Bits of History – Science 20
Stanko Hondl (1873-1971), professor of physics at the University of Zagreb, has a great merit for popularizing Einstein’s theory of relativity in Croatia. One of his students was William Feller, outstanding Croatian – American mathematician.
One of the most outstanding representatives of photochemistry was Ivan Plotnikov (1878-1955), a Russian emigrant to Croatia (1918) and a professor of physical chemistry in Zagreb.
Sibe Mardesic, distinguished Croatian mathematician (1927-2016)
You can also see the names of three Croatian Nobel prize winners:
Lavoslav Ruzicka
(1887-1976, born in Vukovar,
of a Czech father and a Croat mother, attended the gymnasium of Osijek),
obtained the Nobel Prize for discoveries in organic chemistry,
professor at the Technische Hochschule in Zurich, Switzerland 1939; see
Ruzicka links.
Lavoslav Ruzicka on the right, is a honorary member of the Polish
Academy of Sciences since 1960.
The photo is shown in the Memorial room dedicated to Lavoslav Ružička
and Vladimir Prelog,
at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Vladimir Prelog, (1906-1998, a Croat born in Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, studied in Zagreb), obtained the Nobel Prize for discoveries in organic chemistry, worked at the Technische Hochschule in Zurich, 1975. As a young boy he was a stipendist of Napredak, Croatian cultural society in Bosnia and Herzegovina. See Prelog links. He wrote his authobiography, Vladimir Prelog: My 132 Semesters of Studies of Chemistry, American Chemical Society, Washington DC 1991 (second edition by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998). Prelog was among 112 Nobel Prize winner who signed and appeal For Peace in Croatia in 1992. He himself expressed on numerous occasions his public protest against the aggression on Croatia and BiH during the 1990s.
Vladimir Prelog with his wife Kamila, of the Czech origin. Photo from
Marijan Lipovac and Vlatka Banek: Hrvatsko-češko
društvo / prvih 25 godina, Zagreb 2017, by the courtesy of Mr.
Lipovac.
The third Croatian Nobel Prize winner is Ivo
Andric,
for literature. We mention here again that Nikola
Tesla
refused to receive the Nobel prize for physics, which he had to share
with T.A. Edison.
PLIVA is today the largest pharmaceutical company in Croatia and by sales, the largest in Central and Eastern Europe. Its best selling product is Sumamed antibiotic.
Miroslav Radman élu à l’Académie des Sciences, France, 2002 (Biologie cellulaire et moléculaire)
Zeljko Ivezic Croatian scientist and a leading
expert in astronomy in the world
Mario Juric distinguished Croatian astrophysicist
in the USA
Anthony Grbic
distinguished expert in metamaterials in the USA recipient of the
prestigious 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and
Engineers
Silvija Gradecak Croatian scientist at MIT
speaking about Nano Structured Materials
Marijan Ožanić: Velikani hrvatske znanosti
- Prof.dr. Vojislav Bego
- Prof.dr. Tomo Bosanac – čovjek koji je projektirao najveći generator na svijetu
- Prof.dr. Zlatko Plenković – osnivač Instituta R. Končar
- Prof.dr. Zvonko Sirotić
Paul L. Modrich of the Duke University 2015 Nobel
Prize for Chemistry is of Croatian descent
Contributions to Electrical Engineering and Computer Science by Croatian experts
One of the most famous Croatian scientists is Professor Balthazar, born in Zagreb in 1967:
