Technical and Natural Sciences Division

The Technical and Natural Sciences (TNS) division has been an integral part of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS) since its inception. The TNS division aims to bring together scientists, engineers, and researchers who have strong ties to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) and who live and work in the United States of America, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and across the globe. The TNS currently has nearly 50 members who are pursuing leading roles in academia and industry in the USA, BIH, Europe, and Australia. 

This division is led by a dedicated team of volunteers from the US and BiH:

Previous chairs of the TNS section include Migdat Hodzic (University of Mostar), Samir Avdakovic (University of Sarajevo-Faculty of Electrical Engineering) and Ismar Volic (Wellesley College, Department of Mathematics, USA). 

Annual Days of BHAAAS: TNS symposia and proceedings

Each year, the TNS division organizes a series of symposia at the annual Days of BHAAAS in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These symposia bring together researchers, both BHAAAS members and non-members, from across the globe to discuss their latest discoveries and exchange ideas and expertise. The symposia cover a broad range of topics within the technical and natural sciences, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. 

The most recent TNS symposia at the Days of BHAAAS are detailed here: https://sarajevo2024.bhaaas.org/technical-and-natural-science-symposia/ 

The work presented at the Days is compiled into a book of proceedings each year under the title Proceedings of the International Symposium on Innovative and Interdisciplinary Applications of Advanced Technologies (IAT). These proceedings include nearly 100 papers from 6 to 7 symposia that are attended by over 150 participants annually. Over the last 14 years, the IAT proceedings have grown into one of the most frequently cited publications originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

All proceedings books are available at Springer's dedicated IAT page:

https://link.springer.com/conference/iat

Proceedings of the BHAAAS Days (IAT) have now gathered over 500 papers, they have been downloaded/read over 380 thousand times and cited over 350 times, and these numbers continue to grow each year.

Goals of TNS

In addition to organizing symposia at the Days of BHAAAS and publishing the proceedings, the goals of the Technical and Natural Sciences (TNS) division are:

• Expand membership in the TNS by attracting experts in the diaspora and in BIH, especially in the fields of information technology and natural sciences.
• Attract a larger number of students from all sub-fields of science and technology to actively participate in the BHAAAS Days. This particularly refers to the presence of students from all levels of study in the audience at BHAAAS symposia.
• Increase the number of sponsors from the fields of technical and natural sciences for the BHAAAS Days. The TNS  division aims to attract more sponsors for its activities during the Days in order to cover the travel costs and fees for both distinguished invited speakers and students.
• Form joint projects between the TNS and research centers and/or other organizations with similar goals in BIH, both in the private and public sectors, especially at universities. TNS members can offer their expertise and cooperation on various research projects in the technical and natural sciences fields.
• Support the further development of scientific research in BIH, as well as raise awareness within BiH about the importance of investing in science and technology.  This includes advocating for increased financial support for scientific research projects at universities in BiH, especially in the natural sciences.
• Facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise between TNS members and the broader scientific community, fostering innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Encourage international collaboration by connecting TNS members with researchers and institutions globally, enhancing the global presence and impact of scientific work originating from BIH.
• Increase public engagement and outreach efforts to highlight the importance of science and technology in everyday life, aiming to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers in BiH.
• Advocate for policies that support the growth and development of the technical and natural sciences in BIH, working with government bodies to create a favorable environment for scientific research and technological advancement.

3 Minute Thesis competition in collaboration with BH Futures

To accomplish the stated goals, TNS organizes several activities in collaboration with local and international organizations. One notable partner is the BH Futures Foundation (https://www.bhfuturesfoundation.org/), founded by our esteemed member Edhem (Eddie) Custovic. TNS assists and participates in judging entries in their 3 Minute Thesis competition (https://www.bhfuturesfoundation.org/3mt-2024). This annual competition challenges students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, working anywhere in the world, to explain their thesis in 3 minutes or less using a single static slide. BHAAAS is also a sponsor of all doctoral prizes in the 3MT competition. 

In addition to the 3MT competition, TNS and BH Futures co-organize a Researchers Meetup on each annual Days of BHAAAS. This gathering provides networking opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, including 3MT participants, with other attendees from academia and industry, as well as with members of the TNS.

Collaboration with ANNT: AI Hackathon, Academic Directory, and STEM Museum

TNS also collaborates with the “Asocijacija za Napredak Nauke i Tehnologije” (Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology) or ANNT (https://annt.ba/). Together with ANNT, we 

organized an AI Hackathon for students in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the AI Hackathon (https://www.bhaaas.org/bs/hackathon-na-temu-primjena-umjetne-inteligencije-na-projekat-akademskog-imenika-bih-wp and https://annt.ba/ai-hakaton/), seven teams of four students each competed to develop the best solution for applying artificial intelligence to improve the functionality of the “Akademski Imenik” (Academic Directory), which is another collaborative project between ANNT and BHAAAS. 

The Akademski Imenik (https://akademskiimenik.ba/) is a unique online resource for researchers to create their profiles, which are then automatically populated with their publications and other information, all with the goal of facilitating research collaboration.

After the AI Hackathon, TNS and ANNT joined forces to work on a long-term project to develop  Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first STEM Museum (Muzej Nauke i Tehnologije). To kick off this project, a mini pop-up STEM Museum was hosted at Druga Gimnazija (Druga Gimnazija Sarajevo), a STEM-focused college preparatory high school in Sarajevo. In their museum spaces, TNS and ANNT created a small set of interactive exhibits and workshops where students and youth could experience science and technology first-hand, interact with it, and (hopefully) fall in love with it. The goals of the STEM Museum are twofold: to increase science literacy and to attract more youth into STEM disciplines. The mini pop-up STEM Museum had great attendance (https://annt.ba/izlozba-mali-muzej-nauke-i-tehnologije-20-22-06-sarajevo and presence on social media https://www.instagram.com/p/C8PdafgNm6v/ ). 

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