University of BelgradeThe Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia awarded a letter of appreciation to our colleague Dr. Bojan Bondzic for "engagement, dedication, great contribution and selfless help in the fight against the epidemic caused by the SARS-Cov2 virus."
Six scientific institutes of national significance for the Republic of Serbia have joined forces and signed an agreement on scientific cooperation. The document was approved by the directors of all six accredited institutes of national importance for the Republic of Serbia: Institute of Physics Belgrade, Institute for Biological Research "Sinisa Stankovic," Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, "Vinča" Institute of Nuclear Sciences and the Institute for Medical Research.
The agreement is concluded for five years, and it formalizes the existing cooperation and creates a basis for its extension and improvement while respecting mutual interests. It defines joint work on planning and implementation of scientific programs through the participation of researchers from these institutions, joint use of equipment for these purposes, as well as a presentation of the results achieved. The agreement also aims to strengthen the social relevance of the natural sciences.
According to the national regulations, the Institute of National significance is a top scientific research institution in Serbia. Institutes of National significance perform research to develop a general fund of knowledge, raising the technical and technological level, and spreading knowledge, education, and training of staff for scientific research. Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy obtained the status of the Institute of National significance in March 2018.
The agreement of six institutes of national importance for the Republic of Serbia has been covered in a large number of media (in Serbian), such as National Geographic Serbia (https://www.nationalgeographic.rs/vesti/15322-sporazum-sest-instituta-od-nacionalnog-znacaja.html), N1 (http://rs.n1info.com/SciTech/a605780/Udruzilo-se-sest-instituta-od-nacionalnog-znacaja-za-Srbiju.html), Danas (https://www.danas.rs/drustvo/potpisan-sporazum-o-saradnji-sest-instituta-od-nacionalnog-znacaja/) Radio-Television Vojvodina (https://www.rtv.rs/sr_lat/drustvo/sporazum-o-saradnji-sest-instituta-od-nacionalnog-znacaja_1130828.html)
In the nature park "Rusanda" in Melenci near Zrenjanin, species of silicate algae that are new for the flora of Serbia are found. The research is done within the project "Developing the base for soda pan research at ecosystem level," in which our colleagues Dr. Danijela Vidakovic and Dr. Milos Ciric, project coordinator, are participating. The presence of two new genera and about 15 new species of Bacillariophyta for the flora of Serbia has been determined. Newly recorded genera and species are characteristic of marine, brackish, or freshwater waters with increased electrolyte concentration. The research was done so as not to disturb the living world of the Nature Park and not to encourage the spread of invasive species.
More details about the news, as well as photos from field research, can be seen on the website of the institution "Nature Reserves Zrenjanin" (https://www.rezervatiprirode.com/index.php/vesti/aktuelne/26-05-2020 in Serbian). The news was also covered in the newspaper "Politika" (http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/454943/Nove-vrste-silikatnih-algi-otkrivene-u-Parku-prirode-Rusanda, in Serbian)
Within the framework of the “Serbian Science and Diaspora Collaboration Program: Vouchers for Knowledge Exchange” of The Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, the project "CAPTAIN - Controlled Acidic-eh-potential Selective Leaching of Non-ferrous Metals" was approved for funding. The project was proposed by our colleague Dr. Marija Mihailović in collaboration with Dr. Srećko Stopić from The Institute for Process Metallurgy and Metal Recycling, RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
Congratulations to our colleagues on the awarded project, and we wish them much success in carrying out the planned research!
