Czech Republic and Slovakia

After Smrcek had mainly contributed to the understanding of energy dissipation in hydraulic engineering, Bazant as a practicionner applied knowledge to the development of hydro-electricty in Czechoslovakia. During the closure of the Czech universities from 1940 to 1945, Bazant worked as a consultant to the Ministry of Public Works and produced the first water resources plan for Moravia and Silesia. After World War II, he returned to VUT and there set up the new hydraulic laboratory of the Brno Technical University, because the old installation had been damaged during the war. The new Brno hydraulic laboratory was taken into service in 1951, shortly before Bazant’s retirement in 1954. He was a founding member of the International Association of Hydraulic research IAHR and was the Czechoslovakian representative during its first congress held in 1937 in Berlin. He also was present at the 2nd IAHR Congress in Stockholm in 1948. Bazant was recognized as an outstanding expert in dam construction and in inland navigation both at home and abroad. His particular link to the Moravia Region remained throughout his professional career.