Academician Prof. Dr. Slavko J. Borojević, Full Professor in the subject of Genetics. He was manager of the wheat and barley breeding program in the Plant Breeding Department in the period 1958-1961, and upon the establishment of Wheat Department in 1962, he became the Head of the Department, holding the position until 1975. He was born in Knezovljani, Kostajnica, in 1919. In 1957 he started work as an external assistant, and after the integration of the Institute and Crop Production Department of the Faculty of Agriculture in 1976, continues work at the Wheat Department. He received his PhD in Zagreb in 1953, and was appointed Assistant Professor in 1956. At the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad he was appointed Associate Professor in 1957, and Full Professor in 1962. He was Assistant Dean (1959-1960), Dean (1960-1962) at the Faculty of Agriculture and the Rector of the Novi Sad University (1975-1977). He was elected Full Member of VANU in 1979, holding the position of President from 1984-1988. He was Member of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the Soviet Union (VASKHNIL) in Moscow in 1970, Honorary Doctor at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Gödöllö, Hungary, in 1977, and Honorary member of the Association of Agronomers in USA in 1985.
He was a UN expert in plant breeding in Egypt (1969-1970) and a visiting professor in the USA (Davis, California, 1979). He gave significant contribution to the education of researchers and crop breeding theory, wheat in particular. He authored 50 cultivars of winter wheat and 8 cultivars of spring wheat, and co-authored 41 cultivar of winter wheat, 5 cultivars of spring wheat, and one cultivar of winter triticale. Independently or as the leading author, he had 96 research papers and several books published. He received numerous awards and honours for his remarkable contribution to agriculture. He participated in NOB (The People Liberation Movement) (1941-1945) and held several military decorations. Retired in 1987.
Academician Prof. Dr. Srbislav Denčić, Full Professor and Principal Research Fellow in genetics, plant breeding and seed breeding. Head of Small Grains Department in the period from 2001 to 2013, when he was appointed Research and Mentoring Coordinator. He was born in 1953 in Inđija and graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture in 1978 at the University of Novi Sad. He started work at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in 1979, received his MSc in 1984, and PhD in 1989, was appointed Research Associate in 1990, Senior Research Associate in 1995 and Principal Research Fellow in 1999. He is a Full professor at Kherson State Agrarian University in Kherson, Ukraine since 2008, and a Visiting professor in postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Sciences in Novi Sad. He is also a Corresponding Member of Vojvodina Academy of Sciences and Arts (VANU) and the Academy of Engineering Sciences of Serbia (AESS) since 2004.
Project coordinator of the international project USA-YU, JF-949 ”Evaluation of Yugoslav wheat collection to drought”, with the participation of researchers from our country and USA. Member of ECP/GR (European Cooperative Program/Genetic Resources). He was editor-in-chief of the journal „Selekcija i semenarstvo“ for a long time. He received October Award of the city of Novi Sad in 2000, authored or co-authored 32 wheat cultivars released abroad and 100 wheat cultivars, triticale and durum wheat, released in our country, authored or co-authored 316 research papers and 3 international monograph chapters.
Prof. Dr. Svetimir R. Dragović, Full Professor, was appointed Department Head in 1985. He was born in Đulić, Andrijevica, Montenegro in 1936, received his BSc from the Faculty of Agriculture in Skopje in 1961 and started work at the Institute in 1964 as assistant at the Department of Agricultural Meliorations and Agroecology. He received his MSc in 1968 and PhD in 1973, both in Agricultural Crops Irrigation. He was appointed Research Associate in 1974, Senior Research Associate in 1980, and Principal Research Fellow in 1986. In 1994, he was appointed Full Professor at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad on the subject of Agricultural Crops Irrigation. He was professor at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad and Faculty of Agriculture in Banja Luka. He retired in 2001, but is still active in writing and publishing research papers and monographs, lecturing and participating in national and international scientific conferences. He authored about 300 research papers in soil management, hydromelioration and irrigation, half of which in international journals, 40 studies, project analyses, and a number of articles. In addition, he wrote several books as author or co-author.
