UP marked the first Day of Science with the Gallery of Zois Award Laureates of UP

date: 10.11.2025

category: News

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. 

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.

Foto: Matjaž Tavčar for MVZI

The following are presented in the gallery at the opening:

Dr. Dragan Marušič  (Zois Award for outstanding achievements in scientific research in the field in the field of graph theory and algebra), 2002

Dr. Maja Čemažar (Zois Certificate of Recognition for important scientific achievements in the field of experimental oncology), 2006

Dr. Štefan Bojnec (Zois Certificate of Recognition for important scientific achievements in the field of economics),  2008

Dr. Štefko Miklavič (Zois Certificate of Recognition for important scientific achievements in mathematics), 2012

Dr. Dušanka Janežič (Zois Award for outstanding achievements in mathematics and science), 2013

Dr. Tomaž Pisanski (Zois Award 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 Certificate of Recognition for important scientific achievements in the field of discrete mathematics), 2017

Dr. Andreja Kutnar (Zois Certificate of Recognition for significant scientific achievements in the field of woodworking), 2018

Dr. Enes Pasalic (Zois Award for outstanding achievement in field of cryptography), 2019

Dr. Lara Lusa (Zois Certificate of Recognition for scientific achievements, namely for scientific achievements in the development of the methodology of medical statistics), 2020

Dr. Vita Poštuvan (Zois Certificate of Recognition for important scientific achievements in the field of suicidology and mental health), 2021

Dr. István Kovács (Zois Award for outstanding achievement in algebraic graph theory), 2021

Dr. Bojan Kuzma (Zois Award for outstanding achievement in the field of linear algebra), 2022

Dr. Igor Klep (Zois Award for outstanding achievement in the field of algebra and its applications), 2024

Dr. Tomaž Grušovnik (Zois Certificate of Recognition for important achievement in the field of environmental and animal ethics), 2024

Dr. Vito Vitrih (Zois Certificate of Recognition for important achievement in the field of numerical mathematics), 2024

Dr. Urban Bren (Zois Certificate of Recognition for significant achievements in the field of biomolecular simulations), 2025

Dr. Tomaž Pisanski (Zois Award for lifetime achievement in the field of discrete mathematics), 2025

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