University of Primorska Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies
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Tuesday, 11 November 2025 UP marked the first day of science with the Gallery of UP Zois Award Winners

In 2025, we will celebrate Slovenian Science Day for the first time. The Slovenian government approved this holiday in March 2025, and it will be celebrated every year on November 10. To mark the first celebration of this important national holiday, which highlights the respect for knowledge as one of the fundamental values of Slovenian society, the UP has chosen to set up and open a gallery of recipients of Zois awards and recognitions and Science Ambassador awards employed at the UP.

Knowledge is crucial for the development of society and the country, but scientific research and innovation achievements are not sufficiently recognized by the general public. Therefore, in order to raise awareness, the initiative for the holiday was launched by the prestigious scientific community – the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Rectors' Conference of the Republic of Slovenia, the Coordination of Independent Research Institutes of Slovenia, the Slovenian Academy of Engineering, and the Slovenian Medical Academy, based on a proposal by the Committee of the Republic of Slovenia for the awarding of prizes and recognitions for outstanding achievements in scientific research and development activities.

The date, November 10, was chosen because it is associated with Žiga Zois, a Slovenian enlightener, economist, writer, and patron of the arts, and because it is UNESCO's World Science Day for Peace and Development. The highest national awards in the field of science are named after Žiga Zois – on the eve of the event, the Zois and Puh awards and recognitions were presented in the Gallus Hall. Two UP employees were among the recipients: Dr. Tomaž Pisanski for his life's work and Dr. Urban Bren for his special achievements (more here).

Since its foundation, UP has been proud of the awards it has regularly received, so it was almost inevitable that the first anniversary would be marked by highlighting the award winners. The opening ceremony, with speeches and the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon by Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, Rector of the UP, and Prof. Dr. Štefko Miklavič, Vice-Rector for Scientific Research and Development at the UP, was a tribute to all those whom we have already congratulated and proudly listed as UP employees who have received these exceptional awards. The gallery is located in the library – a symbolic treasure trove of knowledge and science. In this way, future potential scientists – university students – will also be able to see the award winners, who will also serve as an inspiration to their colleagues. At the opening, there are 19 portraits in the gallery, and with such encouraging scientific excellence at UP, we all believe that there will be more every year – for now, we congratulate all the award winners.

The following are presented in the gallery at the opening:

  • Dr. Dragan Marušič  (Zois Prize for outstanding achievements in scientific research in the field in the field of graph theory and algebra), 2002
  • Dr. Maja Čemažar (Zois Award for important scientific achievements in the field of experimental oncology), 2006
  • Dr. Štefan Bojnec (Zois Award for important scientific achievements in the field of economics),  2008
  • Dr. Štefko Miklavič (Zois Award for important scientific achievements in mathematics), 2012
  • Dr. Dušanka Janežič (Zois Prize for outstanding achievements in mathematics and science), 2013
  • Dr. Tomaž Pisanski (Zois Prize for outstanding achievements in scientific research in the field of discrete mathematics and its applications), 2015
  • Dr. Sara Dolničar (The Ambassador of Science Award for significant achievements in the promotion and development of Slovenian scientific and development activities abroad), 2016
  • Dr. Martin Milanič (Zois Award for important scientific achievements in the field of discrete mathematics), 2017
  • Dr. Andreja Kutnar (Zois Award for significant scientific achievements in the field of woodworking), 2018
  • Dr. Enes Pasalic (Zois Prize for outstanding achievement in field of cryptography), 2019
  • Dr. Lara Lusa (Zois Award for scientific achievements, namely for scientific achievements in the development of the methodology of medical statistics), 2020
  • Dr. Vita Poštuvan (Zois Award for important scientific achievements in the field of suicidology and mental health), 2021
  • Dr. István Kovács (Zois Prize for outstanding achievement in algebraic graph theory), 2021
  • Dr. Bojan Kuzma (Zois Prize for outstanding achievement in the field of linear algebra), 2022
  • Dr. Igor Klep (Zois Prize for outstanding achievement in the field of algebra and its applications), 2024
  • Dr. Tomaž Grušovnik (Zois Award for important achievement in the field of environmental and animal ethics), 2024
  • Dr. Vito Vitrih (Zois Award for important achievement in the field of numerical mathematics), 2024
  • Dr. Urban Bren (Zois Award for significant achievements in the field of biomolecular simulations), 2025
  • Dr. Tomaž Pisanski (Zois Prize for lifetime achievement in the field of discrete mathematics), 2025

Descriptions of the awards with justifications are available at the link.