Milan Randić (born 1 October 1930) is a

Croatian American Croatian Americans or Croat Americans ( hr, Američki Hrvati) are Americans who have full or partial Croatian ancestry. In 2012, there were 414,714 American citizens of Croat or Croatian descent living in the United States as per revised 2010 Un ...

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research 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, ...

who is one of the leading experts in the field of

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

Birth and education

Randić was born in the city of

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, where his parents, originally from

Kostrena Kostrena ( it, Costrena) is a Croatian municipality east of Rijeka on the Kvarner Bay. It is famous for its beaches and a long tradition of seafaring and seamanship. Because of its rocky beaches and a walkway that goes along the shoreline, it is ...

(Croatian Primorje – Region in the northern Adriatic), lived at the time. Kostrena is well known by its maritime tradition, shipowners and seamen. Randic's ancestors were sailing ship owners as well as ship captains. His parents moved to Zagreb in 1941, where he continued his education. After finishing Gymnasium in Zagreb, he studied Theoretical Physics at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

during 1949–1953 and studied for Ph. D degree at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, England (1954–1958).

Academic career

From 1960 to 1970 he was at the

Ruđer Bošković Institute The Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI; hr, Institut Ruđer Bošković, , IRB) is a research institute located in the Šalata neighborhood of Zagreb, Croatia, founded in 1950, which studies the sciences. Description It is the largest Croatian resea ...

in Zagreb, Croatia, where he founded the Theoretical Chemistry Group. During 1971–1980 he was visiting various universities in USA including Johns Hopkins, MIT, Harvard, Tufts, and Cornell. With 1973 his research oriented towards application of Discrete Mathematics and Graph Theory in particular to characterization of molecules and bio-molecules. During 1980 to 1997 he was professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

, Des Moines, Iowa. During the past 15 years he is spending three months each year at the National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia collaborating with scientists from 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 com ...

, 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. He is a corresponding member of the

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...

and founder of the

International Academy of Mathematical Chemistry The International Academy of Mathematical Chemistry (IAMC) was founded in Dubrovnik (Croatia) in 2005 by Milan Randić. It is an organization for chemistry and mathematics avocation, and its predecessors have been around since the 1930s. The Acad ...

, the seat of which is in Dubrovnik, Croatia. With year 2000 his research has been mostly shifted towards Bioinformatics, with particular emphasis on graphical representation and numerical characterization of DNA, proteins and proteome, though his fascination with Kekulé valence structures and aromaticity remains undiminished. He is Honorary Member of The Croatian Chemical Society, The

and The National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia. His other interests include development of ''Nobel'', a universal

ideographic An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarit ...

writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable form ...

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