Prof. Dr. Jože Vižintin is the recipient of the Puh Award for Lifetime Achievement
Igor Papič, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, and Nataša Vaupotič, Chairwoman of the Committee for the Award of Prizes and Awards for Excellence in Scientific Research and Development of the Republic of Slovenia, announced this year’s winners of the highest national prizes and awards in the field of science. This year, the Committee received 60 complete applications, from which it awarded prizes and awards to four female and eleven male winners.
The Puh Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Prof. Dr. Jože Vižintin, Professor of Tribology, the Science of Friction, Wear and Lubrication, and Mechanical Drives at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana.
Prof. Dr. Jože Vižintin founded and equipped the Centre for Tribology and Technical Diagnostics, which has become one of the most important in Europe. His achievements have helped to establish tribology and technical diagnostics in academia and Slovenian industry, and to rise to the top of the European and global scene in both fields.
He also received the Zois Award for Excellence in Mechanical Engineering in 2002, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Award in 2000 and 2006, and the STLE Fellow Award for Special Achievement in Tribology. He was the first person in the world to measure the temperature generated in friction contact and to demonstrate the change in material structure that causes a material to lose strength and load-carrying capacity. Now retired, he is still very active in many areas.
We sincerely congratulate all the winners.
Jože Vižintin PHOTO: Personal archive