prof. dr. Danilo Zavrtanik

Name: Danilo Zavrtanik
Date and place of birth: 15.8.1953, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
Status: married, wife Pia, son Marko
Nationality: Slovenian
Address: Lokavec 133 B, SI-5270 Ajdovščina, Slovenia
Email: danilo.zavrtanik@ung.si

Page updated: October 28, 2024

Degrees

B.Sc. in Physics at University of Ljubljana, 1979
Subject of the thesis: Charged particle identification in the momentum region around 300 MeV/c.

M.Sc. in Physics at University of Ljubljana, 1984
Subject of the thesis: Experimental apparatus for the measurement of the reaction π-p -> ππN.

Ph.D. in Physics at University of Ljubljana, 1987
Subject of the thesis: Angular distribution analysis of the reaction π-p -> π-π+n.

Employment, positions and appointments

Past

J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

from 1977 to 1979 undergraduate researcher,
from 1979 to 1987, postgraduate researcher,
from 1992 to 1996, director general,
from 1992 to 1996, member of the Scientific Council,
from 1996 to 2005, member of the Board of Governors.

University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

from 1983 to 1990, assistant, Faculty for Natural Sciences and Technology, Department for Physics,
from 1991 to 1995, assistant professor, Faculty for Natural Sciences and Technology, Department for Physics,
from 1991 to 1995, member of the Council for Science and Education of the Faculty for Natural Sciences and Technology,
from 1995 to 1996, assistant professor, Faculty for Mathematics and Physics, Department for Physics,
from 1997 to 2001, associate professor, Faculty for Mathematics and Physics, Department for Physics.

School of Environmental Sciences, Nova Gorica, Slovenia

from 1995 to 1998, President,

Nova Gorica Polytechnic, Nova Gorica, Slovenia

from 1997 to 2001, associate professor of physics, School of Environmental Sciences.
from 1998 to 2006, President,
from 1998 to 2006, Head of the Laboratory for Astroparticle Physics,
from 2001 to 2006, full professor of physics, School of Applied Sciences.

University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, Slovenia

from 2006 to 2010, President,
from 2006 to 2017, Head of the Laboratory for Astroparticle Physics,
from 2017 to 2020, Head of the Center for Astrophysics and Cosmology,
from 2010 to 2022, Rector.

European Laboratory for Particle Physics, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland

from 1988 to 1999, member of the Steering Committee and Finance Review Committee of the CPLEAR Collaboration,
from 1992 to 1999, member of the DELPHI Collaboration Board,
from 1993 to 2001 member of the Finance Review Committee of the DELPHI Collaboration,
from 1980 to 2002, Scientific Associate.

Other Institutions and Organisations

from 1992 to 1996, member of the Scientific Council of the Central European Initiative,
from 1992 to 1995, member of Governing Board of the Slovene Chamber of Commerce,
from 1993 to 1996, commissioner of the US – Slovenian Joint Board for Scientific and Technological Co-operation,
from 1994 to 1995, member of the Action Committee on Applied Physics and Physics in Industry at European Physical Society,
from 1994 to 1996, vice-president of the Slovene National Science Foundation,
from 1994 to 1998, member of Science and Technology Council of the Republic of Slovenia,
from 1995 to 1997, member of the Governing Board of the Institute for Environmental Research, ERICo, Velenje, Slovenia,
from 1995 to 1999, member of the Board of the Interdivisional Group on Applied Physics and Physics in Industry at European Physical Society,
from 1996 to 2006, member of the Pierre Auger Collaboration Board.
from 1998 to 2002, member of the Council of Higher Education of the Republic of Slovenia,
from 1998 to 2005, chairman of the Publication Committee of the Pierre Auger Collaboration,
from 1999 to 2005, member of the Council of the Slovenian Research Society,
from 2000 to 2009, member of the Council of the Primorska Technology Park,
from 2001 to 2004, member of the National Council for Scientific Research and President of Research Council for Natural Sciences and Mathematics,
from 2001 to 2010, member of the Management Board of the “E. Rusjan” Foundation,
from 2004 to 2006, vice-president of the Expert council of “Science for safety and peace” programme at the Ministry of defence of the Republic of Slovenia,
from 2006 to 2010, member of the committee for the state awards for science of the Republic of Slovenia,
from 2006 to 2010, chairman of the Pierre Auger Collaboration Board,
from 2006 to 2009, member of the Governing Board of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts,
from 2008 to 2010, member of the Pierre Auger Collaboration Executive Committee,
from 2006 to 2022 member of the Slovenian Rectors’ Conference,
from 2007 to 2009 and from 2015 to 2017, vice-president of the Slovenian Rectors’ Conference,
from 2009 to 2011 and 2017 to 2019, president of the Slovenian Rectors’ Conference,
from 2014 to 2017, member of the Board of Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies, Vitanje, Slovenia,
from 2010 to 2018, chairman of the Management Board of the University of Nova Gorica Foundation,
from 2009 to 2018, member of the Board of Governors of University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg,
from 2008 to 2021, member of Science and Technology Council of the Republic of Slovenia,
from 2010 to 2022, member of The Council of Higher Education of the Republic of Slovenia,
from 2018 to 2022, member of the European University Association (EUA) Council.

