Academician Prof. Dejan Popovic, PhD, Full Professor

Dejan B. Popović was born in 1950 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

Professor Popović received a B.S. (1974), M.S. (1977), and Ph.D. (1981) from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Belgrade. In short 10 years, he went from Assistant Professor (1985) to Associate (1990) and Full Professor (1995) at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Besides his domestic academic career, he developed and participated as a professor and principal investigator in many international collaborative projects at the University of Alberta, Canada (1987-1995), University of Miami, USA (1991-1997), and Aalborg University, Denmark (1999- 2005).

In 2015, he became a Full Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade Serbia, where he served as a Professor at the Institute of Technical Sciences (2015- 2017). In 2016, he was elected Professor Emeritus at Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark, and, in 2019, Corresponding Member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

His scientific work was focused on a better understanding of motor control as it applies to the development and application of technology-based solutions and control methods for rehabilitation systems aimed at improving motor function and restoring movements following paralysis. He published over 130 journal articles and numerous books and book chapters related to motor control, medical robotics, rehabilitation, and electrical stimulation. He was a highly sought-after presenter at scientific meetings, many of which he organized. Besides contributing to other journals, he served on the Editorial Board of our International Journal of Rehabilitation Research and peer-reviewed many manuscripts.

Professor Popović was an excellent teacher, lecturer, and mentor to many students at his alma mater in Belgrade and other universities across the world. His talks were both stimulating and provocative, forcing the audience, particularly young researchers, to think critically, expand their views, and sharpen research and clinical agenda. As an excellent translational scientist, he never lost sight of patients with paralysis for whom he was developing rehabilitation technology. At the same time, his charisma and broad knowledge were drawing researchers and clinical collaborators toward him to work jointly on effective and practical solutions to improve the lives of the physically disabled. He tirelessly worked on developing collaborations with the industry to speed up the development, testing, and certification of technology products, especially in the fields of functional electrical stimulation and robotics.

To those who were lucky enough to spend long hours talking to Dejan informally, he will be remembered as someone with a deep passion for knowledge and a gift to stir up heated discussions. Despite the ever-present aura of the professor, his charm, friendly demeanor, and respect for different opinions would quickly put everyone at ease and engage in conversation, whether it be a peer or junior colleague. His enthusiasm was inspiring and the words spoken were wise. And for all that, we will always be grateful to Dejan.

Source: International Journal of Rehabilitation Research 2021, 44:384, On behalf of Editorial Board: Črt Marinček, Zlatko Matjačić and Dobrivoje S. Stokic