History

With the formation of the Department of Pharmacy of the Faculty of Medicine (1939), the course Physical Chemistry was introduced for the second year of the study of Pharmacy. The first teacher was B.Sc. engr. Pavle Savić, later professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Belgrade and President of SANU. He gave lectures (1940) to students of the first generation of the Department of Pharmacy until 1941, when classes were interrupted by the founding of the independent Faculty of Pharmacy (1945), lectures on Physical Chemistry were taken over by Dr. Dragoljub Jovanović, professor of physics at the newly established faculty. B.Sc. engr. Ivan Bajalović, was an assistant (1946), lecturer in Physical Chemistry (1946-1960) and author of the first textbook (Fundamentals of Physical Chemistry Part I and II).

Along with the founding of the departments, the Institute of Physics and Physical Chemistry was founded at the Faculty, and the first director of this Institute was a professor of physics, Dr. Bratislav Demetrović. The independent Institute of Physical Chemistry, founded in 1949, was located in the building of the Pathological Institute of the Faculty of Medicine until it was moved to a new building (1991). The first director of the Institute was B.Sc. engr. Ivan Bajalović, who, in addition to theoretical, also held practical classes until 1951, B.Sc. pharm. Kosta Nikolić was appointed as an assistant. The following Teaching assistants also worked at the Department: B.Sc. engr. Olga Vitorović (1954), B.Sc. pharm. Dobrila Pačković (1954), B.Sc. engr. Milan Pajević (1955), B.Sc. pharm. Ksenija Velašević - Živković (1956), B.Sc. pharm. Leposava Panić - Sablić (1960), Ph.D. pharm. Zorica Radović (1966) and B.Sc. phys. chem. Dušan Malešev (1967).

Sometime later, a graduated pharmacists Mirjana Medenica (1977) was elected to be a teaching assistant as well as Vesna Kuntić (1989). The following graduated psysico-chemists were declared elected as teaching assistants too: Leposava Pavun (1991), Mara Aleksić (1994), Slavica Blagojević (1996), Nataša Pejić (1998) and Aleksandra Janošević Ležaić (2007), as well as Jelena Rupar a graduated pharmacist in 2017. Spec. phys.-chem. Svetlana Mićić was also employed at the Department (since 2000.) and appointed as an Associate for Technical and Administrative Support to the Department (since 2010).

And also, the following techniciansworked at the Department: Zorica Milačić, Nikola Petrović, Sreten Milosavljević, Slobodan Trmčić and Jelena Stojkov while nowadays Vesna Stojković(since 1996) and Danijela Crnobrnja (since 1999) have been working there. Terezija Mekovec and Stojanka Nedeljković worked there as cleaners whilst Olgica Čemerikić has been working ever since 2009.

The course Physical Chemistry changed its name to Physical Chemistry and Instrumental Methods (1978), and classes were held in the third and fourth semesters until 2007 (beginning of integrated academic studies, harmonized with the Bologna Declaration). The course Clinical-Chemical Laboratory Methods (Study program: Pharmacy-Medical biochemistry) was also taught.

Today, within the Department, the following courses (theoretical and practical classes) are taught at integrated academic studies: Physical Chemistry, Instrumental Methods, Colloid Chemistry (both study programs) and Application of radionuclides in biochemistry and protection measures (study program Pharmacy-Medical Biochemistry), as well as Physical Chemistry, Instrumental Methods and Colloid Chemistry (for foreign students study program: Pharmacy).

The following courses are taught at doctoral academic studies: Spectroscopic methods in drug analysis (Drug Analysis), Selected instrumental methods (Bromatology), Physico-chemical phenomena and instrumental methods (Pharmaceutical technology) and Selected chapters of instrumental methods (Pharmacognosy). Course Instrumental methods are performed at postgraduate specialist studies required by healthcare system(study programs: Drug Testing and Control, Sanitary Chemistry and Toxicological Chemistry).

By the decision of the Council of the Faculty of Pharmacy (2010), the Institute of Physical Chemistry changed its name to the Department of Physical Chemistry and Instrumental Methods.

Directors of the Institute of Physical Chemistry/Heads of the Department were: doc. Dr. Ivan Bajalović (1949–1960), Professors Dr. Kosta Nikolić (1960–1990), Dr. Zorica Radović (1990–1999), Dr. Dušan Malešev (1999–2007) and Dr. Mirjana Medenica (2007–2017), and since 2017 Dr. Natasa Pejić.