On June 21 to 24, the 10th Days of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS) will be held in Jahorina. The arrival of a large number of scientists and distinguished experts in the fields of medicine, technical, natural, social, and human sciences is expected. One of them is certainly the distinguished professor of mathematics at Wellesley College in Boston, Ismar Volić. Although the Fulbright scholarship gave him "the whole world in the palm of his hand," he still chose the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Sarajevo as the place for his research work. On this occasion, Volić, otherwise the son of the famous BiH actress Jasna Diklić, spoke for Radiosarajevo.ba. Radiosarajevo.ba: Professor, you are a young and successful man who has fulfilled his American dream. Do you miss life in Bosnia and Herzegovina?" I left Sarajevo twenty-seven years ago when I was seventeen, but it was always important to me to come to Sarajevo often and succeed in it. That's why my family and my friends know that somehow I'm always there, even when alone in America. That's the only way I can be someone who is not a tourist or a passing diaspora. Cooperation with academic institutions is also integral to this because it gives me an additional reason to come often. Of course, I am always aware of this, though, in America, BiH is an indispensable part of it. My wife is American, my children were born there, and my job, which I enjoy, is there. If it were otherwise, it would probably be difficult to fight the emotional and psychological conflict that such an existence "neither there nor here" carried with it." Radiosarajevo.ba: How familiar is your wife with our culture, and does she like BiH?" My wife likes coming to Bosnia and Herzegovina; she is fascinated by our complex culture and history. She has her own landscape design and gardening company in Boston, so she also enjoys these regions and their beauty from that point of view. I have to admit that I, too, who grew up on the asphalt and concrete of Marijin Dvor, opened my eyes and showed how unique nature is in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Radiosarajevo.ba: It is interesting that you recently received a Fulbright scholarship and that you chose the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Sarajevo as the place of your research work." My Fulbright application was specific to PMF and Sarajevo. Although I can do my research anywhere, it made sense to come to PMF because a few years ago I became a mentor to a doctoral student here, so this semester we are working intensively together. The Fulbright Commission liked that I was engaged in other ways, such as holding lectures at various institutions and schools, promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education, and organizing the BHAAAS Days conference." Radiosarajevo.ba: How do you see education in BiH?" I wouldn't like to make any big generalizations because I don't think I have the right to do so, and I don't know enough about the overall situation in education. What I have some insight into is the situation at the University of Sarajevo, where I am delighted with the hospitality and the people. I have the feeling that a university full of professors who work at the highest level and students with potential and ambition is equal to any of my students in Boston. So, on an individual level, the predispositions are there for the University of Sarajevo to be a world-class academic institution. However, while the engagement of individuals is necessary, it is not enough to reach the academic top. We need systemic support and a policy that prioritizes education. We need to bring world experts to give lectures, to send students and young researchers to conferences around the world to leaders in science, industry, and business. We need to create conditions that encourage young people to continue their education after high school or college. For example, it is difficult to write a PhD that will be noticed in the world if, at the same time, one has to teach twenty or more hours a week. Therefore, students who are doing master's and doctorate degrees should be given space to fully devote themselves to research, along with funding. There is no doubt that this kind of investment would pay back many times over time. Another aspect without which I don't think there can be real academic progress is the separation of politics from education. It is incomprehensible to me that a university function, whether academic or administrative and a political party are routinely mentioned here in the same sentence. As far as I can see, politics here is too busy feeding and justifying itself, and as such, it does not prioritize the academic well-being of students and professors, which of course should be the first criterion for any educational institution. Politics must be removed from education because it will continue to stand in the way of intellectual progress. I must emphasize that I am speaking from limited, sporadic experience, and my perception may be wrong. I wish it was, but what I want to point out again and what I know to be indisputable is for academic quality to exist, and it would be tragic not to do everything to nurture and direct it." Radiosarajevo.ba: You are an active member of BHAAAS. How did you become involved?" I don't remember exactly how I heard about BHAAAS, but I liked that this organization is dedicated to promoting education