RONNA – Robotic NeuroNAvigation is a project that deals with research into and the design of a new innovative and competitive robotic system for application in neurosurgery. The project was launched by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, with the Clinical hospital Dubrava and the Croatian Institute for Brain Research as partners in the project. Founders of the project are Professor Bojan Jerbiae, PhD (project leader, on the photo), Assistant Professor Darko Chudy, PhD and Professor Gojko Nikoliae, PhD.
Category: Science
Ruggiero Boscovich – Rudjer Boskovic (1711-1787) has a memorial plaque in Milano
In June 2017, on Piazzale Borromeo in the heart of Milan, a commemoration ceremony and performance took place for Ruđer Bošković, native of Dubrovnik and the most distinguished scientist in Croatia’’s history, outside the Church of Santa Maria Podone, where he was buried on 13 February 1787. A memorial constructed of Dubrovnik Mironja stone was unveiled with the support of renowned lawyer, Cristian Pambianchi, an esteemed friend to Dubrovnik, and realized by the Croatia’’s Consulate General in Milan. On the photo Ivana Marija Vidović, distinguished Croatian pianist, by the memorial plaque dedicated to Ruggiero Boscovich – Ruđer Bošković.
Mike Vucelic 1931-2012 Apollo system manager for NASA and Rockwell in charge of 300 NASA engineers
Milojko Mike Vucelic, born in the town of Garešnica, Croatia, completed the Faculty of Machanical Engineering of the University of Zagreb in 1954. Since January 1962 he worked for Apollo, and subsequently he served as one of directors of the Apollo Program. The mission of Apollo 8 in 1968 was circulating around Moon’s orbit with the crew of three astronauts, and Mike Vucelic considers this to be his greatest success in professional life in the USA. During the Apollo 11 mission, he was at the control of the flight, just beside Gene Kranz, who served as the chief of the control. Due to this success in saving the Apollo 13 crew (Hello Houston… we have a problem), he was awarded by the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the then president of the USA.
George Skurla 1921-2001 led the 1600-man team that built the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing module
In 1965, George Skurla became director of operations for Grumman at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Kennedy Space Center (KSC). In that position, he brought together the 1,600-man Grumman team responsible for the final assembly, test and pre-launch checkout for the Apollo lunar module vehicle. Skurla led the team that built the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing module. The lunar modul spacecraft, which was designed, developed and produced by Grumman co., was the final stage in NASA’s Apollo Program which landed American astronauts on the surface of the moon. The family of Skurla (Škurla) has Croatian roots, from Herzegovina, near the environs of the Dubrovnik area.
International conference in Biograd and Zadar on the phenomenon of glagolitic script in May 12-13th, 2017
Thirty three scientists from Croatia, Austria, Italy, Japan, Russia and Slovenia participated at the Conference. It has been superbly organized by the city of Biograd and the University of Zadar (which the oldest Croatian university, founded in 1396), as well as by Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Old Slavonic Insitute, Matrix Croatica Zadar. The Conference was held under auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia. On the photo Dr. Keiko Mitani from Tokyo, one of the participants and contributors to the Conference. She speaks Croatian, and completed her PhD at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Marin Saric CEO of Optimoroute company in Croatia's capital Zagreb
Marin Šarić: “When people think about logistics, they think about routing, they think about package deliveries, they might think about some ships or freight crossing companies,” he concludes. “But I think what people need really to understand is that we are moving towards this mobile world, where every every year, in every country, there are more and more people who are working on the go, and Optimoroute is in the middle of it all.”
Cedric Villani visited Croatia lecturing at the University of Zagreb about Mathematics and Art
Cedric Villani, distinguished French mathematician, visited Croatia in 2017 (on the photo with Petra Ivatovic, 2nd grade of the XVth Gymnasium in Zagreb). On 3rd April he delivered two lectures, one for high school students in the city of Zagreb, dealing with Math and Bats, and another at the University of Zagreb, dealing with Mathematics and Art. In several of his previous lectures he mentioned the work of Croatian mathematician Danilo Blanuša in the context of achievements of John Nash in the study of isometric embeddings of hyperbolic spaces (important in the relativity theory) into Euclidean spaces. His appearance in Croatia has raised unprecedented interest.