He authored chapters in the field of Irrigation in 18 books and monographs, was project coordinator in a number of national projects, as well as one international project resulting from scientific and technical cooperation with USA. He finished a one-year specialization in Wageningen, Holland, and several one-month or shorter period specializations and stays in the USA, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Skandinavian countries, etc. He was President of the Institute Council and Council of the Faculty of Agriculture, member of National Science Asociations: Serbian Irrigation and Drainage Society and Serbian Soil Science Society, member of the International Soil Research Society and International Irrigation Association, as well as American Society of Irrigation. He was appointed Corresponding Member of Serbian Engineering Academy in 2006, and Full Member of International Technology-Management Academy in 2010.
Academician Petar Drezgić, Full Professor of Specific Field Crops. He was born in 1914 in Jamena near Šid. He graduated at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry in 1938 in Belgrade. At that same Faculty he received his PhD degree in 1956. In 1957 he became research assistant of the Institute and, upon the intervention of the Institute, in 1976 he became a permanent member of the Wheat Institute at the Department of Field and Vegetable Crops of the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad. He was appointed Research Associate in 1954, even before receiving his PhD degree in 1956. In 1957, he was appointed Associate Professor and in 1961 Full Professor. He was Director of the Institute in the period 1958-1965. He was Vice Dean (1962-1964, 1967-1969) and Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad (1964-1967), as well as Rector of the University of Novi Sad in two mandates (1971-1975). He was appointed full member of VANU (Vojvodina Academy of Sciences and Arts) in 1979.
His contribution in the field of agroecology, agricultural practices, agro-amelioration and agro-biology is tremendous. He published 123 research and technical papers and several books and textbooks. He won many awards and the most important are: Order of the II Rank (1949), Order of Merits for the People with Golden Star (1973), October Award of the city of Novi Sad (collective award, 1979), 7th July Award of SR Serbia (1973), Award of Liberation of Vojvodina (1979), AVNOJ Award (1972) and others. He retired in 1980 and passed away the same year.
Academician Prof. Dr. Rudolf Kastori, Full Professor. He was Assistant Director for Science at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad in the period from 1989-2002.
He was professor of plant protection and agroecosystems protection at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad.
He became Research Assistant at the Department of Plant Physiology in 1960. He received full-time employment at the Institute in 1976. He worked at the Department of Plant Physiology until 1981, then at the Sugar beet Department until 1994.
Authored or co-authored 345 research papers and 29 books with editions. He received numerous awards for his scientific contribution.
He was appointed Foreign Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1998, and Full Member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Vojvodina (VANU) in 2004.
Prof. Dr. Jan J. Kišgeci, Full Professor, was Department Head for 16 years (1974-1990), and is Full Professor on the subject of Specific Crop Breeding.
In 1997 he became member of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Slovakia.
Started work at the Deparment in 1968, in the field of hop and herbs agroecology. He received his MSc in 1971, and PhD in 1974, and authored 154 research papers, 7 of which are books.
Apart from the research work, he performed important public and political duties (Secretary of Agriculture of AP Vojvodina 1989-1991; the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Serbia 1991-1994; Director of Federal Administration for Plant Protection and Veterinary Medicine 1994-1996; Director of the Federal Institute for Plant and Animal Genetic Resources 1996-2000.
In the period from 2000-2007, he worked as university professor at the Faculty of Agriculture in Zemun and counsellor at the Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade.
Academician Miloje R. Sarić, Full Professor of Plant Physiology. He was born in 1925 in Nemenikuće. He received his PhD degree at the Faculty of Agriculture in Zemun in 1957. In 1958 he came to the Institute for Agricultural Research, where he was Head of the Point for the Application of Isotopes in Agriculture, and in 1962 he became Head of the newly founded Plant Physiology Department of the Institute, as research associate. At the same time he was employed at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad аs an Associate Professor, and in 1968 he was appointed Full Professor of Plant Physiology.
