The Croatian Society of Natural Sciences acknowledges since 1997 foreign scientists who have made substantial contributions to the Croatian Natural Science field by awarding the Spiridion Brusina Medal.

This year’s awardee is Prof. Dr. Jutta Ludwig-Müller from the Faculty of Biology at TU Dresden, who is honoured for her accomplishments in the field of plant biology and the promotion of Croatian science within a period of 20 years.

Prof. Ludwig-Müller remembers how her cooperation with Croatian institutions began: “My first postdoctoral fellow at TU Dresden about 19 years ago was Dr. Gordana Rusak from Zagreb, who is now a professor at the Faculty of Biology there. Since then I have been able to accompany many doctoral students and post-docs from Zagreb here in Dresden in their research and career development. I cooperate with the Faculty of Biology of the University of Zagreb and the Research Institute Rudjer Boskovic (IRB) in Zagreb. I have also been a member of the IRB advisory board for many years. Through various bilateral projects, I have initiated research cooperation in Croatia, especially in Zagreb, which have resulted in 18 joint publications. In a joint Alexander von Humboldt Institute partnership with the IRB, it was also possible to purchase some lab equipment in Croatia".

The award ceremony took place on 30 November 2019 in Zagreb. The medal was presented by the current President of the Croatian Society of Natural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Zrinka Kovarik. The medal is named after Spiridion Brusina, a Croatian biologist and zoologist who was the founder of marine biology in Croatia and the first professor at the University of Zagreb. Renowned scientists from many countries and different life science fields over the world have been awarded with this medal before.

Media inquiries:

Professor Jutta Ludwig-Müller
TU Dresden
Institute of Botany
Tel.: +49 351 463-33939