Dr. Mieczyslaw G. Bekker -- (1905 - 1989) -- engineerAlthough his accomplishments are many and notable, Dr. Bekker will probably be best known as the "Father of Terramechanics" in the prestigious International Society for Terrain- Vehicle Systems (ISTVS), and developer of the Lunar Roving Vehicle used by the astronauts to conduct cosmic studies on Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions.
Dr. Bekker was born in Strzyzow, Poland. He completed his technical studies and earned his Master's Degree at the Warsaw Institute of Technology. He worked in the office of Armoured Vehicle Research, Department of Military Affairs in Warsaw, Poland. From 1936 to 1939 he established a graduate course on Terrain-Vehicle Mechanics and a supporting laboratory at his Alma Mater. The outbreak of WWII interrupted his activities there.
After moving to the United States, he established graduate courses and a laboratory in the mechanics of off-road locomotion at the Stevens Institute of Technology. There he focused on the development of the pressure-sinkage equation and on the characterization of the shear stress relationship for soils. He concentrated on the development of .the functional aspects and effects for off-road mobility research and finalized the development for what became known as the Bekker pressure-sinkage equation for soils.
From: Wallace M. West; American Institute of Polish Culture, Florida