On Friday, 18 June 2021, the distinguished Prof. Emer. Dr. sc. Slavko Krajcar passed away. He was 71 years old (born in 1951).
We are extremely grateful to Prof. Krajcar for his exceptional contribution to the Association of Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia (OIEH), the support, knowledge, and advice he selflessly shared, for all the activities and constructive discussions he took part in. We did not have a more enthusiastic advocate in the RES sector.
He will remain in lasting memory as an exceptional expert and friend. On behalf of RESC we express our deepest sympathy to his family, friends, and associates.
Prof. Emer. Dr. Sc. Slavko Krajcar was born in 1951 in Krajcar Brijeg. He completed elementary school in Sv Petar u Šumi and secondary school in Pula. In 1969 he began his studies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering
(today Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing – FER) of the Zagreb University and graduated in 1973. After graduating he began working as an assistant at the High Voltage and Energy Institute. He received his master’s degree in 1980 and a doctor’s degree in 1988. In 1990 he was elected assistant lecturer, assistant professor in 2002, and professor in 2007 with permanent tenure. His scientific field was energy and more specifically, the planning and development of distribution grids and modeling of relations on the electric power market. During his career at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) he held the posts of Institute Director, assistant dean, pro-dean for business operations and dean (from the academic year 1998/1999 to the academic year 2001/2002). He gave an exceptional contribution to the development of the Faculty where he spent his entire career that lasted more than 46 years.
He mentored 86 graduate thesis and 39 final theses as well as 10 doctorate and 14 masters’ theses. He held lectures on invitation, gave interviews and wrote columns on the topic of education, particularly the education of engineers for the 21st century. He participated in numerous domestic scientific projects or for the needs of employers as well as international scientific and expert projects. The list of projects he worked on after the year 2000 surpasses the number of 50 and 36 of them was headed by him. Another hundred or so scientific and expert projects from the beginning of his engagement up to 2000 should be added to this. He was one of the leaders in the development of the Energy Strategy of Croatia (which the Parliament endorsed in 2010) and Strategy of Energy Efficiency (2008) including implementation plans all the way to the adoption of new strategies (2008 – 2020).
Professor Krajcar was also very active outside the Faculty and University. He was a regular member of the Academy of Technical Sciences of Croatia and a member of its managing board as well as the president of the Croatian Lighting Society. He took part in the work of numerous professional associations and was a member of the supervisory board of EnCRO Ltd, board member of HATZ, member of the executive board of CIRED, and president of HDR. In addition, he was a frequent participant of round tables, radio, and TV shows, wrote columns, and moderated round tables and meetings. He also often gave interviews for the media. Apart from his profession, he was also active in the field of culture. During two mandates he was chairman of Čakovski Sabor, published two volumes of poems which he also published in journals and almanacs and edited four books from the field of culture.
In 2002 he received the golden plaque “Josip Lončar” from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing for his long-standing devoted educational and scientific research work and exceptional contribution to the overall development of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. He was elected Senior Member IEEE in 2004. He received special recognition for the reconstruction and development of the University Computing Centre (SRCE) on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its establishment in 2011.
In addition, in 2014 he received the recognition of HO CIRED for his great expert contribution to the development of electric power distribution activities ( life achievement award) and in 2018, recognition of HRO CIGRE for his overall contribution to the electric power sector in the Republic of Croatia (life achievement award). In 2020 he also received the “Nikola Tesla” award of the Croatian IEEE section for his exceptional contribution to science, education and profession in the fields of electrical engineering and computing and significant achievement in the application of electrical engineering and computing technologies.
At the proposal of the Faculty Board of FER, the Senate of the University in Zagreb at its regular session held on May 18, 2021, awarded professor Krajcar the honorary title of professor emeritus of the University of Zagreb.
His life motto was: Asi cada mañana de mi vida traigo del sueňo otro sueňo”. (Pablo Neruda)
