Milan Randić (born 1 October 1930) is a Croatian American

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

recognized as one of the leading experts in the field of

computational chemistry Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses computer simulations to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses methods of theoretical chemistry incorporated into computer programs to calculate the structures and properties of mol ...

Birth and education

Randić was born in the city of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, where his parents, originally from Kostrena in the Croatian Primorje, lived at the time. Kostrena is well known for its maritime tradition, with many shipowners and seamen among its residents. Randić's ancestors were shipowners and captains. In 1941, his family moved to Zagreb, where he continued his education. After completing Gymnasium in Zagreb, he studied Theoretical Physics at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

from 1949 to 1953. He then studied for Ph. D degree at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, England from 1954 to 1958.

Academic career

From 1960 to 1970, Randić worked at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb, Croatia, where he founded the Theoretical Chemistry Group. Between 1971 and 1980, he was a visiting professor at various universities in the United States, including Johns Hopkins, MIT, Harvard, Tufts, and Cornell. His research during this period increasingly focused on the application of Discrete Mathematics and Graph Theory to the characterization of molecules and biomolecules. From 1980 to 1997, Randić was a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

in Des Moines, Iowa. Over the past 15 years, he has spent three months each year at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, Slovenia, collaborating with scientists in its Laboratory for Chemometrics.

Research and achievements

Randić has been a major contributor to the development of

mathematical chemistry Mathematical chemistry is the area of research engaged in novel applications of mathematics to chemistry; it concerns itself principally with the mathematical modeling of chemical phenomena. Mathematical chemistry has also sometimes been called ...

, in particular to the development and use of molecular descriptors based on the use of Graph Theory. In 1975 he introduced the Randić index, the first connectivity index, which has been widely used in the characterization of molecules. He is a corresponding member of the

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under the patronage of the Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer under the name Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (, JAZU) since its ...

and founder of the International Academy of Mathematical Chemistry, headquartered in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Since 2000, his research has shifted towards Bioinformatics, focusing on the graphical representation and numerical characterization of DNA, proteins, and the proteome. Despite this shift, his interest in Kekulé valence structures and aromaticity remains strong. He is an Honorary Member of The Croatian Chemical Society, The International Academy of Mathematical Chemistry, and The National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Randić is also interested in developing ''Nobel'', a universal

ideographic An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek 'idea' + 'to write') is a symbol that is used within a given writing system to represent an idea or concept in a given language. (Ideograms are contrasted with phonograms, which indicate sounds of speech ...

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References

Selected publications

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Randic, Milan Living people 1930 births Croatian chemists Mathematical chemistry Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb alumni Computational chemists Scientists from Zagreb

Birth and education

Academic career

Research and achievements

See also

References

Selected publications