The performance continued with a selection of romantic Italian music, Pagina D’Album by Michele Mangani, went on with jazz pieces with folk undertones in Sholem Alekhem Rov Feidman by Béla Kovács, and with the habanera-like Cuban sounds in Paquito d’Rivera’s Vals Venezolano and Contradanza. The program’s final act included Paganini’s Caprice No 24 in A minor, whose swing variation by Benny Goodman highlighted the incredible craft of the piano and the clarinet. The audience relished the opportunity of this inaugural recital that eventually testified to the exceptional technical mastery of the protagonists.

Fulvia Anca Constantin Musical Centre Expert

n, lvia Aca,

TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY TAKES PART IN DEMO METAL BRAȘOV 2017

EVENT DEDICATED TO THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, INDUSTRY 4.0

Between 23 and 25 October, the Lux Divina event centre was the venue for Demo Metal Brașov 2017. The well-known event organized for the third time in our city, included several activities of interest for the manufacturing industry and for industrial businesses, in general. This year’s edition of Demo Metal was dedicated to the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0. The participants, direct representatives or distributors of important manufacturers of industrial equipment, showcased products and services which support this new industrial revolution: Kuka or Fanuc industrial robots; Haas, Hartford or Victor processing units; Mitutoyo, Digital Twin-partner Siemens NX, or Lloyds Register Romania measuring equipment. Direct manufacturers, such as Walter Tosto WTB, also attended the exhibition. All of them appreciated the efficient organization of the exhibition. As part of Demo Metal Brașov 2017, the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania organized a business accelerator with the participation of several Romanian companies, among which companies in the Renault group, such as Rina Romania. Demo Metal Brașov 2017 also included a forum devoted to presenting and discussing problems specific to the manufacturing industry in the context of the contemporary business world in Romania and in Europe.

Our university benefitted from a generous and strategically positioned stand, where it displayed prototypes manufactured by using various technologies. The Bluestreamline team exhibited its latest single-seater racing car. During the forum, the University’s Research and Development Institute, the Technology and Business Incubator ITA ProEnerg, and the Office for Intellectual Property were presented as organizational entities within the University, which can primarily supply services and products for the manufacturing industry.

The exhibition was visited by faculty staff and students from our university, but also from technical universities in Baia Mare, Bucharest, etc. It was an opportunity to exchange ideas, set up new contacts, and open a constructive dialogue, marked by a positive and motivational attitude, continuing the professional activity of all the parties involved. This year’s exhibition at Brașov was successful owing to the involvement of the local authorities, and of the local industries. A particular debt of gratitude is owed to Eng. Onuț Iliescu from Tehnic Media, for his commitment and support in serving as host to the event.

Dr Laurențiu – Aurel Mihail

THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE RESEARCH CENTRE DIMOS (REGENSBURG) PREMIERS IN BRAŞOV

ACKNOWLEDGING THE ROLE OF LOCAL GERMAN STUDIES IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT

Between 5 and 7 October, the German Studies faculty staff organized the fourth annual conference of the Research Centre for German in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, DiMOS (Regensburg University). Dr Hermann Scheuringer (photo on the left), Director of the centre, had this initiative which marks a first step toward a future collaboration, as well as the acknowledgement of the role that the German Studies at Braşov have had in the European context. The conference brought together Germanists from Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Ukraine. The presentations given in plenary and in panel sessions highlighted various aspects of research conducted in the area of German linguistics, literary studies, and cultural studies.

Our university was represented by Dr Carmen E. Puchianu, whose plenary speech was entitled

Germanistik zwischen Sein und Schein. Paradigmen rumäni(endeut)scher Germanistik am Fallbeispiel Kronstadt. Kritische Überlegungen, as well as by Dr Delia Cotârlea and Dr Robert G. Elekes, with panel presentations entitled An der Schwelle zwischen Deutsch und Rumänisch: Schriftsprache Deutsch unter Berücksichtigung des Deutschunterrichts an Deutschsprachigen Schulen in Rumänien, and respectively, Von der Phänomenologie des Alltages zur Phänomenologie des Selbst. Zu Carmen Elisabeth Puchianus Lyrik.