Present

University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, Slovenia

from 2006, full professor of physics, School of Science.

J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

from 1987, research position.

Other Institutions and Organisations

from 2011, member of the Finance Board of the “P. Auger Collaboration”,
from 2012, member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the IDPASC network,
from 2017, member of the CERN Council, CERN, Switzerland,
from 2018, member of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Council,
from 2021, member of the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) Advisory Group.

Field of research

Period: 1977 – 1979
Field: Detection techniques in nuclear and particle physics.
Place: J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana.

Period: 1980 – 1987
Field: Experimental low-energy pion-pion scattering, Radon dosimetry, Detection techniques for measuring low-level radioactive pollution, Positron Emission Tomography.
Place: J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana; CERN, Geneva (OMICRON Collaboration); Rutherford and Appleton Laboratory, UK; University of Oxford, Nuclear Physics Lab., UK.

Period: 1988 – 2001
Field: CP, T and CPT violation in the K0 system.
Place: J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana; Nova Gorica Polytechnic; CERN, Geneva (CPLEAR Collaboration).

Period: 1990 – 2002
Field: Heavy flavours physics, W physics, and search for Higgs boson.
Place: Nova Gorica Polytechnic; J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana; CERN, Geneva (DELPHI Collaboration).

Period: 1995 –
Field: Astroparticle Physics: High Energy Cosmic Rays, Detector development.
Place: University of Nova Gorica; P. Auger Observatory, Malargue, Argentina (Pierre Auger Collaboration), CTA consortium.

Co-author of 1 book and 486 scientific articles.

Teaching activity

various physics courses at the University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Faculty of Pharmacology) and University of Nova Gorica,
supervisor of B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. students.
- M.Sc. students: Uroš Seljak, Andrej Filipčič, Marko Zavrtanik, Dejan Žontar, Samo Stanič, Maja Čolović, Gašper Kukec Mezek.
- Ph.D. students: Andrej Filipčič, Boštjan Golob, Igor Mandić, Samo Stanič, Borut Eržen, Matej Horvat, Mustafa Hussain, Ahmed Mohamed Khalil Hassanin Saleh, Marta Trini.

Other activities

initiator and promoter of the IJS Technology Park (1992), the project which resulted in the establishment of the Ljubljana Technology Park in 1995,
initiator and one of the founders of the School of Environmental Sciences, SES, Nova Gorica, Slovenia, 1995,
initiator and one of the founders of the Research Institute Valdoltra, Koper, Slovenia, 1996,
initiator and promoter of the Primorski Technology Park , 1999,
initiator and one of the founders of the “E. Rusjan Foundation” (now “University of Nova Gorica Foundation”), Nova Gorica, Slovenia, 2001.

