Department of Chemistry

Mladen Deželić was a prominent scientist, pedagogue, intellectual and cosmopolitan. He was a chemist, a university professor of chemistry in Zagreb and Sarajevo, and a regular member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He began his scientific work as a naturalist and chemist, and graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zagreb – chemistry with physics and mathematics. He received his doctorate in 1928.

His love for organic chemistry led him to Munich, where in the period 1932–1939 he year, during the summer and winter holidays, worked as an assistant – volunteer at the Technical University under prof. Dr. Hans Fischer, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1930. With him, he specialized in organic chemistry and published works in scientific journals: Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie, Liebigs Annalen der Chemie, and Monatshefte für Chemie. At the same university, he specialized in physical chemistry. He meets and listens to the lectures of the most famous chemists of the time, winners of the Nobel Prize: P. Debay, R. Kuhn, O. Hahn, A. Butenandt, C. Raman, etc. He works all the time first as an assistant, later as a teacher of physical chemistry at the Faculty of Philosophy, and then as a full professor at the Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Zagreb. He establishes contacts with Leopold (Lavoslav) Ružička (Zürich), (winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1939, born in Vukovar) and Vladimir Prelog (winner of the Nobel Prize in 1975, born in Sarajevo).

After the Second World War, the formation of the University began in Sarajevo, with the opening of a faculty, and there was a shortage of staff. Mladen Deželić was invited to come to Sarajevo by Dr. Aleksandar Sabovljev, then Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Prof. Pavalo Stern. The President of the Committee for Faculties, Colleges and Scientific Institutions of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Ante Babić, asked him for his consent with the promise: “that a Faculty of Philosophy will be established in Sarajevo with a chemistry group and that a position of full professor will be provided for him, and that he will be enabled to develop not only pedagogical but also scientific research work”. Academic 1949/1950. the year he took up the position of full professor of chemistry at the Faculty of Medicine and head of the Chemical Institute of the same faculty.

As planned, at the beginning of 1950, the Faculty of Philosophy was founded in Sarajevo, and on that occasion, the Department of Science and Mathematics was founded. Then, for ten years, Professor Deželić led the fight for the construction of the Faculty of Science and the Institute of Chemistry and Physics.

Prof. Deželić had enormous experience in the field of organizing practical classes in chemistry because he worked himself, that is, he knew the top university institutions of his time. Before designing and building the new institute, he visited chemical institutes in West Germany and Switzerland. When he arrived in Sarajevo, academician Mladen Deželić was a chemist of international renown, and with his name and personal connections, he opened contacts with European scientific centers for future chemists from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Prof. Dr. Mladen Deželić was a regular member of the Scientific Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1956) and a member of its Supervisory Board. In the position of secretary of the Scientific Society (1963) and in cooperation with academician Edhem Čam, he drafted the statute of the Academy of Sciences of Bosnia and Herzegovina. When the Scientific Society grew into the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1966, he became a member of its presidency.

The scientific opus of prof. Dr. Mladen Deželić contains more than 150 works and patents. His field of research is organic chemistry, the chemistry of pyrroles, pyrazolones, porphyrins, coumarins, glycosides, and alkaloids. Even today, after so many years of publication, his works are cited in scientific journals that follow the most selective databases. For example, the paper “On the freezing point of a mixture of heavy water D2O and H2O” printed in 1935, Zeitschrift für anorganische und Allgemeine Chemie (Leipzig) is still cited in world literature, and the results entered manuals with tables of physical and chemical data on heavy water.

Wanting to raise the standard of chemical research in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he published mostly in the Gazette of Chemists and Technologists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he founded and was its editor from 1952 to 1966. The journal is cited in the international Chemical Abstract database.

For his pedagogical and scientific work, he received the following awards and recognitions: Meritorious Member of the Association of Chemists and Technologists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1964, Meritorious Member of the Association of Chemists and Technologists of Yugoslavia, 1965, Order of Labor with a Red Star for special merits acquired over many years for his work in the field of science, culture, and education and for his achievements in the promotion of professional and scientific personnel, 1966, Republic Award for Scientific Work of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1966, Honorary Member of the Union of Chemists and Technologists of Yugoslavia, 1968. and the Order of Merit for the People with Silver Rays, 1971.

He retired in 1968. He died on November 28, 1989. in Krapinske Toplice.