The conference was opened by Dr Adrian Lăcătuş, Dean of the Faculty of Letters, Mr Ovidiu Ganţ (photo on the right), representative of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania, and Mr Wolfgang Wittstock, President of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania, Braşov branch. Within the frame of the conference, the participants had the opportunity to view Das neue Stück, performed by the German expressionist group Duo Bastet (C. E. Puchianu and R. G. Elekes), and meet with members of the German community of Braşov.

Dr Carmen E. Puchianu

THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY,

EDUCATION AND TEACHER TRAINING

COPED 2017

The beginning of the 2017-2018 Academic Year also opened new directions in research and collaboration, as became apparent during COPED 2017, the International Conference Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology, Education and Teacher Training, hosted by Transilvania University of Braşov, and co-organized by our Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Ovidius University of Constanţa, and Instituto di Scienze Psicologiche dellʼ Educazione e della Formazione–I.S.P.E.F. at Rome (Italy). The presentations and workshops highlighted highly topical issues in education today – the

dilemmas about a teaching career (E. Păun), the diagnosis and development of pupils’ creativity (F. Presutti), the well-being of disabled people (P. Nicolini), education for peace (S. Guetta), education for environment protection (L. Rioux) or teachers’ training for extracurricular activities (Z. Formella). The conference represented an example of good practice regarding the partnership and collaboration with colleagues and students from higher education institutions in Romania and abroad, which can be the foundation for the development of new partnerships.

Dr Mihaela Voinea

THE HIKIKOMORI PHENOMENON AT THE MULTICULTURAL CENTRE

Between 4 and 6 October, the Multicultural Centre of Transilvania University played host to the multisensorial project named Hikikomori. Designed as a visual, acoustic and performative installation based on the text of the Austrian playwright Holger Schober, Hikikomori is a cultural project co-financed by ANCF (the Administration of the National Cultural Fund) which, before being presented in Brașov, was performed before the audiences in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. On the 4 October two performances by Nicoleta Lefter took place followed by the debate entitled “Recycle/ handmade/ Do-It-Yourself – a form of therapy”. During the following two days, visitors were able to see the installation. Hikikomori is a social phenomenon manifest especially in young adults who, despite completing their studies (secondary school or college), are unable to find a job. As a result, they end up isolating themselves in their own room, which becomes their

cocoon, a womb which protects them from the surrounding world. These young adults become increasingly unable to interact with people, suffering from pathological anxiety, depression, and constructing a schizoid environment in which the only accepted reality is the one existing between the four walls of one’s room. The performance by Nicoleta Lefter was quite a visceral one, verbalizing a silent shriek stuck in one’s throat.

The performance was supported by an installation made from plastic bottles and other objects made from recyclable materials, a minimalist and a very repetitive sound, creating a sense of artificiality, depersonalization, everything being augmented by pixilated images recalling of the graphics of the 90s video games.

Iulia Stoichiț

INTRODUCING AND TESTING HI-TECH EQUIPMENT

AN EVENT ORGANIZED BY THE FACULTY OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

In the month of October, the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering – the C08 Research Centre: Advanced metallic, ceramic and composite materials and technologies MMC, in collaboration with several companies organized two work sessions aimed at introducing state-of-the-art equipment to be implemented in the research activity. The invited companies showcased their technology while visitors, academic or non-academic specialists, were invited to test the equipment on their own sample materials.

Between 2 and 6 October, ROFAROM Company made demonstrations of the latest Anton Paar equipment for testing the mechanical properties of materials. Anton Paar deals in developing, producing and marketing high-precision lab instruments and process measurement systems, offering automatization solutions and customized robotic solutions. Anton Paar is a leading company in the field of density and carbon dioxide content measurements, as well as in rheometry. The presentation venue was the L2 laboratory at the Research and Development Institute, and demonstrations were performed on the following equipment:

the STeP4 platform, equipped with NHT3 Nano-indentation instrument for the determination of indentation hardness, and with elastic module with Microscratch MST3 instrument for the determination of thin films adhesion and scratch resistance;

the TRB tribometer with Pin On Disk system;

the Calotest device for measuring coating thickness.

