Contributions to Electrical Engineering and Computer Science by Croatian experts

Darko Žubrinić, 2017

Here, we also include those scientists and engineers who are either directly or indicrectly related to Croatia by their origin.

Electrical Engineering
  • Franjo Domin (1754-1819) was among the first who cured various diseases by electrotherapy using static electricity
  • Josip Belušić constructed the first electric speedometer in 1888 (which he called velocimeter). Note: Nikola Tesla is since recently credited for this discovery, see here.
  • Ferdinand Kovačević (1838-1913) invented the possibility of telegraphic connection along a single wire (the duplex connection), whereas before four wires had been used.
  • Anthony F. Lucas (born as Antun Lucic, 1855-1926), is the father of petroleum industry, author of numerous inventions, among them of hydraulic rotary rig in oil well drilling
  • Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) is the father of alternating electrical current (AC) technology and the three phase system. He is equally known by his contribution to the high frequency technology and wireless communications.
  • Ante Supuk (1838-1904) was chief engineer directing one of the earliest AC (alternating current) electric power systems in the world, built up in Croatia, on the beautiful Krka waterfalls (one of Croatian national parks). This was one of the first commercial power systems, supplying an entire city with multiphase electric power.
  • Franjo Hanaman (1878-1941) invented, together with Aleksandar Just, the first economical electric bulb with wolfram filament.
  • Mario Puretić (Puratić, 1917-1993) revolutionarized the technology of pulling out fishing nets from the sea by his construction of what is now known as the Puretic Power Block in 1950s.
  • Jakov Kuljus and Ivan Dellaitti produced the first acetylene lamps for night fishing
  • Slavoljub Penkala (1871-1922) founder of Edison-Bell-Penkala Co. in Zagreb, producer of gramophone records, and better known for his construction of chemical pen (called penkala)
  • Marcel pl. Kiepach (1894-1915), the youngest inventor that Croatia ever had; constructed the bycicle dynamo machine
  • Antun Dolenc (1905-1984), in 1939 in introduced for the first time laquered isolation of wires (instead of cotton isolation) for asychronous motors, which improved the production of motors first in Zagreb, and soon became a standard  in Siemens and throughout the world to these days
  • Ivan Hrvoić is among the leading experts for magnetometers in the world, as well as a founder of the leading enterprise in the world working in this area
  • Anthony Maglica constructed his well known Mag-lite lamp, which has been selected among 100 top products that "America makes best"
  • Youri Agabekov, founder of Agabekov SA and international expert for exterior lighting design (Vatican, Louvre, Bolshoi Theatre, Sponza Palace in Dubrovnik, the Zagreb Cathedral, etc.)
  • Marin Soljačić (MIT) proposed a method for wireless power transfer
  • Anthony Grbić, distinguished expert for metamaterials (collaborates with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Univeristy of Zagreb)
  • Silvija Gradečak, Croatian scientist at MIT, expert for Nano Structured Materials
  • Vojislav Bego (1923-1999) a leading expert in voltage balance, constructor of Bego's Weigh
  • Jacob Jake Matijevic (1947-2012) leading engineer in developing the "Curiosity" rover for NASA that landed on the planet Mars in 2012.
  • George M. Skurla (1921-2001) was Director of Operations at the Kennedy Space Center. He oversaw and directed an expert team of 1600 scientists and engineers that constructed a lunar module for the Appolo program.
  • Milojko Mike Vucelic, former Apollo System Manager for NASA/Rockwell, recipient of Presidential Award for Freedom, studied Mechanica Engineering at the Univeristy of Zagreb
  • Marijan Zubanović, Croatian technical thermodynamics expert in France
  • Branko Leskovar (1930-2016) distinguished international expert in Electrical Engineering and Electronics
  • Hrvoje Babić (1929-2015), with Miroslav Sedlaček introduced the concept of mictrotron
  • Miroslav Sedlaček (1925-2017), expert in accelerator technology, Electron Physics and in vacuum and gasous devices
  • Darko Sertić founder of Applied Cermacis Co. in the Silicon Valley, working also in Croatia
  • Bojan Jerbić, projet leader for the construction of RONNA - Robotic NeuroNAvigation
  • Sven Maričić a pioneer of 3D printing technology in Croatia

Computer Science




Science and Technology




Marijan Ožanić: Razgovori s poviješću - prilozi za povijest


Croatian Science


Croatia, its History, Culture and Science