We are saddened to share that Academician Prof. Dr. Zijad Pašić, a long-standing member of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS), passed away this morning in Tuzla at the age of 82.
Prof. Dr. Zijad Pašić was born in 1944 in Tuzla, where he completed his primary and secondary education. He graduated from the Faculty of Technology in Tuzla in 1971, and obtained his Master’s degree in 1974 and PhD in 1978 from the Faculty of Technology at the University of Zagreb. As a recipient of a Government of Czechoslovakia scholarship, he pursued postdoctoral training at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Institute of the University of Brno.
Throughout his distinguished academic career, he studied and trained at universities in Tuzla, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Stuttgart, Prague, Brno, and Bratislava. He became a member of BHAAAS in 2015, contributing actively to the Academy’s mission of connecting scientific and professional communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the diaspora.
He taught at several universities, and as Head of the Department of Spatial Planning and Structural Engineering at the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Civil Engineering of the University of Tuzla, he made significant contributions to the development of materials science. His work was marked by dedication to education and mentoring new generations—he supervised numerous undergraduate theses and five doctoral dissertations.
In addition to his academic work, Prof. Dr. Pašić held important public positions. He served two terms as Deputy Minister of Reconstruction and Development in the Government of Tuzla Canton, and from 2003 to 2007 he served as the Federal Minister of Education and Science.
His passing represents a great loss for the academic community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as for BHAAAS.
We extend our sincere condolences to his family, colleagues, and friends.
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