The state-of-the art design of indentation tests proposed by Anton Paar offers the most reliable and accurate testing solution in a modular and compact format. When combined with other modules, such as the Micro / Nano Scratch Testers, the Nano Tribometer or the imaging solutions (AFM, ConScan, In Situ Microscope), the testing platform can be user customized. On 25 October, Struers GmbH, through its Bucharest division, made a demo presentation of a mobile laboratory for testing the hardness of materials. This was also an opportunity to promote the new generation of Struers testing devices. The demonstration was performed at the Research and Development Institute on a platform vehicle weighing 3.5 t, open to visitors.

Dealing in this branch for over 30 years, Struers has constantly upgraded its equipment according to the customers’ needs and feedback. Thus, they showcased an integrated solution for preparing and analysing specimens, with the assistance of latest hardness testing devices from the innovative Duramin generation, and of the Discotom-10 and Discotom-100 cut-off machines conceived to expand and enhance the efficiency of cut-off processes. Another highlight of the event was the introduction of the new LaboSystem which is a modular grinding and polishing system offering a choice of three LaboPol polishers, three LaboForce specimen movers, and two LaboDoser dosing units. Designed for reliability and speed, for manual and semi-automatic grinding and polishing of specimens, the LaboSystem is a highly adaptable polishing solution for the lab and production environment.

Dr Tibor Bedő

CHAMBER JAZZ: MELANCHOLY AND EXUBERANCE IN THE NEW ALBUM, SOUNDING TEARS

On 24 October the Multicultural Centre hosted the opening of the 2017-2018 season of the musical project Chamber Jazz, and having as special guests Mat Maneri (viola), Evan Parker (saxophone) and Lucian Ban (piano), which afforded the public an opportunity to participate in an experimental and particularly interesting edition of Chamber Jazz.

Sounding tears is the latest album of violinist Mat Maneri, featuring pianist Lucian Ban, with whom

Maneri has been performing in concerts for over ten years, and British saxophonist Evan Parker.

If other well-known saxophone players have combined jazz music with bebop, swing or bossa nova influences, Parker emphasizes, first of all, the role of improvisation, creating new sounds. This is also the case of Pulse and blood circulation, one of his earliest songs.

As the international reviews point out, the New Yorker violinist Mat Maneri, well- known for the art of jazz improvisation, along with Lucian Ban and Evan Parker, brings with his latest album a combination of melancholy and exuberance, marking a new stage in the perception and performance of this genre.

During the after-session discussions, the three musicians admitted that the empathy of the public holds great importance in the process of improvisation for the quality and consistency of the artistic moment largely depends on the positive or negative reception of the audience.

The next Chamber Jazz event takes place at the Multicultural Centre on 15 November, when the violinist George Dumitriu will return to Braşov, this time with his trio, named DUMItRIO.

Ioana Zenaida Rotariu

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH. CHALLENGES, MEASURES, AND SOLUTIONS - ISEG 2017 THE FACULTY OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION HOSTS THE 3RD EDITION

The Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration co-organized, with the Institute for Economic Forecasting (IPE) within the National Institute for Economic Research Costin C. Kiriţescu (INCE) within the Romanian Academy, the third edition of the international conference Inclusive and

sustainable economic growth. Challenges, measures and solutions (ISEG). The participants were Romanian specialists, among whom Dr Lucian Albu, as well as specialists from Germany, Ecuador, Spain, Turkey, USA, Italy, Slovakia, etc. The conference opened with the plenary talks by Dr Klaus F. Zimmermann (President of Global Labor Organization – GLO, visiting professor from Princeton University, co-director of POP at UNU-MERIT, professor at Bonn University, Germany), Dr Rodrigo Mendieta Munoz (Universidad de Cuenca, Ecuador), and Dr Oscar Bajo-Rubio (Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain). The conference represented an opportunity for vivid debates on topics relating to economic issues of high relevance internationally.