Rudjer Boskovic distinguished Croatian scientist from 18th ct has a monument in Milano in Italy
Rudjer Boskovic, distinguished Croatian scientist, diplomat and poet (18th ct.), born in the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa), is the founder of the astronomical observatory in Brera near Milan. Due to this, Ivan Mestrovic’s monument of Boskovic has been transported from Croatia to Italy and placed in Milano in 2017. In 1773, a charter granted by Louis XV made Rudjer Boskovic a French subject. With his theory of forces he was a forerunner of modern physics for almost two centuries. He was the discoverer of the principle of determinism, 56 earlier than Pierre-Simon Laplace.
Marko Veselica 1936-2017 Croatian economist and politician passed away – article by Ante Glibota
Marko Veselica was distinguished Croatian economist and legendary human rights activist who spent 11 years in communist prisons in 1970s and 80s. We provide an article of his close colleague and friend Academician Ante Glibota, vicepresident of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and Humanity in Paris , written in Croatian language. We also provide the titles of some of Veselica’s relevant books and studies.
Igor Rudan young Croatian scientist a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in Scotland
 Igor Rudan, PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and employed at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, is a joint Director of the Centre for Global Health Research and World Health Organization’s (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Population Health Research and Training at the University of Edinburgh. He serves as a consultant of the WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, Save the Children and other organizations active in global health. He is also one of the Editors-in-Chief of the Journal of Global Health. His main interest is improving the levels of health and development everywhere in the world.
Nikola Toma Host 1761-1843 Croatian physician and botanist has memorial plaque in Vienna since 2016
The memorial plaque to Nikola Toma Host (1761-1843) is placed in the Alpic Garden of the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. Host was a personal physician of the Austrian Emperor Franz I. The Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna bears his name: Host’s Garden (Host’scher Garten), which he has directed until his death in 1834. His herbarium is kept in the Nature Museum in Vienna. The initiative came from Josip Seršić, Vienna, author of important monograph Kroatisches Wien / Hrvatski Beč (Croatian Vienna) published in 2013.
Stanko Bilinski's rhombic dodecahedron discovered in Croatia in 1960 and nicely described by Matt Parker
Academician Stanko Bilinski 1909-1998, was distinguished Croatian mathematician, an expert in the field of Geometry. In 1960, he discovered the rhombic dodecahedron. A consequence of results from his PhD dissertation defended in 1944 (published in 1948, both at the University of Zagreb) is that there are precisely 14 semiregular (Archemidian) polyhedra. His results are cited and discussed by distinguished geometers like Coxeter, Grünbaum, Miyazaki, Tekada, and others. In May 2016, Matt Parker from the University of London (Queen Mary) created a very interesting and entertaining video in Dubrovnik, dealing with this nice geometric object.
Kreso Mikulic bigmustache Croatian carpenter, engineer, Olympic gymnast, alpine skier and winemaker
What do devotion to the Blessed Mother, the fuel pump in the B-1 bomber, and a popular Colerain Township winery have in common? The answer is Kreso Mikulic, age 79, native of the Medjugorje region of Bosnia, patent holder of the B-1 fuel pump and owner and master vintner at Vinoklet Winery. Mikulic, an ethnic Croatian, has imported white and red wines made by Podrumi Andrej in Medjugorje and labeled with a portrait of the Blessed Mother, whom local tradition holds appears there annually since 1981.
Sven Maricic a pioneer of 3D printing technology in Croatia
A team of doctors at the Clinical Hospital in the city of Rijeka, Croatia, have recently and successfully attached a 3D printed ear to an elderly patient whose biological ear had to be removed because of skin cancer. The operation was executed as a joint effort between the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Rijeka and the Otorhinolaryngology Clinic at the local hospital and marks yet another successful implantation of a 3D printed prosthetic. The 3D printed ear model was designed by Dr. Sven Maričić and his associates Sanjin Fućak, and Duje Kalajžić and was based off of measurements made of the patient’s original ear.
