Knowledge without frontiers Knowledge Without Frontiers | Page 32

This bust, the work of the sculptor Marjan Keršič – Belač, was unveiled whilst be-
stowing the honorary doctorate of the University of Ljubljana on Anton Peterlin
in 1988. It is located in front of the “Jožef Stefan” Institute. Technical Museum of
Slovenia. Photo: Sanja Živković.
Peterlin being awarded honorary membership by the Jožef Stefan Institute,
"Unpromising polymers"
1968. Jožef Stefan Institute.
Peterlin focused his research efforts on the
INSTITUT "JOZEF STEFAN"
Peterlin made an important contribution
to the construction, organisation, and, in the
initial years, management of what is still the
largest research institution in Slovenia. The in-
stitute was founded as the Physics Institute of
the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
and the ceremony marking the opening of the
new building on Jamova Street was held on
of smaller units called monomers. He once re-
counted how the study of polymers had been
considered unpromising in the years after the
war and smart people were advised to avoid
this field. Subsequent developments would
prove the naysayers very wrong, for polymers
still play a fundamental and multifaceted role
in our lives owing to their broad range of appli-
cations.
DNA molecules are polymers as well, and
national Culture Day in 1953. There were great Peterlin published an article in the journal Na-
war and similar institutes were being founded terestingly, James Watson and Francis Crick
expectations regarding nuclear energy after the
throughout the world.
Coincidentally, Peterlin died on Jožef Ste-
fan’s birthday, on 24 March.
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study of polymers, large molecules composed
ture calculating their elasticity properties. In-
would present their discovery of the double he-
lix shape of the molecule in the same magazine
only two months later.