Dr Ioana Chițu

ERASMUS EVENT

WELCOME MEETING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OF TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY OF BRAȘOV

This fall Transilvania University was the choice institution of 100 foreign students, beneficiaries of an Erasmus+ mobility. This semester, the welcome meeting was organized on 10 October at our university’s Multicultural Centre. The guests to this event were first of all the incoming Erasmus students, but also the Erasmus+ coordinators at faculty and department level, and the representatives of local mass-media. The students received information and supporting materials, they

had the opportunity to learn more about the university’s educational offer, the periodical events organized by the Erasmus+ office for their benefit, as well as the cultural and social aspects specific to our country and our geographical area. Also attending the meeting were members of the Erasmus Student Network, active in supporting and promoting the mobility program. The participants’ enthusiasm and prompt reply, as well as the commitment of the Erasmus+ Office staff turn this program into an opportunity to increase our university’s visibility and an incentive to constantly improve its educational offer.

Dr Laura Teodora David Erasmus+ Incoming Students Coordinator

MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION – A PRIORITY OF THE UNIVERSITIES IN TRANSILVANIA REGION

STUDY AND PROMOTION TRIP AS PART OF THE PROJECT MY FACULTY

Between 24 and 27 October, the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science organized a study trip promoting our university in elite schools throughout the Transilvanian region. The activity involved 24 undergraduate and graduate students and five teaching staff members. All the participants were impressed by the visits to the National College Horea, Cloșca și Crișan at Alba Iulia, the National College Vasile Lucaciu at Baia Mare, and Tiberiu Popoviciu High School of Computer Science at Cluj-Napoca. The students and teachers of these schools showed great interest in facts about Transilvania University and in the description of the educational offer of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science.

Besides high schools, the trip also included visits to universities in Alba Iulia, Baia Mare, and Cluj-

Napoca. At the 1 Decembrie 1918 University of Alba Iulia and at the Northern University Centre Baia Mare our students met with students and teachers from the computer science programs for informal exchanges. Babeș-Bolyai University organized a visit to the famous IT cluster of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. The participants from Brașov were also received a kind welcome from the IT company IQuest of Cluj-Napoca.

This activity was organized as part of the project My Faculty developed by our university and was sponsored by Waters-Romania.

Dr Olivia Florea

SUMMIT OF THE BOOK AT TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY BOOKS AND THEIR POWER TO DISSEMINATE INFORMATION

In 2012 the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington had the initiative to organize an event dedicated to the book, as a crucial format for promoting scholarship and culture, aimed at illustrating the power to disseminate information, and having the book at its core. After this flying start, the Summit of the book was held annually in various places around the world: Singapore- 2013, France – 2014, Egypt – 2015 and Ireland – 2016. The event had a strong international impact, and we were particularly honoured to organize and host the sixth summit on 16 and 17 October at Transilvania University of Brașov, in collaboration with the Public Library. The main speakers were John von Oudenaren, Director, Scholarly and Educational Programs, The Library of Congress and Director of World Digital Library, Ismail Serageldin, Founding Director Emeritus, Library of Alexandria and Director, World Digital Library Executive Council, Alexandria, Egypt,

Jerald Cavanagh, Institute librarian at Limerick Institute of Technology, Limerick, Ireland, Joumana Boustany, Associate Professor at Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, IFIS, Paris, France, Manolis Koukourakis, Director, Crete University Library, Greece, Padraig Kirby BA (Hons), HdipLIS, MSc (LIS) Senior Library Assistant la Limerick Institute of Technology, Limerick, Ireland, Tereza Khechoyan, Professor and Vice-Rector of Public Administration Academy of Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia. The two Romanian speakers were Carmen Gheorghe, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law within Transilvania University, and Caius Dobrescu, Professor at the University of Bucharest.

Several works with authors from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Hungary, and Romania were introduced to the participants. The financial support provided by the U.S. Embassy in Romania and E-nformation made this event possible.

Dr. Angela Repanovici

PLANET PETRILA – A STORY FROM POST-COMMUNIST ROMANIA

MORE THAN JUST A FRIVOLOUS PROTEST

On 21 October, the Nicolae Titulescu Hall in T building hosted the screening of the film Planet Petrila, followed by a Q&A session with protagonist Ion Barbu. Here is a synopsis of the film in which the audience could recognize many a familiar situations that we

came up against in the Romania of the past two or three decades: “In 2015, miners in Petrila descend into the mine for the last time. Following an EU agreement for the closure of the mines, the authorities intend to demolish all buildings that were once part of the mining complex. This would sever the ties with a past with which the local community has still a strong bond; this, however, leaves politicians unmoved. Artist and ex-miner Ion Barbu refuses to resign himself to the situation and embarks on a seemingly impossible mission: to persuade the authorities to preserve the former buildings. In order to achieve this, he covers the buildings with murals, organizes performances, street protests, and even a theatre festival in the mine. His actions turn out to be more than just a frivolous protest; in the end, they offer a good example of how the material traces of the recent past can be integrated into a cultural circuit.” (transl. from http://www.agentiadecarte.ro/2017/10/) Organizers of this event were the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Brașov County History Museum, and the Faculty of Sociology and Communication at Transilvania University of Brașov.

