COBEM, the International Congress of Mechanical Engineering, is the main event of the ABCM and reflects all topics of mechanical sciences and engineering covered by the 19 technical committees of the ABCM.
The first COBEM was held in Florianopolis from June 19 to 21, 1971, under the chairmanship of Professor Caspar Stemmer. At that time it was called the National Symposium of Mechanical Engineering. Twelve papers were presented and experts from universities and industry met to discuss strategies for further dissemination of the topics discussed to the broader scientific and engineering community in Brazil and to plan a recurring permanent congress. The 2nd National Symposium of Mechanical Engineering and the 1st Brazilian Symposium of Mechanical Sciences, the first of which was devoted to engineering contributions and the second to mechanical sciences, were held in Rio de Janeiro from November 5 to 7, 1973, under the chairmanship of Professor Luiz Bevilacqua. The joint symposia were organized in 4 sections: 1. Numerical Methods for Structures, 2. Device and Machine Design, 3. Elasto-plastic Behavior, 4. Fluid Mechanics, and 5. Dynamics and Vibrations. In the technical sections, 70 research papers were presented by 108 authors.
The ABCM was founded in 1975. In the same year, the two symposia that were held simultaneously in 1973 were combined to form the Brazilian Congress of Mechanical Engineering. The congress was held in Rio de Janeiro and was chaired by Professor Luiz Bevilacqua. It was organized in the same 4 areas as in 1973. There were 106 papers submitted by 174 authors, of which 26 were from other countries. The range of topics covered increased considerably. The symposium included papers on analytical and experimental methods of stress analysis, dynamics and vibrations, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, energy conversion, mechanical properties of metals, thermomechanical treatments, biomaterials, finite element method, stability of mechanical systems, and structural optimization.
Immediately after its conclusion, the 1975 event was named COBEM 75, the 3rd Brazilian Congress of Mechanical Engineering. The 1973 event was renamed COBEM 73, the 2nd Brazilian Congress of Mechanical Engineering, and the 1971 event became the 1st Brazilian Congress of Mechanical Engineering. The proceedings of COBEM 73 and COBEM 75 were compiled and published (available here). COBEM became the main event of the ABCM, held every two years in a different city and coordinated by a different local organizing committee. In 2001, due to the increasing number of international contributions, it became the International Congress of Mechanical Engineering and took its current form.
Currently, it is an event for about 1,500 participants and 1,200 contributions. Over the past 50 years, more than 20,000 students, faculty and practitioners have attended COBEM. It is a forum for discussions on theory, application, new experimental and numerical methods, technology and science policy, funding, teaching, and learning. It is an opportunity for exhibitions and presentations by companies and institutions.
The vision and commitment of the pioneers who chaired ABCM and COBEM 71, 73, and 75 created a conference that has become the most important forum for discussions on mechanical sciences and engineering in Brazil. In the words of Luiz Bevilacqua, we also acknowledge “…the tremendous good will and hard work of a large number of people behind the scenes to whom COBEM 73 and COBEM 75 owe part of their success. It is to them that we owe our thanks and appreciation.” That appreciation goes to everyone who has been involved with ABCM and COBEM over the past 50 years. They deserve our greatest appreciation.
The history of ABCM and COBEM is deliciously told in the following first-hand accounts:
Maurício Nogueira Frota, “Associação Brasileira de Ciências Mecânicas: Memórias e Perspectivas”, Anais do IX Congresso Brasileiro de Engenharia Mecânica, Vol. I, COBEM 87, 7 a 11 de novembro de 1987, Florianópolis, SC, pp. 67 – 89. .
Luiz Bevilacqua, “Breve história do início da série dos Congressos Brasileiros de Engenharia Mecânica”, Revista ABCM Engenharia, vol. 19, no. 1, 2015, pp. 27-33.
Agamenon Rodrigues Eufrásio Oliveira, “Os primeiros 40 anos da ABCM”, Revista ABCM Engenharia, vol. 19, no. 1, 2015, pp. 33-43.
Past editions of COBEM (https://www.abcm.org.br/pb/eventos-regulares-abcm):
| COBEM | YEAR | PLACE | LOCAL ORGANIZING INSTITUTION |
| 1 | 1971 | Florianópolis, SC | UFSC |
| 2 | 1973 | Rio de Janeiro, RJ | UFRJ |
| 3 | 1975 | Rio de Janeiro, RJ | UFRJ |
| 4 | 1977 | Florianópolis, SC | UFSC |
| 5 | 1979 | Campinas, SP | UNICAMP |
| 6 | 1981 | Rio de Janeiro, RJ | PUC-Rio |
| 7 | 1983 | Uberlândia, MG | UFU |
| 8 | 1985 | São José dos Campos, SP | ITA |
| 9 | 1987 | Florianópolis, SC | UFSC |
| 10 | 1989 | Rio de Janeiro, RJ | UFRJ |
| 11 | 1991 | São Paulo, SP | UsP-Poli |
| 12 | 1993 | Porto Alegre, RS | UFRGS |
| 13 | 1995 | Belo Horizonte, MG | UFMG |
| 14 | 1997 | Ilha Solteira, SP | UNESP |
| 15 | 1999 | Águas de Lindóia, SP | UNICAMP |
| 16 | 2001 | Uberlândia, MG | UFU |
| 17 | 2003 | São Paulo, SP | USP-Poli / IPT |
| 18 | 2005 | Ouro Preto, MG | UFMG / UNIFEI / UFOP |
| 19 | 2007 | Brasília, DF | UnB |
| 20 | 2009 | Gramado, RS | UFRGS |
| 21 | 2011 | Natal, RN | UFRN |
| 22 | 2013 | Ribeirão Preto, SP | USP-EESC |
| 23 | 2015 | Rio de Janeiro, RJ | UFF |
| 24 | 2017 | Curitiba, PR | PUC-Pr |
| 25 | 2019 | Uberlândia, MG | UFU |
| 26 | 2021 | online | UFSC |
