Dragutin Skoko (1930 - 2024)

A fellow of Croatian Academy of Science and Arts, and professor emeritus of the Geophysical Department at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, seismologist Dragutin Skoko passed away on September 6, 2024. He was born on July 24, 1930, in Karlovac, where he attended high school. At the Faculty of Science in Zagreb, he completed his studies in physics-geophysics in 1954 and earned his PhD in 1969 with the thesis A Contribution to the Determination of Earthquake Magnitude. He spent two extended study periods in Japan (1964/1965 and 1971/1972).

Starting in 1958, he worked as an assistant and, from 1969, as an assistant professor at the Geophysical Institute of the Faulty of Science. He became a full professor in 1980. He taught a wide range of courses at all levels of studies of geophysics, some of which were entirely new. He also taught at the postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Mining, Geology, and Petroleum Engineering in Zagreb and at the University of Skopje. He mentored several dozen master's theses, ten master's dissertations, and seven doctoral theses.

Dragutin Skoko retired in 2000, and the following year he was appointed professor emeritus at the University of Zagreb. He was highly active in scientific research, particularly in seismology, publishing dozens of scientific papers (including several in leading international journals in the field), ten review papers, and two books. He led numerous seismological research projects in Croatia and was the project leader for Croatia in international projects realized under UNDP/UNESCO, including Survey of the Seismicity of the Balkan Region (1970 – 1976) and Seismic Risk Reduction of the Balkan Region (1985 – 1990). He was also the initiator of the construction of the new building for the Geophysical Department on Horvatovac, which was realized as part of these international projects. On his initiative, the Seismological Service at the Geophysical Department of the Faculty was founded in 1985.

During his career, he held many positions, including serving as the deputy dean for finance at the Faculty of Science on two occasions and as the head of the Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Science for two terms. He became an associate member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (CASA) in 1975 and a full member in 1991. He was the president of the Scientific Council for Oil at CASA, the president of the Scientific Council for Remote Sensing and Photointerpretation at CASA, the president of the Croatian Commission for Geodesy and Geophysics at CASA (for two terms), and a representative of Croatia in the European Seismological Commission. He was also a member of the Editorial Board of the scientific journal Geofizika from its inception.

For his scientific work, he received several awards and recognitions, including the Award Nikola Tesla for contributions to science in technical and biotechnical sciences (1983) and a Plaque of Appreciation from the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior in Istanbul (1989).

Dragutin Skoko raised several generations of seismologists in Croatia and neighboring countries, and selflessly championed the development of seismology and geophysics in Croatia. We will remember him as a kind and patient colleague, creative leader, and a brilliant lecturer.

Josip Stipčević, University of Zagreb, Croatia