Dr Florin Nechita

THE WHITE NIGHT OF THE ART GALLERIES 2017

INTRIGUING PROJECTS PUT FORWARD BY THE MULTICULTURAL CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSITY

The White Night of the Art Galleries dares to dream bigger each year, tempting people into discovering new forms of art and managing to merge social and cultural needs and deeds. In Brașov, 4 galleries and 27 alternative spaces provided shelter for installations, 3D prints, costumes, illustrations, films and video-mapping projects. Unlike other cultural projects, (W)NAG managed to incite the viewer with a different perspective: What if the work of art doesn’t have to be rigid? What if we are not supposed simply to watch silently? (Anamaria Guguian’s project certainly required people to dance, not to sit still and watch). The alternative places help promote a more engaged way of connecting with a form of art that aspires to

be politically, socially and economically involved, for its sole aim is to react, to manifest itself outside of the cold, distant box. When it comes to expressing the need for change in a more laid-back yet intriguing manner, the Multicultural Centre of Transilvania University hosted daring projects like Hikikomori, concerning human (lack of) interaction and new social concepts. Luminita Mihai’s installation also tested the limits of our “water intake” and Mihai Iepure-Gorski’s “Ballad of a Stupid Man” earned its right to a shelf space and to leave the audience wondering.

Oana Drăgușin

IMAGO MUNDI AT BRAȘOV BRÂNCUȘI’S SYNESTHESIA

Pe 22 octombrie, sub cupola de sticlă întunecată a On 22 October, under the nebulous, glass-fashioned dome of Transilvania University’s Assembly Hall, Imago Mundi carried forward their project, Isvor. Constantin Brâncuși, a celebration of that distinguished sensibility which finely characterises “the father of Modern sculpture”. This spiritual rekindling of Brâncuși’s work, an artist claimed by both Romanian as well as European culture, was achieved by performing a number of musical compositions born at the crossroads of traditional Romanian sounds and, interestingly enough, Erik Satie’s French “theatre de l’absurde”, in contrast with Maria Tănase’s melodic folklore. The vibrant vein of these renditions was upheld by the projection of both moving pictures and videos proper devised by visual artists, their intention being that of a full immersion in the sculptor’s world; we talk in fact about an essentialized reality, symbolically recomposed by means of a collage of motif-objects and tense suggestions.

A crimson obscurity animated by marine carcasses in an aquarium, for Doina Oltului (Olt River Song); an entanglement and fecund disentanglement of a ball of thread belonging to the white maiden, for Cumințenia (Wisdom). Muza (The Muse) is ever the wooden spinning top that gently tantalizes the skin. The somber and the melancholy took clear shape through the feeling of ceaseless repetition in the visuals projected for Masa (The Table) and Coloana (The Column). But the suppressed dynamism, specific of the contemporary man’s condition, was tamed by the native jocund cadences, mainly observed in Floricica din căluș (The Căluș Flower) and Gorjienne. The Oriental modulation and the percussive accents present in all of the eight pieces accompanied by visual elements certainly diluted the crisp autumn evening. The keystone of the displayed artistic virtuosity was the harmony of the intimate and profound complementarities which undoubtledly outline the portraits of certain memorable personalities in our cultural landscape: both the musicians who now evoke and those evoked from times past. The image of continuity itself. It is therefore understandable why the people in the audience had warm smiles on their faces, and why their applause called Imago Mundi back on stage for an encore.

Rareș Călugăr

VIRTUAL REALITY – AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION FOR PROTECTING AND PROMOTING OUR HERITAGE FOSTERING EXHIBITION VISITORS’ INTERACTIONS AND EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT

In partnership with the local School Inspectorate and our Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Casa Mureșenilor Museum in Brașov completed the implementation of the cultural project Virtual reality – an innovative solution for protecting and promoting our patrimony co-financed by the National Cultural Fund Administration.