In 1965, he was appointed Director of the Institute for Agricultural Research. He performed the duty with remarkable success until 1967 when he returned to the Plant Physiology Department remaining on that position until 1970. In 1971 he became Head of the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Sciences in Novi Sad. He was appointed Associate Member of SANU (Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences) in 1978, and Full Member in 1988. He was among the leading plant physiologists in our country and abroad. He published 184 research and technical papers, two textbooks in Plant Physiology with 9 editions, Plant Physiology practicum with 3 editions, etc. He received numerous awards and honours, and the most prominent are: 7th July Award of SR Serbia (1960), October Award of the city of Novi Sad (collective award, 1964), Order of Labour with Golden Wreath (1965), Award of Liberation of Vojvodina (1977) and AVNOJ Award (1986).
Academician Dr. Relja Savić, Full Professor. Started work at the Institute in 1946.
Founder of Maize Department, and Head of the Department in the period from 1962 to 1985.
Received his PhD degree in 1964 at the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb. Since his appointment as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad in 1966, until he died in 1985, he had performed the duty of the Head of Department as an associate. At the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad, he was appointed professor on the subject of Plant Breeding and Seed Breeding in 1973.
He was one of the pioneers in the selection and seed breeding of maize hybrids in Yugoslavia. Authored 26 and co-authored 19 maize hybrids. Published a large number of research papers. Awarded numerous times for his work accomplishments.
In August 1970, became a member of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences “В. И. Лењин” in Moscow, USSR. University of Agriculture in Кzsthelyu, Hungary gave him an Honorary Doctor of Sciences title (Dr. H.C.).
Became a member of Vojvodina Academy of Science and Art in 1981. Died in 1985.
Academician Prof. Dr. Dragan Škorić, Full Professor, Acting Head of Department from 1980 to 1989, Department Head from 1989 until retirement in 2006. Started work at the Department in 1964 on sunflower genetics and breeding. Authored numerous research and technical papers, 4 monograph chapters on sunflower, 2 monographs and 2 publications.
He was the coordinator of FAO – European Research Network on Sunflower from 1989 to 2010, editor-in-chief of the international journal Helia, a member of editorial staff of the journal Glasnik za zaštitu bilja, Arhiv za poljoprivredne nauke, Genetika i Uljarstvo (until 2006). Member of the Executive Board of ISA. Authored a number of sunflower hybrids released in our country and abroad. Spent 6 months in specialisation at the University of Gussen, Germany, in 1968.
Participated in a number of national and international scientific events. Held lectures in the country and abroad on many occasions.
Received numerous awards and honours for his scientific achievements, elected the Correspondent Member of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003, and Full Member in 2009. President of the Board for Flora and Vegetation at SANU (Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences). Awarded the honorary title Professor Emeritus at the University of Novi Sad in 2008.
Academician Prof. Dr. Novica V. Vučić, Full Professor. He was appointed Department Head in 1976, and performed the duty until 1985.
He started work at the Institute in 1954, at the Department of Agricultural Meliorations and Agroecology. In 1958 he started work at the Faculty of Agriculture as assistant in Agricultural irrigation, received his PhD in 1962, was appointed Assistant professor in 1963, Associate Professor in 1968, and Full Professor in 1974.
He was also appointed a Corresponding Member of VANU (Vojvodina Academy of Arts and Sciences) in 1981, and Full Member in 1987. He was professor at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad on undergraduate and postgraduate studies and international courses in Agricultural Crops Irrigation. He participated in a number of national and international conferences and held lectures in the country and abroad, authored 140 research papers – 26 international, over 70 technical and over 300 articles, reviews and studies, 21 books and textbooks.
The whole published work of Academician Dr. Vučić contains about 700 titles. He retired in 1988, and passed away in 1993.