Ljiljana Fruk and Marina Prijatelj of Croatian Choco Concept connecting Chocolates, Chemistry and Art
; Ljiljana Fruk and Marina Prijatelj believe that the main driving force in both science and art is the creativity. Artists create new realities, their imagination can run wild and they have a licence to experiment and push the boundaries. Scientists are not unlike artists, they just add a bit more of the analytical approach to exploration. They like to do both. Dr. Ljiljana Fruk on the photo, born in Krapina, Croatia, is lecturing Chemistry at the University of Cambridge.
Ivan Mrvos of Croatia designed the best smart street bench in the world
Steora is the world’s best street bench, and its designer is Ivan Mrvos from the town of Solin, Croatia. It provides phone charging and internet to users and beautifies the street. All powered by green solar energy. Steora is more than a bench. Steora is the future of cities. The benches are equipped with an independently developed wireless device charger and two smart USB connectors, providing fast charging for mobile devices whilst ensuring battery protection. Internet access is constantly available within a four-meter diameter of the bench, delivered by a superfast 4G mobile router. The product is exported to Australia, and the product is tested in the USA, Switzerland, etc.
Zvonko Vranesic Croatian-Canadian International Chess Master and Professor at the University of Toronto
Professor Zvonko Vranesic was born in Croatia’s capital Zagreb. At the University of Toronto, he served as the Director of the Computer Engineering Program from 1991 to 1995, and as Chair of the Division of Engineering Science from 1995 to 2000. He worked on numerous consulting projects in the area of computer engineering. Presently, he is a Principal Software Engineer at the Altera Toronto Technology Center. He has co-authored five books which have become widely used (worldwide) in undergraduate courses. He represented Canada in numerous chess competitions. He holds the title of International Master and since 2010 is a member of the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame.
6th Croatian Mathematical Congress in Zagreb 2016 hosted 200 mathematicians
Croatian Mathematical Congresses are organized every four years by Croatian Mathematical Society in different university centers throughout the country. In 2016, the Congress had 6 plenary lecturers and 14 invited lecturers presenting their current work in various parts of mathematical sciences, as well as numerous short reports. The Conference was accompanied by interesting panel discussions. On the photo are professors Dragan Miličić (University of Utah) and Ivan Mirković (University of Massachusetts), two former students of the University of Zagreb, distinguished international experts in the Representation Theory of Groups.
Sibe Mardesic 1927-2016 distinguished Croatian mathematician and Fellow of the AMS
Professor Sibe Mardešić: “I have been very devoted and faithful to Mathematics in Zagreb. I dedicated approximately equal shares of my time and energy to research, teaching and organization. I tried to transfer to Zagreb good things that I saw at other more developed places. I paid particular attention to teaching at the graduate level.” Professor Sibe Mardešić is a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the prestigious American Mathemacial Society. He had over 260 lectures at conferences and universities in 20 countries. Besides his native Croatian, he fluently spoke six languages. We provide an interesting interview with him conducted by Professor James Keesling, USA.
Ivana Marija Vidovic and Diana Hilje celebrating Rugjer Boskovic in Brera in Milano, Italy, 17 May 2016
Under the name of VOX RAGUSEI, two distinguished Croatian artists, mezzosoprano Diana Hilje and Ivana Marija Vidović, pianist, both from the city of Dubrovnik, will be hosted by the University Library of Brera in Milano, Italy. They will have an exceptional honor to perfom music pieces by Jelena Pucić Sorkočević (1786-1865), the first Croatian woman composer, and Luka Sorkočević (1734-1789), known for his beautiful simphonies. Brera is famous for its astronomical observatory, founded by Ruđer Bošković, SJ (1711-1787), one of the greatest Croatian scientists in history, and the music event will be dedicated to his memory.