Franjo Krleža was born on December 8, 1908. in Krapina, Croatia. He graduated from the Second Male High School in Zagreb in 1927 and studied chemistry at the Faculty of Philosophy in Innsbruck and Zagreb, where he graduated in 1931. He completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of Zagreb under Professor Gilbert Flumiani.

During his service, he worked in the Institute of Chemistry of the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, in many schools, in industry, and in the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics of the University of Zagreb. In 1954, he was elected assistant professor of analytical chemistry at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo, then associate and regular professor of analytical chemistry. Professor Krleža is the founder of the Department of Analytical Chemistry, whose head he was until 1977.

From 1968 to 1979. Professor Krleža is the director and president of the Scientific Council of the Chemistry Institute of the Faculty of Science, Sarajevo, and at the same time the head of the Analytical Chemistry Department. In 1971, he was entrusted with the duty of editor-in-chief of the Herald of Chemists and Technologists of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He held a number of positions in the Union of Chemical Societies of Yugoslavia. He participates in a number of congresses and symposia in the field of chemistry in Yugoslavia and abroad. For a number of years, he led the Committee for Fundamental Sciences of the Republic Council for Scientific Work. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Nobel Committee, awarded him in 1977. appointed as a member of the committee for nominating Nobel laureates in the field of chemistry for 1978.

He was the organizer and first leader of the III level chemistry class at the Faculty of Science, Sarajevo. The scientific issues dealt with by Professor Krleža are primarily analytical chemistry, then colloidal chemistry, and hydrothermal syntheses (asbestos). His opus contains over 140 titles, of which 52 are published scientific papers (in domestic and foreign journals), 12 scientific papers, 38 reports at congresses in the country and abroad, and one monograph.

The Department of Physical Chemistry was founded with the arrival of prof. Dr. Tibor Škerlak to Sarajevo in the spring of 1954, after being elected to the position of associate professor of physical chemistry at the Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo. He was the first head of the Department. A large number of scientific and professional papers were published and cooperation was established related to the scientific and professional issues of large economic organizations and their institutes (“Energoinvest”, “UNIS”, “Zrak”), whose personnel the members of the Department guided through the labyrinth of science and practice, being their mentors.

Members of the Department have on several occasions stayed in scientific institutions in developed countries (USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland), but also in developing countries (Zambia), where they transferred their rich scientific and pedagogical experience to young staff in those countries.

The first postgraduate course in kinetics and catalysis was organized at the Faculty of Science in Sarajevo, which enabled the then young assistant staff of the Department of Chemistry to develop and advance to teaching and scientific positions. Later, a postgraduate course in corrosion and electrochemistry was opened.

For many years, a large number of teachers, associates, and non-teaching staff worked at the Department. In addition to the aforementioned professors, a great contribution to the development of the Department and the Faculty was made by prof. Dr. Borivoj Galić, prof. Dr. Merzuk Cacan, assistant professor Dr. Vjeročka Šišlov, then Prof. Dr. Branko Škundrić, prof. Dr. Jelena Penavin-Škundrić, assistant professor Branka Ninkov, Ph.D., as well as colleagues at the time, Predrag Ilić, Ph.D., Mladen Miloš, Ph.D., Duško Šutić, Ph.D., M.Sc. Željka Karlović, Tomislav Lukić, Vuk Šiljegović, Nada Gotovac, and many others achieved enviable academic careers.

Dragutin Murko was born on December 14, 1930, in Sarajevo, where he attended elementary school and high school. He studied chemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Zagreb, which he graduated from at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo. His first permanent job was at the Institute for Wood-Industrial Research in Zagreb, where he also held the position of secretary of the Center for Wood Protection and the Center for Tannin Industry. In 1956, he moved to Sarajevo, where he worked in the companies Energoinvest, Jugoinspekt, Farmes, and in 1961. was chosen as an assistant at the Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sarajevo. Then (in 1964) he was chosen as an assistant at our faculty, in the subject of Chemistry of wood and auxiliary materials, but he also performed exercises in the subject of Wood Protection. He also gave lectures on these subjects. He participated in teaching chemistry during pre-qualification (application) and postgraduate studies. He taught chemistry and biology students. He worked at the Faculties of Economics, Forestry, Agriculture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Pharmacy and Medicine, and in companies dealing with wood impregnation.

