Marko Branica (1931,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

- 2004,

) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

known for his investigations of electrochemical methods for the

environmental analysis Environmental analysis is the use of analytical chemistry and other techniques to study the environment. The purpose of this is commonly to monitor and study levels of pollutants in the atmosphere, rivers and other specific settings. Other enviro ...

. For his research he was awarded the

Heineken Prize The Heineken Prizes for Arts and Sciences consist of 11 awards biannually bestowed by Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. The prizes are named in honor of Henry Pierre Heineken, son of founder Gerard Adriaan Heineken, Alfred Heineken, ...

for Environmental Sciences. From 1952 to 1956 Branica studied

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. In 1963 he obtained his PhD from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. In 1970 he became a senior scientist at the Ruđer Bošković Institute and in 1997 a full professor at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. He was an expert of the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

for nuclear materials and nuclear plants safety problems and an expert of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Between 1970 and 1995 he was several times a chairman of the Marine Chemistry Committee of the

Mediterranean Science Commission The Mediterranean Science Commission, or CIESM, (French: ''Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de la Méditerranée'') unites 24 Member States, hundreds of marine Institutes, and thousands of marine researchers from all sho ...

and in 1992 became Croatia's national delegate on CIESM Board, a post he held till the end of his life. His scientific interests were

polarography Polarography is a type of voltammetry where the working electrode is a dropping mercury electrode (DME) or a static mercury drop electrode (SMDE), which are useful for their wide cathodic ranges and renewable surfaces. It was invented in 1922 by C ...

and other electrochemical methods,

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...

seawater Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has appro ...

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

, extraction of inorganic substances with organic solvents and investigation of the presence of

trace metal Trace metals are the metals subset of trace elements; that is, metals normally present in small but measurable amounts in animal and plant cells and tissues and that are a necessary part of nutrition and physiology. Many biometals are trace me ...

s in natural and polluted waters. His most prominent achievement was the development of pseudopolarography, the method that enables the speciation of metal ions at trace concentrations. He published more than 250 papers in international scientific journals and numerous scientific and technical reports.

Honors and awards

* Member of Polarographic Society of London * Member of Academia Europaea (London) since 1992 * Member of European Academy of Sciences and Arts since 1992 * Member of International Commission for the Exploration of the Mediterranean * Ruđer Bošković award for science in 1982 * Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences in 1992 * National Life achievement Award for chemistry in 1996

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branica, Marko 1931 births 2004 deaths Croatian chemists Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb alumni Scientists from Zagreb