Awards

Ambassador of Science of the Republic of Slovenia, Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia, 1997.
Zois Award – National Award for Science, 2004.
Nova Gorica Municipality Award, 2005.
Decoration of the President of the Republic of Slovenia “Order for services”, 2005.
Robert Blinc Award for Life Achievements in Physics, 2020.
Zois Award for Life Achievements – National Award for Science, 2023.

Memberships

from 1980, member of the Slovene Mathematical, Physical and Astronomical Society,
from 1987, member of the Slovene Society for Medical and Biological Engineering,
from 1990, member of the European Physical Society,
from 2018, individual member of the International Astronomical Union.

Conference and Journal Committees

member of the Scientific Committee of the Workshop on Centres of Excellence and Materials Science, Budapest, Hungary, April 26-27, 1993,
council member of the QUARK Journal, from 1993, Ljubljana, Slovenia,
member of the Organising Committee of the Conference “PSA/PRA Severe Accidents 94”, Ljubljana, Slovenia, April 17-20, 1994,
member of the International Programme Advisory Panel of the Third Biennial Conference on Low-Energy Antiproton Physics, LEAP 94, Bled, Slovenia, September 12-17, 1994,
member of the Local Organising and Programme Committee of the Forum Bled ’94: Scientific and Technological Co-operation between small and large Countries – Opportunities, Challenges, Problems; Bled, Slovenia, December 11-14, 1994,
member of the Organising Committee of the Third International Conference on Moving Boundaries 95, Bled, Slovenia, June 27-29, 1995,
member of the International Organising Committee of the ICFA 95 SCHOOL, Instrumentation in Elementary Particle Physics, Ljubljana, Slovenia, July 3-15, 1995,
honorary member of the Symposium on Radiation Protection in Neighbouring Countries in Central Europe, Portorož, Slovenia, September 4-7, 1995,
member of the Programme Committee of the ELETTRA Third Users’ Meeting, Trieste, Italy, December 4-5, 1995,
member of the Local Organising Committee of the Forum Bled ’95: Transfer of Knowledge: Academia – Technology – Industry – Quality of Life; Bled, Slovenia, December 3-6, 1995,
member of the International Advisory Committee of the International Conference on New Opportunities for Research at Third Generation Light Sources, Lipica, Slovenia, May 25-29, 1996,
member of the Programme Committee of the Forum Bled Conference ’96: From the Global to the Roots, Learning: the Treasure Within; Bled, Slovenia, October 13-15, 1996
member of the Honorary Committee of the Symposium on Biotechnology for the 21. century, Ljubljana, Slovenia, March 24-25, 2000,
member of the Scientific Committee of the 1st Nordung Forum, Ljubljana, Slovenia, April 11, 2001,
member of the Honorary Committee of the EUROTHERM 69 Seminar: Heat and Mass Transfer in Solid-Liquid Phase Change Processes, Bistra Castle, Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 25-27, 2003,
member of the Program Committee of the Management International Conference MIC’06, Portorož, Slovenia, November 23 – 25, 2006,
chairman of the International Advisory Committee of the Time and Matter International Conference, TAM 2007, Bled, Slovenia, August 26-31, 2007,
chairman of the International Advisory Committee of the Time and Matter International Conference, TAM 2010, Budva, Montenegro, October 4-8, 2010,
chairman of the International Advisory Committee of the Time and Matter International Conference, TAM 2013, Venezia, Italy, March 4-8, 2013,
member of the International Advisory Board of the Sixth IDPASC School, IDPASC 2016, Vipava, Slovenia, May 23 – June 1, 2016,
member of the International Coordinating Committee of the Fifteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting – MG15, Rome, Italy, July 1 – 7, 2018,
member of the International Coordinating Committee of the Sixteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting – MG16, Virtual meeting, July 5 – 10, 2021,
member of the International Coordinating Committee of the Seventeenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting – MG17, Pescara, Italy, July 7 – 12, 2024.