In the organizations of the Society of Engineers and Technicians of Bosnia and Herzegovina and SFRY, he held a number of important positions (president, vice-president, general secretary, etc.), for which he received appropriate awards – two orders of work, diplomas of meritorious and honorary member. He is the winner of the gold plaque of the University of Sarajevo, the gold plaques of the Civil Protection, the Fire Brigade Association, ITJ, the “Science for Youth” movement, etc.

He was an associate of a number of technical, school, pedagogical, pharmaceutical, and other museums abroad, and a member of the initiative committees for the establishment of such institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was the vice president of the Society of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a member of the Committee for the History of Science and the Committee for the History of Medicine at the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an associate of the Center (Institute) for the History of Natural and Medical Sciences HAZU Zagreb and others.

He was an expert advisor to the Institute for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina and supervised works on the restoration and protection of wooden buildings in Sarajevo's Baščaršija.

Dragutin Murko actively participated in scientific meetings in his homeland and abroad, held over 150 lectures in the field of popularization of chemistry, environmental protection, in the field of wood protection, waste recycling, as well as lectures on famous scientists, chemists, and experts in related professions (pharmacists, doctors, metallurgists, miners, etc.). He wrote about this in various scientific and professional magazines: Priroda, Narodna technique, Biološki list, Kimija u industrial, Zaštita material, etc. His scientific opus includes over 250 publications.

He is the co-author of four organic chemistry textbooks and two in the field of leather, intended for secondary schools, some of which have had over ten editions. He is the author or co-author of several monographs published abroad. He also recorded over 100 scientific shows for the “Radio School” series (Radio Sarajevo). The most notable area of ​​popularization of science was definitely the TV shows (films) for which he wrote the script and supervised the filming. Based on his scripts, over 60 short science-popular TV films were made, as well as over 100 shorter TV shows from the same field (chemistry, pharmacy, technology, minerals, medicinal plants).

Themes and films about skin have been translated into foreign languages ​​and placed on the foreign market. He spent the past war in Sarajevo with his family and actively participated in the work of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in difficult wartime conditions. He died on April 23, 1999. in Sarajevo.

Zvonimir Knežević (1931-1993) completed high school and secondary technical school in Sarajevo. He studied chemistry at the Faculty of Philosophy and later the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Sarajevo and graduated in 1960. He got his first job as an assistant at the Faculty of Medicine at the Institute of Hygiene. Already in 1962. he is undergoing training in the USA through the mediation of the Atomic Energy Agency, and in the field of radiological protection and radiochemistry at the Taft Center, Oak Ridge N.L., Hasl, Brooklaren N.L., where he mastered the technique of controlling radioisotopes in food, air pollution and in other nuclear accelerators and atomic tests. Before specializing in the USA, Zvonko Knežević graduated from the school for the application of isotopes in Vinča near Belgrade. In 1964, he was employed at the Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Science in Sarajevo, and in the same year received his doctorate in radiochemical technique. In 1965, he was appointed assistant professor for the subjects Radiochemistry and History of Chemistry. After his stay in Moscow at the Lomonosov Institute, he incorporated all his experiences into the development of the Radiochemistry Laboratory at the Institute of Chemistry and Physics, which over time grew into the Cabinet for Radiochemistry, which serves as a base for educating students and implementing environmental control projects from radioactive contamination, which was prepared for food control during the Cold War crisis.

Since 1967, in cooperation with Professor Pujić, he has been working on the development of a new scintillating radiation measurement technique, which resulted in Patent P-575/67 SPU as well as a series of studies for SIZ (Self-Governing Interest Community) for the science of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Zvonko Knežević was the first in Bosnia and Herzegovina to measure background radiation in populated areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In his rich body of work, he founded a series of procedures for the continuous monitoring of radiological risk in the living space of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1971, he was elected to the position of associate professor for the subject of Radiochemistry.

Zvonko Knežević made special contributions to the popularization of science, writing scientific and professional reports in the press. He was engaged in editing, and journalism, led the Society for the Advancement of Science “Nikola Tesla” and stood out in school activities, worked in the “Glasnik” of the Society of Chemists and Technologists, and was president of the Republican Council for the Coordination of Scientific Activities.

Before the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he worked as a science expert at the Federal Executive Council in Belgrade. He did not return to Sarajevo. He died in Belgrade in 1993.