Academician Vidojko Jovic passed away
It is with deep regret that the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) announces the passing of its full member Vidojko Jović at the age of 68, on 8 September 2024 in Belgrade. Born on 2 September 1956 in Pirot, he was one of our foremost geologists.
He graduated from the Faculty of Mining and Geology of the University of Belgrade in 1980 where he later earned his MSc in 1983. He achieved his PhD in geological sciences in 1990 with a dissertation titled ’Geochemistry of Bioessential Microelements in Processes of Surface Decomposition of Cretaceous-Tertiary Volcanic Formations of Serbia.’
Beginning his professional career in 1980 at the Geological Institute and the Institute of Non-Metallic Material, he later transferred to the Faculty of Mining and Geology of the University of Belgrade, where he started as a teaching assistant. During the 1987/1988 academic year he spent three months on professional training at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Zagreb, while during the 1990/1991 academic year, he spent five months at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was appointed to all positions at this alma mater when he was promoted to full professor in 2003. He was the head of the Department of Petrology and Geochemistry. Jović also lectured at the Faculty of Geography in Belgrade.
He was elected as a corresponding member of SASA in 2003 and became a full member of the Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Geo-Sciences in 2009. His functions at the SASA included serving as president of the Board for Geochemistry, a member of the Board for Paleoflora and Paleofauna, a member of the Academy Board ‘Man and the Environment’ as well as a member of the Managing Board of the SASA Fund for Research in Sciences and Arts. In addition, he was the leader of the ’Microelements in Solving Geological Problems’ Project.
Academician V. Jović’s expertise spanned across geology, geochemistry, mineralogy, petrology and petroarchaeology. His extensive academic output included numerous scientific papers both in domestic and foreign journals and participation in numerous international scientific conferences.
His work as an editor of scientific journals and publications is also significant. He was editor-in-chief of the Ecologica journal. He served as a member of several editorial boards such as Matica Srpska Journal of Natural Sciences, Geološki anali Balkanskog poluostrva, Vesnik of the Geological Institute of Serbia, Flogiston, Bulletin of the SASA Fund for Research in Sciences and Arts, Mineralogical Abstracts Journal and Poučnik SKZ. He edited numerous collections of papers including Jovan Žujović – Life and Work: on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of birth; 150th Birth Anniversary of Jovan Cvijić – a collection of papers from the international conference held at the SASA in 2016, at the ‘Jovan Cvijić’ Geographical Institute; Nickel Mineral Resources In Serbia and the Environmental Impact (SASA, 2016); Stevan Bošković – Life and Work: on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of birth (SASA and Military-Geographcial Institute, 2019) and Vladimir D. Laskarev – Life and Work: on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of birth (SASA and the Serbian Geological Society, 2019).
He was a member of numerous scientific societies, some of which are the Serbian Geological Society (serving as secretary from 1987-1989), Serbian Archaeological Society, Geochemical Society of the USA, International Association for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry (Canada); Association of Exploration Geochemists (Canada); Mineralogical Society of Great Britain; International Commission on the History on Geological Sciences-INHIGEO. He was also president of the Managing Boards of the Belgrade Museum of Natural History and Vuk’s Endowment.
For his scientific work, he won numerous accolades, such as a Recognition of achievement from the Serbian Geological Society in 1991, an Achievement Award from the Serbian Literary Guild in 2002; a Recognition of gratitude for the improvement of the work of the Museum of Science and Technology on the occasion of its 25th anniversary in 2014; a Recognition of gratitude for fundamental contribution to the development of geological sciences and Russian-Serbian cooperation, and V.V. Kovalsky gold medal for achievements in geochemical chemistry, awarded by V.I. Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2015; Plaque of the Serbian Geological Society for contribution to the work of the Serbian Geological Society on the occasion of 125 years of its foundation in 2016; Grand Sretenje recognition of achievement for fostering Serbian-Slovenian cultural and scientific ties in 2017.
Through his scientific and educational work, he greatly contributed to the development of our science. His passing represents a profound loss to the overall society and scholarly community.