The project put forward an innovative solution for protecting and promoting our heritage by means of virtual reality and augmented reality apps. These

were integrated into the permanent exhibition of Casa Mureșenilor Museum. The aim was to turn the location into a place of exploration and discovery by fostering exhibition visitors’ interactions and emotional involvement. With the endorsement of Brașov County School Inspectorate, more than 200 pupils from local schools and high schools attended the permanent exhibition, which was visited by over 100 Sociology and Communication students as well.

Our faculty’s main contribution to the project was a study that evaluated visitor experience at the permanent exhibition of Casa Mureșenilor Museum, and investigated the extent to which the virtual reality and augmented reality apps enhanced this experience. The collected data were discussed in the research report and will be used in a number of scientific articles.

Dr Florin Nechita

PROFESSORS WE TAKE PRIDE IN

PROFESSOR MIRCEA LUPU

On 4 November, current and retired faculty staff, adjuncts, alumni, and guest academics came together at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science to honour Professor Mircea Lupu on the occasion of his 75th anniversary. The guests included personalities of mathematical and technical sciences, among whom Prof George Dincă (University of Bucharest), Prof Marian Ivan, (University of Bucharest), and Prof Eduard-Marius Crăciun (Ovidius University of Constanta). The numerous speeches given on this occasion highlighted Professor Lupu's complex personality, his important scientific contributions, and his role in promoting Braşov's academic mathematical education. As a sign of gratitude for his entire scientific and teaching activity, Transilvania University awarded him the Diploma of Fidelity. On his anniversary, Professor Lupu also received the Diploma of Excellence from the Gheorghe Mihoc - Caius Iacob Institute of Applied Mathematics within the Romanian Academy and the Diploma of Excellence from the Henri Coandă Air Force Academy at Braşov. GAMM and ROMAI Mathematics and Mechanics societies, school inspectorates in Călăraşi, Sibiu, and Buzău sent greeting cards. The main lecture hall at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science was filled with former students who came from different corners of the country to express their gratitude and wish their professor a Happy Birthday. Mircea Lupu was born on October 30, 1942 in Chernivitsi (Ukraine, today). He graduated the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics at the University of Bucharest in 1967. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Bucharest in 1982, with the dissertation entitled Mathematical

Contributions to the Study of the Movement of Free Surface Fluids, under the advisorship of a prominent scientist, Academician Caius Iacob. For over four decades, he carried out an intensive professional activity. He was a professor at Ştirbei Vodă College at Călăraşi, where he taught special mathematics classes between 1968 and 1974. In 1974 he began his career in higher education at the University of Brașov, at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, where he held the position of assistant professor (1974-1978), lecturer (1978-1990), associate professor (1990-1997) and professor. The subjects taught during all of these years cover a broad range of mathematical disciplines taught at undergraduate and graduate level: Differential Equations, Theoretical Mechanics, Continuous Field Mechanics, Dynamic Systems, Special Chapters on the Theory of Complex Functions and Limit Problems, Special Mathematics, Methods and Mathematical Models. It is this variety of interests which led Academician Caius Iacob to dub him “the full professor”. He held management positions within the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science: Scientific Secretary (1990-1994), Head of the Equations Department (2004-2008). He is a member of the Romanian Society of Mathematical Sciences (SSMR), of the United States Mathematical Sciences Society (AMS), of EUROMECH, of GAMM (Germany) and SEFI. Since 2008 he has been a member of the Academy of Scientists of Romania. For his teaching activity, in 1982, Mircea Lupu received the Diploma for Outstanding University Lectureship by the Ministry of Education. Professor Mircea Lupu's scientific activity is remarkable. So far he authored 150 scientific papers published in journals issued under the aegis of the Romanian Academy and in other high ranking journals. He impresses by the original results and the variety of fields in Mathematics and Fluid Mechanics, Solid Mechanics, Dynamic Systems that he has researched. For this reason, Academician Lazăr Dragoş considers him a “worthy follower of Caius Jacob's work”.

Dr Olivia Florea