PREDRAG MARJANOVIC (1 May 1955 – 14 Sept 2001)

Obituary by Dr. David Mills, U.K.

It is with very much sadness that I have to report on the sudden death last week of Professor Predrag Marjanovic. He was playing golf at Troon near Ayr in a University tournament on Friday afternoon the 14th September. He suffered heart failure and death was immediate. He had no history of illness whatsoever and was only fifty. He leaves a wife, Mara, and daughter, Nevena. He was a man of considerable talent and a ready wit, and will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him.

Predrag has been a student, colleague and valued friend of mine for over twenty years. I first met Predrag in 1979 in Belgrade. I had been invited to Yugoslavia by Dr Z Bukurov at the University of Novi Sad and he took me to meet Predrag in Belgrade. At that time, Predrag was a Lecturer in the Fluid Mechanics Department within the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Belgrade.

Predrag had become interested in pneumatic conveying and had completed a Masters Degree with an investigation into conveying vertically upwards. He particularly wanted to extend the work and undertake a PhD programme but did not have the necessary equipment or support in Belgrade. The facilities required were available in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Thames Polytechnic in London (now the University of Greenwich), where Stan Mason was Head of Department.

Predrag obtained sabbatical leave and joined us at Thames in 1983. He was awarded his PhD in 1984 for a programme entitled “An Investigation of the Behaviour of Gas-Solid Mixture Flow Properties for Vertical Pneumatic Conveying in Pipelines”. To get his PhD he not only had to undertake the research work but he first had to transfer the test facility into a new laboratory and construct the necessary pipelines on the outside wall of the building. I had the privilege of supervising his PhD and he proved to be dedicated and prolific in his work and this was his hallmark.

We remained in contact, meeting at various conferences, and in 1987 Stan Mason and I visited Yugoslavia through British Council sponsorship. Following our move to Glasgow Caledonian University, Predrag was keen to get involved with the development and operation of the MSc course in “Bulk Solids Handling” that we were proposing to run from January 1991. We requested that he should be granted sabbatical leave from Belgrade for a year and he joined us in October 1990. He was enthusiastically involved in lecturing the course modules and helped with the presentation of courses in the UK, the USA and Europe, as well as undertaking consultancy work involving laboratory work, site visits and system design.

Predrag established himself as a valuable member of the team at Glasgow and in November 1992 he was able to take up a permanent appointment at the University. He has since been a major contributor to lecturing schedules and research programmes, and has an impressive record of publications. He has travelled the world in presenting courses, attending conferences and undertaking consultancy, and has gained a well-deserved international reputation for his work. He gained appointment as a Professor at the University last year with a personal Chair.

Dr David Mills

September 2001 ■