Strata Mechanics Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences
On July 1, 1954, the Polish Academy of Sciences established the independent Department of Strata Mechanics (ZMG PAN), located in Building A1 of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. The first head of the Department was Professor Witold Budryk, considered an eminent scholar and authority in the field of mining. In 1959, under the leadership of Professor Jerzy Litwiniszyn, the Department underwent intensive development, expanding its scientific scope to include areas such as rock mechanics, flow metrology, air and gas flow dynamics in mine ventilation networks, micrometrics, mining damage, and gas dynamics.
Thanks to the efforts of Professor Litwiniszyn and his deputy, Professor Stanisław Knothe, the construction of a new building for the Department at 27 Reymonta Street in Kraków was completed between 1964 and 1968, which has been its current location since 1968. In 1977, as a result of further development, the Department of Strata Mechanics of the Polish Academy of Sciences was transformed into the Institute of Strata Mechanics (IMG PAN), receiving a new statute and the right to award doctoral degrees. In 1987, Professor Wacław Trutwin was appointed Director of the Institute, and in 2003, Professor Wacław Dziurzyński took over this position. Since 2019, the Institute’s Director has been Dr. Przemysław Skotniczny, DSc, Eng.
The Institute conducts research and development activities in two main departments: the Department of Flow Physics (including the Flow Metrology Laboratory and the Mine Ventilation Laboratory) and the Department of Rock Mechanics (including the Micrometrics Laboratory and the Rock Deformation Laboratory). All research teams at the Institute are interdisciplinary, enabling collaboration with both domestic and international research centers and enterprises.
Since its inception, the Institute has conducted research of both a cognitive and applied, design, and implementation nature. It particularly addresses current scientific issues related to mining, including safety engineering in underground operations and their impact on the environment. Research topics include issues that have not yet had satisfactory solutions, such as methods for controlling rock and gas outbursts, predicting the ventilation process in complex network structures, and studying the physical properties of rocks with pore fluids.
The Institute engages in labor-intensive experiments aimed at verifying developed theories and methods for analyzing physical phenomena and processes. Thanks to its unique equipment, the Institute conducts experimental research in laboratories and on real-world facilities, as well as numerical experiments. Additionally, the Institute houses the Ventilation Measurement Instruments Calibration Laboratory (No. AP 118), which is accredited and constitutes a key element of its research activities, ensuring the high quality of its measurements.
Web: https://imgpan.pl/