Master in Advanced Mechanics and Modeling

Program Mission

We train highly qualified and internationally competitive specialists who are able to independently state and solve theoretical and practical problems in advanced mechanics and mathematical modeling, as well as in related subject areas.

Graduates of the program are ready for successful professional activities in research, engineering, and design institutions; the construction industry; mechanical engineering; the aerospace industry; mass computing and communication; and other fields of technology and natural science. The graduates will be able to carry out research activities related to the development and application of mathematical methods for solving fundamental and applied problems of natural science, technology, economics, and management.

Our graduates will be able to work as: research associates; specialists in research and development; specialists in the organization and management of research and development projects; and teachers of higher and secondary education. Their fields of activity will be mathematical modeling, and scientific and applied research for high-tech industries, and engineering and manufacturing activities.

The program is focused on building and developing in students their skills in conducting fundamental scientific research and applying the apparatus of advanced theoretical and applied mathematics to solve the urgent challenging problems in all areas of advanced mechanics. These include analytical mechanics; control theory; solid mechanics; mechanics of fluid, gas, and plasma; and nano- and biomechanics. The program is designed to provide students with a holistic education in higher mathematics, fundamental mechanics, and computer modeling techniques. It also develops their research and scientific abilities.

Key Skills

Our graduates are capable of solving fundamental research and applied problems in all areas of mechanics. These include solid mechanics; mechanics of fluid, gas, and plasma; theoretical mechanics; as well as interdisciplinary areas as biomechanics, physicochemical aerodynamics, and materials science.

Entering Research and Professional Community

Our students are involved in work in research projects conducted by renowned scientists in promising fields of science that are critical for contemporary society. These include not only fundamental mechanics, aerospace, and shipbuilding industries, but also multidisciplinary fields such as nano- and biomechanics, materials science, and ecology. Research projects are funded by: the Russian Science Foundation; the Russian Foundation for Basic Research; the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation; and the Committee on Science and Higher Education of St Petersburg.

Students also have the opportunity to take part in research activities that take place in collaboration with the world's top scientific centers (the European Space Agency; French and German aerospace research centers) and leading universities in Europe (Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden), the USA, Canada, China, and Brazil.

Students take part in international conferences in all branches of advanced mechanics such as: International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; International Symposium on Rarefied Gas Dynamics; International Symposium on Shock Waves; European Conference on Aeronautic and Space Science; and many others.

Among the partners of the program organizers are:

the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute; and Krylov State Research Centre.

Key Features of the Program

The program covers such complex and fascinating fields of advanced mechanics as mechanics of composites and nanomaterials; biomechanics; computational fluid dynamics; mechanics of fluid, gas, and plasma; dynamics of charged microparticles; electromechanics; and robotics.

Master’s students will study the fundamentals of mechanics and other interdisciplinary areas at the intersection of chemistry, physics, biology, computational mathematics, and other sciences and develop their ability for research and scientific activities. Special attention is paid to such disciplines as higher mathematics, fundamental mechanics, and methods of computer modeling.

Students can specialize in one of the following areas:

• Biomechanics
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Dynamics of Charged Microparticles
• Dynamics of Spacecraft
• Oscillations of Solids and Elastic Bodies, Rotor Dynamics
• Solid Mechanics
• Mechanics of Fluid, Gas, and Plasma
• Mechanics of Composites and Nanomaterials
• Mechanics of Nonholonomic Systems
• Supersonic and Subsonic Aerodynamics
• Theory of Transfer and Relaxation Processes in Nonequilibrium Media
• Theory of Elasticity, Viscoelasticity, and Plasticity
• Physical Mechanics of Continuous Media
• Electromechanics and Robotics

Benefits of the Program

• The program provides a fundamental education in the field of mathematics, mechanics, and computer science. It also makes it possible for students to master the research methods of mechanical and mathematical modeling of physical processes.
• An outstanding team of lecturers and research associates provides training in all areas of advanced mechanics, as well as interdisciplinary areas at the intersection of chemistry, physics, biology, computational mathematics, and other sciences.
• The academic staff of the program implements fascinating advanced projects in the mechanics of thin-walled structures, dynamics of spacecraft, rotor dynamics, biomechanics, supersonic and experimental aerodynamics, physicochemical gas dynamics, multilayer nanotubes, properties of shape-memory materials, strongly nonequilibrium processes in the mechanics of inhomogeneous and structured media, and others. The existence of acting schools of thought provides students with an opportunity to be actively engaged in research work.
• Most of the focus is on creative research work and an in-depth study of the subjects in accordance with the chosen profile.
• Working on unique experimental facilities in our own laboratories and combined theoretical and experimental approaches make it possible for students to investigate comprehensively the most complex problems of mechanics.
• Students master applied programs for solving problems of theoretical mechanics; fluid and gas mechanics; and elasticity theory (ANSYS, FLUENT, etc.). They also develop their own algorithms and programs for specific problems of advanced mechanics using state-of-the-art computer facilities.

Main Courses

Among academic courses studied within the program are:

• Computer Technologies in Mechanics
• History of Mechanics and Applied Mathematics
• Machine Learning and Big data
• Advanced Continuum Mechanics
• Numerical Methods in Mechanics
• Interdisciplinary Problems

Also, elective courses are available for students:

• Nonlinear Dynamics and Control Theory
• Experiments in Aerodynamics
• Deformation and Fracture Mechanics
• Vibrations of Elastic Bodies
• Hypersonic Flows
• Mechatronics
• and many others.

After training, graduates of the program will be capable of:

• designing, analyzing, and solving problems related to the creation and application of mathematical models in mechanics
• using software and computer technology for topical problems of theoretical and applied mechanics
• performing numerical and full-scale mechanical experiments and processing the results
• They will also have the skills of scientific inquiry and research; know how to correlate new results with classical theories and make the best use of the achievements of modern science; know how to work in a research team; and have fundamental skills in teaching mathematics, mechanics and related subjects.

The graduates will be able to work in the areas of:

• fundamental problems of mathematics and mechanics
• advanced algorithms for solving applied problems
• a set of mathematical models of processes and phenomena in natural, technical, and socio-economic sciences in their systemic unity
• objects of fundamental mechanics: deformable solid, fluid, gas, plasma, shells
• nanoobjects
• robots
• vehicles, including road, rail, water transport, and aircrafts
• space objects such as spacecrafts, asteroids, or comets
• processes of flow around bodies and structural elements by fluid or gas flows
• issues in protecting buildings, structures, and constructions
• problems of optimal control and safe functioning of any production plant or its separate units
• natural phenomena and processes in the earth's crust

Graduates of the program can work at:

• the institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
• Russian and foreign universities; the enterprises of the Roscosmos State Corporation;
• subsidiaries of Gazprom Neft PJSC;
• enterprises of the United Shipbuilding Corporation;
• ‘Almaz – Antey’ Air and Space Defence Corporation JSC;
• Krylov State Research Centre;
• Baranov Central Institute of Aviation Motors;
• and other enterprises of the aviation and shipbuilding industry.

Students have an opportunity to do internships and research practice in the scientific laboratories of St Petersburg University as well as in various organizations with which there are agreements on organizing and conducting practical training for students of St Petersburg University:

• Institute for Problems in Mechanical Engineering of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Krylov State Research Centre
• 'REP Holding’ JSC
• ‘Radar MMS’ JSC