The international school and conference PHOTONICA 2025, organised by the SASA, the Institute of Physics Belgrade and the Optical Society of Serbia, opened on Monday, 25 August 2025, at the SASA Grand Hall.
The tenth PHOTONICA will run until Friday, 29 August, bringing together around 180 participants from 30 countries. This fact was highlighted by Dr Marina Lekić of the Institute of Physics Belgrade, who moderated the opening ceremony and addressed the audience on behalf of the organising committee.
‘Among the conference participants are some of the most distinguished figures in applied research in the field of photonics,’ noted Dr Marina Lekić.
In addition to the main programme, this year’s conference will feature two memorial sessions dedicated to recently deceased colleagues whose contributions were of paramount importance to previous PHOTONICA conferences – Dr Antun Balaž of the Institute of Physics Belgrade and Dr Vitomir Milanović of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade.
On behalf of the Institute of Physics Belgrade, one of the event organisers, the Institute’s director, Dr Aleksandar Bogojević, addressed the audience. He expressed his gratitude to everyone who, over the course of 20 years, had participated in the conference organisation. ‘I would be hard pressed to find a branch of science which has no ties to photonics,’ concluded Dr Bogojević, adding that it is precisely this multidisciplinary nature that has encouraged researchers from the Institute working in other fields to take part in the conference.
Academician Branislav Jelenković spoke about photonics as a discipline which not only unites researchers in various fields but also bridges science and technology. ‘At the present moment, photonics is an important discipline, and I believe that its future is bright,’ said Academician B. Jelenković.
On behalf of the host, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the guests were welcomed by Academician Zoran Popović, SASA Vice President. ‘This event is significant both as a school for the education of young researchers and as a conference that brings together some of the most distinguished experts in the field,” noted Academician Popović, emphasising the importance of the participation of the high-tech industry.
The president of the Optical Society of Serbia, Dr Jovana Petrović, also spoke at the opening. ‘Our community is relatively small, and it is important that we stand united,’ maintained Dr Petrović, noting that PHOTONICA represents the most significant event in the field of photonics in Serbia.
Following the opening ceremony, the programme commenced with a session commemorating Dr Antun Balaž, who in previous years was extremely involved in the conference’s scientific committee. He was instrumental in organising the session on cold atoms and strongly correlated systems. After his passing, the organisers decided to dedicate this very session to his memory.
The lectures in this session were delivered by Professor Eugene Demler (Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland), Professor Stefano Giorgini (University of Trento, Italy), Professor Axel Pelster (Technical University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany), Professor Borivoje Dakić (University of Vienna, Austria), and Dr Ana Hudomal (Institute of Physics Belgrade).
Photos by Bojan Džodan