Marijan Šunjić () (born 5 April 1940 in

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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

) is a Croatian physicist, university professor, former rector of 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 ...

and a diplomat. Šunjić went to the

Classical Gymnasium in Zagreb The Classical Gymnasium () is a Gymnasium (school), gymnasium high school (similar to a grammar school in England and Wales) situated in Zagreb, Croatia. Originally founded by the Society of Jesus in 1607, it now operates in the Križanićeva gymn ...

and later enrolled at the

Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb Faculty of Science (,lit. the Faculty of natural sciences and mathematics abbr: ''PMF'') is a faculty of the University of Zagreb that comprises seven departments - biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, geophysics, geography and geology. Th ...

( Croatian ''Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet'' or ''PMF'') where he graduated from the Physics department in 1963. In 1966 he earned his Master of Science degree at the Faculty of Science with a thesis in theoretical

solid-state physics Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as solid-state chemistry, quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state phy ...

and 1970 he earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

at the

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

. Between 1963 and 1970 he worked at the

Ruđer Bošković Institute The Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI; , , 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 research institute in the fields ...

and in 1981 he became a professor at the Zagreb Faculty of Science. Between 1983 and 1989 he was the head of the department for postgraduate studies in physics at the Faculty of Science. Šunjić held many posts in Croatian and international university associations and between 1990 and 1991 he held the post of assistant to the Croatian Science Minister Osman Muftić. Šunjić then served as the Rector of the

for almost seven years between 25 April 1991 and 8 February 1998, and between 1998 and 2000 he was Croatia's ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. His main scientific interests are in the area of theoretical

condensed matter physics Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid State of matter, phases, that arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms and elec ...

, especially

surface physics Surface science is the study of physical and chemical phenomena that occur at the interface of two phases, including solid–liquid interfaces, solid–gas interfaces, solid–vacuum interfaces, and liquid–gas interfaces. It includes the fiel ...

electron spectroscopy Electron spectroscopy refers to a group formed by techniques based on the analysis of the energies of emitted electrons such as Photoelectric effect, photoelectrons and Auger electrons. This group includes X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), wh ...

( HREELS), and

photoemission The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons from a material caused by electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light. Electrons emitted in this manner are called photoelectrons. The phenomenon is studied in condensed matter physic ...

. He has published over 100 scientific papers. He is a member of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...

in London and the

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

. Šunjić was also made honorary senator of the

University of Maribor The University of Maribor () is Slovenia's second-largest university, established in 1975 in Maribor, Slovenia. It currently has 17 faculties. History The university's roots reach back to 1859 when a theological seminary was established wi ...

and he received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Mostar The University of Mostar ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Sveučilište u Mostaru, Свеучилиште у Мостару; ) is a List of universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, public university located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The university ha ...

References

Selected publications

* * * * *

External links

Biography
at the

Metanexus Institute The Metanexus Institute is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1997 to explore scientific and philosophical questions. The institute has organized the exchange of ideas through conferences and published books. History With the help of Peter ...

Biography
at the

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunjic, Marijan 1940 births Living people Scientists from Zagreb Croatian physicists Croatian diplomats Ambassadors of Croatia to the Holy See Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb alumni Academic staff of the University of Zagreb Rectors of the University of Zagreb Yugoslav expatriates in the United Kingdom

See also

References

Selected publications

External links