history of society
The Physics Commission of the "Federal Council for the Coordination of Scientific Activities" of the then Yugoslavia launched the "Study on the need for interdisciplinary research on Earth".
June 26, 1970 Dr. Siniša Maričić organized a meeting of 26 scientists at the University Teachers' Club and after discussion it was concluded that it was necessary to organize an expert meeting of scientists in the field of biophysics.
November 5–7, 1970 The First Professional Meeting of Biophysicists in Yugoslavia and the founding assembly of the Yugoslav Biophysical Society (JBS) were held in Krapinske Toplice.
The first president of the society was Dr. Siniša Maričić. From Croatia, the Society was also chaired by Dr. Greta Pifat, Dr. Janko Herak and Dr. Jasminka Brnjas-Kraljević. In the first ten years, the Society held scientific meetings every year in a different city and changed the presidents of the Society according to the republican key.
The Society was admitted to IUPAB, and two members dr. Siniša Maričić and dr. Saša Svetina became members of IUPAB commissions. It is convenient to note that out of 86 members of JBD, 36 of them are from Croatia.
A meeting was organized in Stubičke Toplice, which began the opening towards world science. International cooperation is also achieved through invited lecturers who came to domestic scientific meetings.
Zagreb becomes a center for the education of young scientists in the field of biophysics. Together with the University of Ljubljana, postgraduate classes were organized, which were also held through summer schools. By 1980, three summer schools had been held. Most of the lecturers were recognized international scientists, including Nobel laureates. In the same period, the course of biophysics was introduced into undergraduate teaching at the Physics Department of the Faculty of Science. Initially, the course was led by Prof. Janko Herak.
Republic societies were founded, and the Yugoslav Society became the Union of Societies. The Croatian Biophysical Society was also founded at a meeting in Medena, and the first elected president was Prof. Janko Herak. At the initiative of Dr. Greta Pifat, the Croatian Biophysical Society began a cycle of monthly popular scientific lectures, designed so that interested scientists in related fields could also follow them. Over the ten years of regular holding of these lectures, many names of world science were introduced to biophysicists and scientific friends of biophysics, and many different areas of biophysics were covered. These lectures were very well attended at the time.
The Croatian Biophysical Society is organizing the first of seven Summer Schools in Biophysics in Dubrovnik under the auspices of UNESCO and IUPAB. The regular three-year school in Dubrovnik was interrupted in 1993 due to war devastation, and the fifth Summer School was held in Rovinj in 1994. The school's success has also been recognized internationally.
The last JBD meeting was held in Rogaška Slatina.
Due to Yugoslavia's attack on Croatia, the Croatian Biophysical Society withdrew from the Federation of Yugoslav Societies and, as an independent Society, applied for admission to IUPAB. At the 11th World Congress of Biophysicists in Budapest in 1993, the Croatian Biophysical Society was admitted as an equal member of both IUPAB and EBSA, and two members of the presidency, Prof. Greta Pifat and Prof. Jasminka Brnjas-Kraljević, were admitted to the IUPAB commission.
The Society's activities slowed down a bit in the early 1990s. Lectures are irregular and attendance is decreasing, even though the lecturers are recognized and well-known scientists, and the topics are hot topics for biophysicists.
The new lecturer in biophysics at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selma Supek, raises hopes for the revival of the Society with new young forces.
The First Scientific Meeting of Biophysicists in Croatia was held.
A section of young biophysicists, mostly physics students, was established in the Society
On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of institutionalized biophysics in Croatia, summaries from the First JBD Meeting were published in Periodicum Biologorum.
