Institute of Technical Sciences

The Institute of Technical Sciences of SASA was founded on 15 July 1947 by a decision of the Committee for Research Institutions, Universities and Colleges of Vocational Studies as the Institute for Mechanical Engineering of the Serbian Academy of Sciences. Its establishment was a natural result of the conditions prevailing at the Academy and the need for an institution that would undertake research in the field of mechanical engineering, particularly in the context of the postwar industrial development and the country’s increasing industrial and technological independence.

In 1969, the Vladimir Farmakovski Institute of Mechanical Engineering was transformed into the Institute of Technical Sciences of SASA, with the aim of expanding the Academy’s involvement in research projects supporting industry and manufacturing in Serbia and facilitating an active involvement of the members of the SASA Department of Technical Sciences in research.

The Institute’s previous directors include: Academician Vladimir Farmakovski (1947–1954); Dušan Veličković (1954–1963), corresponding member of SASA; Academician Nenad Zrnić (1963–1980); Prof. Dr. Branislav Bilen (1980–2001); Prof. Dr. Dragan Uskoković (2001–2011), Academician Zoran Đurić (since 2011) and Academician Antonije Đorđević (2021–2022).

The Institute is involved in scientific research as a research institute established compliant to the regulations governing public service institutions. The founder’s rights lie with the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The governance of the Institute is supervised by the SASA Department of Technical Sciences with the aim of intensifying the involvement of SASA in research projects supporting industry and manufacturing in Serbia, while also striving to facilitate an active involvement of the members of the SASA Department of Technical Sciences in technology and science research.

The Institute of Technical Sciences of SASA implements research in the field of technical and technological and natural sciences. It encourages the development of these research fields and advances research in partnership with similar national and international research institutions. The Institute applies its achievements in technological development in cooperation with the industrial sector or independently.

Over the first three decades after its establishment, the Institute’s activities were focused on the study of specific mechanical engineering issues and were closely linked with industrial companies. The institute was well-known for its achievements in the areas of shipbuilding, construction of railway vehicles, electric cars, power plants, bridges, etc. In the following two decades, research was prevailingly focused on technology, to shift, at the beginning of the 21st century, to advanced materials and expert analyses and services.

In the process of adjusting to the institutional funding model, in 2022, four research groups were formed at the Institute: Group for nanostructured optically active materials and semiconductors; Group for multifunctional ceramics, sintering and composite materials; Group for biomedical engineering and nanobiotechnology, and Group for the correlation of properties and functional characteristics of condensed matter. The establishment of research groups has made it possible to enrich research focuses with topical issues and put emphasis on Key Enabling Technologies and Growing Technologies (advanced materials, biotechnologies, nanotechnology, etc.), as well as on devising energy-efficient and eco-smart solutions, which are defined as supporting areas in the 2020–2027 Smart Specialization Strategy of the Republic of Serbia.

The Institute has 33 employees, 27 of whom have a research title. According to Scopus (as of January 2023), the Institute’s H-index is 58, whereas the papers published by its researchers over the past 15 years have received more than 18000 citations (14.6 on average).

Director: Dr Miloš Tomić
Address: Kneza Mihaila 35/IV, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Email: its@itn.sanu.ac.rs
Website: www.itn.sanu.ac.rs
Telephone: +381 11 2636-994