90th Anniversary of Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva

10 February marks the 90^th anniversary of Doctor of Technical Sciences, former Head of the Department of Construction Materials at KTU Faculty of Civil Engineering, later Head of the Research Laboratory of Construction Materials and Structures, long-time President of KTU Veteran Club “Emeritus”, Assoc. Prof. Juozas Deltuva. After 43 years of work at the university, the associate professor did not break his ties with the university: thanks to his efforts, the original and only in Lithuania KTU Veteran Club “Emeritus” was founded aiming to unite the club members and disseminate the knowledge of the results achieved by the university scientists, to preserve the university’s traditions and historical heritage of lasting value. On the occasion of this anniversary, KTU Museum organised a virtual exhibition reveals the moments of the associate professor’s studies, work and social activities. The exhibition uses documents and photographs from KTU Archive, KTU Museum, Photo Archive and personal archive of Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva. The exhibition was prepared by the Head of KTU Museum Dr. Audronė Veilentienė.

Studies and Work at Kaunas Polytechnic Institute

Juozas Deltuva was born on 10 February 1933 in Lizdeikiai Village, Prienai District. During the post-war years, J. Deltuva studied at the Veiveriai Gymnasium.

“When I started attending Veiveriai Gymnasium, the political situation in Lithuania was very unstable. Teachers would teach for only a few months, and then they would disappear. We lived in “frontline” conditions, we had no normal books, only tattered textbooks,” – he recalled.

After graduating from gymnasium in 1953, J. Deltuva entered the Faculty of Construction at Kaunas Polytechnic Institute. He graduated in 1958 with a qualification as a civil engineer. When speaking about his studies, Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva recalls the students working on construction sites and the teachers striving to provide the institute with the necessary laboratory equipment. After graduating from the institute, he was appointed as an assistant at the Department of Construction Materials at the same faculty. In 1959, he married Joana Vilmantė Kumpikaitė. In 1960-1963, J. Deltuva studied in doctoral studies, and in 1966, he defended his doctoral thesis “The Influence of Vibrations of Increased Intensity on the Physical Mechanical Properties of Concrete”. In 1968, he was awarded the scientific title of an associate professor. In 1969-1979 and 1988-1990, Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva was the Head of the Department of Construction Materials at KPI Faculty of Construction. Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva gave lectures on construction materials, mechanical equipment, technological processes and apparatus of construction materials, testing of construction materials and structures, mounting of construction structures, technology of concrete aggregates, etc. to students, led laboratory works and practical classes, supervised coursework, diploma and research works. He also compiled and improved teaching plans and programmes for the specialty of Construction Products and Structures, published works on the pedagogy and methodology of the training of these specialists, and prepared and published a number of teaching tools and textbooks, the most important of which are the Textbook of Construction Materials (et al.) (1982), and the Laboratory Works on Processes and Apparatus of Construction Materials Technology (1987).

At Kaunas University of Technology

After Lithuania gained its independence, Kaunas Polytechnic Institute was renamed Kaunas University of Technology on 31 October 1991. In 1990-1994, Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva was the Head of the Department of Construction Materials, gave lectures in the main modules for master’s and doctoral students, supervised theses and doctoral students. Later, he worked as an associate professor and senior research fellow at this department. At his initiative, the Research Laboratory of Construction Materials and Structures was established, which he headed from 1994 to 1999. Later, Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva was a senior research fellow at this laboratory until his retirement (2001). Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva gave lectures on the mechanics of heterogeneous materials to KTU master’s and doctoral students, compiled and improved the teaching plans and programmes for studies in the specialty of Construction Products and Structures and master’s studies, prepared and published several teaching tools and textbooks, the most important of which are the “Two-Part Summary of Lectures on the Technology of Concrete Aggregates” (1991 and 1992), the “Extraction, Recycling and Use of Non-Ferrous Construction Materials” (with Prof. V. Vaitkevičius, 2006), “Technological Processes of Construction Materials” (et al.) (2007). The main direction of J. Deltuva’s scientific work was the research of recycling technologies for concrete and concrete aggregate and their application. He has published over 130 scientific articles on this topic and published a monograph “Structure and Properties of Heterogeneous Construction Materials” (1998). He has also contributed significantly to the development of Lithuanian terminology, especially the original Lithuanian and translated European standards for concrete and concrete aggregates; he was a member of the Technical Committees for Concrete and Reinforced Concrete and Terminology of the Lithuanian Standards Board, as well as the editorial board of the scientific journal ” Civil Engineering”. Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva is also an active researcher of scientific historical development. He is the co-author of the monograph “The Development of Construction Science and Studies in Lithuanian Universities” (2000), and together with H. Elzbutas he wrote and published the book “The Department of Construction Materials” (2006). After his retirement in 2001, he did not break contact with the Department and continues to be actively involved in scientific, pedagogical and social activities. Even at his advanced age, Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva, together with his co-authors, prepared and published the textbook “Construction Materials Science” in 2017. For his long-standing scientific and pedagogical activities Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva has been awarded with the acknowledgements of KTU Rectors, the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania (2000), the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania (2006-2008), the Lithuanian Construction Association (2008), and the Lithuanian Association of Civil Engineers (2010).

The Soul of the “Emeritus” Club

At the initiative of Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva, the Veteran Club “Emeritus” was established at KTU in 2002. He recalled that at the beginning of Lithuania’s independence, large companies “collapsed”, and so did the university’s laboratories. The university was forced to lay off and retire a number of employees:

“These were people who took off their caps and cleaned their shoes before entering the premises, as a sign of respect for the university. All these people felt they had a duty to work honestly and responsibly for the university, and so, to make sure they do not “scatter”, it was decided to bring them together to form the emeritus club,” – said the long-time President of the “Emeritus” club.

He was the President of this club for 11 years (2002-2013). Currently, Assoc. Prof. J. Deltuva is the Vice-President of the “Emeritus” club, which has 624 members. The club unites former teachers, scientists and administrative staff of the university who have worked at the university for at least 20 years. The club aims to facilitate closer relationships between its members and the university community. The club has become a comfortable place for communication, reminiscing about the years of studies and work, discussing the phenomena of social life, the role of culture, technological development and trends in the development of the national economy. The mission of the club is to continue to help the university to foster the traditions of higher education and studies, to preserve and collect the cultural and historical heritage, and contribute to the development of the Museum.