The beginning of engineering-mathematics education in Tomsk Polytechnic Institute

The technological revolution that began in the 1950s was largely due to the development of computer technology, cybernetics and informatics. Tomsk universities - Tomsk State University and Tomsk Polytechnic Institute - were the only educational institutions from the Urals to the Far East, training specialists in those fields. At that time initiated by the rector A.A. Vorobyev the departments were reorganized, research institutes were established, and the development of electronics and computer technology was not left aside. In 1962 the Department of Engineering and Computing Mathematics was formed to teach students the basics of computing, and since 1965 it graduated specialists of new profile engineering-mathematics being one of the first departments among technical universities of the country. Against the background of major changes and achievements, the origins are often forgotten. This article considers the initial period of specialist training in TPI up to 1972. The conditions for the formation of the Department staff, the development of new curricula, the development of the first computers and their use in the educational process are examined. Along with the general and special courses in mathematics and programming, students of the of the ECM department gained knowledge in technical subjects. It was a feature in engineers and mathematicians training, compared to university graduates. In 1970, at the order of the Minister of Higher Education of the RSFSR the major of applied Mathematics was approved, and at the Department of Engineering and Computing Mathematics continued training of engineering-mathematics in this new field. The department was headed by V.A. Kochegurov who had a strong research background in the Institute of Nuclear Physics in TPI. A gradual reorganization of the department began and primarily it concerned scientific work among the staff and students. After graduation, many students defended candidate and doctoral thesis. The initial stage of engineering-mathematics education in TPI ended in 1972 after the formation of the Department of Applied Mathematics, based on the Department of Engineering and Computing Mathematics.

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