Milan Kurepa
Encyclopedia
Milan V. Kurepa was a renowned Serbia
n atom
ic physicist
.
Kurepa was born on 1 May 1933 in town of Bačka Palanka
, Vojvodina
, Serbia
. In 1956, he began his working at the Vinca Nuclear Institute
in Belgrade
. Kurepa graduated from the University of Belgrade
Faculty of Mathematics under Aleksandar Milojević, and later electrical engineering
in the United Kingdom
, under J. D. Craggs. His thesis topic was slow electron scattering off atoms and molecules.
Kurepa then joined the University of Belgrade
physics department as an assistant professor. He became a professor in 1981 and continued in that position until his retirement in 1998. Kurepa often worked at Universities abroad, including Germany
and the UK. Kurepa's pedagogical work at the undergraduate and graduate levels was highly valued. He was a coauthor of 12 university and 4 high-school textbooks.
In 1964, Kurepa joined the newly founded Institute of Physics at the University of Belgrade as a research scientist. There, he started the Atomic Physics Laboratory. Due primarily to Kurepa's leadership, the Atomic Physics Laboratory gained an international reputation in the field of electron collisions with atoms or molecules. At present, about a dozen of Kurepa's students are scientists and professors at leading universities in Australia
, Belgium
, the UK, France
, Germany
, Slovenia
, Sweden
, and the United States
.
He was an outstanding organizer, coordinating numerous domestic and international conferences. He served as president of many Yugoslavian academic institutions.
In 1994, Kurepa was elected the corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. During the isolation of Yugoslavian scientists from the rest of the world due to United Nations sanctions, Kurepa organized a very successful meeting of SANU in 1997 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the electron.
Kurepa fought for democracy in Yugoslavia
. A vigorous adversary of Slobodan Milosevic
's regime, Kurepa founded in 1997 the Association of University Professors and Scientists, with the principal aim of fighting for the recovery of basic university freedoms in Serbia. He was AUPR's first president. The association has been especially active since 1998, when the University Act was introduced to abolish the autonomy of Serbian universities. AUPR has organized protest meetings at Serbian universities, published statements regarding university autonomy and freedom of opinion, appealed to international academic associations for intervention with the Serbian government, and engaged in similar activities.
During the 2000 electoral campaign, Kurepa traveled around Serbia with the students' movement Otpor (The Resistance) that was instrumental in changing the ruling party in Serbia. Otpor awarded him a certificate, acknowledging him as "the most resistive professor."
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
ic physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
Kurepa was born on 1 May 1933 in town of Bačka Palanka
Backa Palanka
Bačka Palanka is a city and municipality located in Serbia, on left bank of the Danube, at 45.15° North, 19.24° East...
, Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. In 1956, he began his working at the Vinca Nuclear Institute
Vinča Nuclear Institute
Vinča Nuclear Institute is a nuclear physics research institution near Belgrade, in Serbia.-History:The Institute was originally established in 1948 as the Institute for Physics. In 1953 it was renamed in favour of Boris Kidrič. Several different research groups started in the 1950s, and two...
in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. Kurepa graduated from the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
Faculty of Mathematics under Aleksandar Milojević, and later electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, under J. D. Craggs. His thesis topic was slow electron scattering off atoms and molecules.
Kurepa then joined the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
physics department as an assistant professor. He became a professor in 1981 and continued in that position until his retirement in 1998. Kurepa often worked at Universities abroad, including Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the UK. Kurepa's pedagogical work at the undergraduate and graduate levels was highly valued. He was a coauthor of 12 university and 4 high-school textbooks.
In 1964, Kurepa joined the newly founded Institute of Physics at the University of Belgrade as a research scientist. There, he started the Atomic Physics Laboratory. Due primarily to Kurepa's leadership, the Atomic Physics Laboratory gained an international reputation in the field of electron collisions with atoms or molecules. At present, about a dozen of Kurepa's students are scientists and professors at leading universities in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the UK, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
He was an outstanding organizer, coordinating numerous domestic and international conferences. He served as president of many Yugoslavian academic institutions.
In 1994, Kurepa was elected the corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. During the isolation of Yugoslavian scientists from the rest of the world due to United Nations sanctions, Kurepa organized a very successful meeting of SANU in 1997 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the electron.
Kurepa fought for democracy in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. A vigorous adversary of Slobodan Milosevic
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
's regime, Kurepa founded in 1997 the Association of University Professors and Scientists, with the principal aim of fighting for the recovery of basic university freedoms in Serbia. He was AUPR's first president. The association has been especially active since 1998, when the University Act was introduced to abolish the autonomy of Serbian universities. AUPR has organized protest meetings at Serbian universities, published statements regarding university autonomy and freedom of opinion, appealed to international academic associations for intervention with the Serbian government, and engaged in similar activities.
During the 2000 electoral campaign, Kurepa traveled around Serbia with the students' movement Otpor (The Resistance) that was instrumental in changing the ruling party in Serbia. Otpor awarded him a certificate, acknowledging him as "the most resistive professor."