Mieczysław Bekker (1905-1989), born in Strzyżów, son of Marian Błażej Bekker and Albina Matylda, née Bretsznajder, engineer and scientist. He studied at the mechanical faculty of the Warsaw University of Technology. After graduating from it, he was employed there at the Engineering Research Institute, where he conducted research on new vehicles for the Polish Army. He also worked at the Military Engineering Research Institute (WIBI) in Warsaw. He created the Laboratory of Special Vehicles at the Military College of the Warsaw University of Technology. He developed the basics of the theory of the interaction of a wheel or caterpillar track with a low-density ground, his discoveries contributed to the creation of a new field of mechanics called terramechanics. He participated in the September campaign, then made his way to France, where he found employment in the Tank Division of the Ministry of Armaments in Paris. In 1942 he moved to Canada, where he worked at the Armoured Weapons Research Office. In 1956, he moved to the USA, where he worked at the Military Off-Road Vehicle Laboratory, then became a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. A team of designers led by Mieczysław Bekker constructed the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) for a competition organised by NASA. After his retirement, he served on a committee of the Scientific Council to the President of the United States.