The Institute of Mathematics belonging to Iaşi branch of the Romanian Academy, was founded on October 23 1948 as the "Institute of Mathematics and Physics". A few years later, it was reorganized as the Institute of Mathematics and, respectively, the Institute of Physics; in 1970, the Institute structure included four sections: Mechanics (the first one and the most important), Geometry, Analysis and Algebra. In the beginning, the research had rather a theoretical character, but then, there was an official tendency to suppress fundamental research. The Institute had a library of more than 20.000 volumes and a journal entitled "Studii  i cercetări  tiinюifice". Since 1954, one of the series came to include papers on mathematics, physics and chemistry, but from 1956, each of these series became independent. First, the research was done by 12 university professors. In 1975, all mathematical institutes were transformed into groups of six researchers working in universities. The main directions of research were in Analysis: Function Theory, Numerical Analysis, Qualitative Theory of Differential and Integral Equations, Partial Differential Equations, Functional Analysis and Optimal Control, in Mechanics: Elasticity, Plasticity and Rheology and in Geometry: the Geometry of Mechanical Systems, Riemann Geometry, Finsler, Lagrange and Hamilton Spaces. Among the personalities of this Institute, special mention should be made of Octav Mayer, Alexandru Myller, Mendel Haimovici, Radu Miron, Dan Petrovanu, Viorel Barbu, Constantin Corduneanu and Constantin Borş.