and art, has high criteria for membership, and has no political, national, or religious affiliation. I am currently a member of the Board of Directors of BHAAAS, and I can confirm that we are only interested in sharing knowledge and getting closer to BiH academic and artistic communities to world trends. I see engagement in BHAAAS as a natural extension of my professional life. I cooperate with people all over America and Europe, so it is most normal that I have professional cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to which I am connected in numerous other ways. This is how my colleagues from BHAAAS think, and together this organization gives us an umbrella organizational structure, legitimacy, and a united voice." Radiosarajevo.ba: You are also one of the lecturers at the BHAAAS Days. What do you expect from this manifestation, and what are the topics of your lectures?" This year's tenth anniversary, BHAAAS Days, is impressive. We will have more than three hundred lecturers in 27 symposia from science, medicine, social sciences, and humanities; over a thousand participants; dozens of top experts from around the world are coming; we have planned a rich cultural program that includes the Safet Zeca exhibition, the play "The Book of My Lives" based on the book of one of the founders of BHAAAS, Aleksandar Hemon; a concert by the Sarajevo Philharmonic; and the presentation of the "Memories of Stone" exhibition. As for the scientific program, the days will be an opportunity for students and researchers in BiH to hear about the latest achievements, trends, techniques, and technologies. We will do everything to help achieve networking and collaboration between colleagues from BiH and America and other countries. The most important thing for us is to bring experts from the world and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the same space because we believe that the exchange of knowledge will then follow its natural course. My plenary lecture is on cryptography and privacy. Cryptography is the science and practice of secure communication. Privacy is of course a very hot topic, and the two things are connected fascinatingly. The topic of my lecture is the issue of regulation and limitation of cryptography, and therefore the mathematics on which cryptographic systems rest. This is a rare case where theoretical mathematics is at the heart of a political debate. Also, I will refer to the fact that abstract and sophisticated mathematics is becoming increasingly necessary for the analysis and interpretation of the complicated world around us. The second lecture will be in the symposium of applied mathematics on the topic of topological data analysis (TDA). Topology is my field of research and deals with the study of geometric spaces or shapes, with the understanding that if the shape is deformed, it is considered essentially unchanged. TDA treats data clouds as spaces and applies topological methods to answer questions such as "Does the data cloud have holes?" "How many disconnected parts does it consist of?" "Are certain subsets of the data close or far?" and so on. This kind of analysis provides new information that standard statistics often do not see. The third lecture will be in the education symposium, where I will talk about the importance of STEM education. Economic progress is closely related to STEM education because technology largely drives the modern economy. Investment in STEM education is therefore crucial for development, especially for a small country like Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the lecture, I will give some statistics and examples of the profitability of investing in STEM education." Radiosarajevo.ba: You are the son of our famous actress Jasna Diklić. You would be expected to be an artist; how come you became a professor of mathematics?" Maybe I graduated from mathematics because I tried to get as far away from acting as possible! And not only is my mother an actress, but my grandmother was also an actress in the Youth Theatre, and my uncle is also a theater director. I was the black sheep in the family because I always loved mathematics and already knew in elementary school that I wanted to do it. I was attracted by its abstractness, elegant independence, and detachment from reality. Fortunately, my sister joined me in choosing a non-artistic career—she did a PhD in biology in Madrid—so now there are two of us and we're stronger together! Jokes aside, the important thing is that my mom never pressured us to choose a career, and she always just wanted us to be satisfied with what we do and to be able to provide ourselves with a decent existence. Fortunately, it all came true in the end." Radiosarajevo.ba: How is it today when two different worlds coincide, the artistic soul and the pragmatism of a mathematician?" It may sound strange, but my mom is an extremely pragmatic person. And she had to be to jump over all the hurdles that life set for her. And in that combinatorial, logical thinking, she and I are fine. On the other hand, for me, art, theater, and film are not very important, and I spend a lot of time feeding that side of my brain as well. After all, I grew up in the theater. I follow what is happening in culture, especially in BiH, so mom and I always have common topics to talk about, but mathematics is not one of them. (https://www.radiosarajevo.ba/)
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