Construction engineer, university professor, academician, Kossuth Award winner.
He was born in Temesrékás, his father, Ferenc Mihailich was the village clerk, his mother was Aloysia Szabó. He went to high-school in Kecskemét. His studies were sponsored by his older sister, Ida, since he lost both his parents at the age of 8. He studied at the József Technical University in Budapest where he was given a student grand. He graduated from the university with excellent results.
Later he worked at the bridge-building department as a substitute professor. Due to his outstanding capacities, in 1902 he became first principal assistant, in 1906 he earned the title of doctor after having written his work entitled: The Graphical Determination of the Secondary Strains Caused by the Coupling of Solid Junctions. In 1909 he was teaching iron-bonded cement construction. In 1907 he was sent abroad by the university to study bridge construction. In 1916 he became assistant professor and in 1920 professor. In the same year he was appointed head of the II Bridge-Construction Department until 1957 that is up to the age of 80.
At the university he had several positions: from 1928 until 1930 he was Dean, and twice Rector (1942-43 and 1949-50). In 1930 he founded the iron-bonded cement laboratory, which had an important contribution in the solving of the theoretical and practical issues concerning the Hungarian iron-bonded cement construction. In 1938 he became corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In 1941 he founded the Institution of Engineering being its first director. He was the first director (1949-1953) of the Technical Studies Department of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, which was newly reorganised. Within the department he was the organiser of the Architectural Science Committee, the president of which he remained 1957 retirement.
As a designer engineer he had several outstanding accomplishments. His first work was the design for the Ligeti Brige (today Decebal Bridge) in Temesvár (today Timişoara, Romania). For his design he received a diploma at the international exposition in Paris in 1910, because this was the first iron-bonded cement girder-bridge with the largest opening. The committee which evaluated the designs said: „ the opening of the arch was daring, but right, and we think that the other entire specialist will agree, and we decided that from a technical point of view this is the best design of all.” Another outstanding work was the iron-bonded cement granary in Szeged (1922), and then several designs for bridges and halls, such as the steel Tisa bridge (1910-1911) in Szolnok, the iron bridges in Berekböszörmény and Tamáshida (today Tămaşda, Romania), the bus garage (1930) on József Szabó street in Budapst, which was declared a monument, the strengthening and widening designs (1932) for the Margit Bridge in Budapest, (1947-1948). From 1916 he had been working for forty years as a counsellor and expert for the building of each important bridge and hall.
He was the author of several professional studies and books. As a university professor he wrote several technical books. The results of the theoretical and practical works were published abroad in scientific reviews. His main work was his book entitled Iron-bonded Cement Constructions (1922), of which the revised version has served as teaching material for engineers.
He also had an active role in the public life. He was the founding member (from 1931) and leading figure of the IVBH in Zürich (International Bridge-.and Over-Ground Construction Society), president of the iron-bonded cement Committee of the Hungarian Engineer- and Construction (1931), the president of the Society of the Hungarian Material-testers (1934-39), the president of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers (1936-42), member of the Upper-House in the Parliament (1940/41), vice-president of the National Council of Natural Sciences (1941-45), etc.
For his life-work he received several state awards: the most important being the Kossuth Award he received in 1948. He became the Honorific Doctor of the Technical University in Budapest (1948) and that of the Technical University in Dresden (1954).
He retired in 1957. He died in Budapest in 1966.
