The Chair of Primary Wood Processing

Chair: The Chair of Primary Wood Processing

Head of Chair: Dr. Ranko Popadić, associate professor

Chair Development: 

The basis of the Chair of primary wood processing together with related subjects was established by the Decree of the Faculty of Agriculture in Belgrade of 21st September 1924, when a new subject Elements of machines and installations for wood processing was introduced to the curriculum, as well as the subject Forest trade and industry. According to the Law on Universities of 28th June 1930, the Agriculture and Forestry Faculty in Belgrade passed the 1932 Regulation that subjects taught at the Forestry department were: Mechanical wood processing and Chemical wood technology. The regulation of agricultural and forestry faculties in Belgrade and Zagreb of 30th May 1939 established the curriculum of Forestry departments with 39 subjects, when the following new subjects appear among others: Fundamentals of general mechanical and electrical engineering and Forest mechanical engineering.  A new Forest-industrial Department was established with the 1945/46 curriculum. It had a curriculum of largely technical and technological orientation, and the subject Mechanical wood processing was taught in the fourth year of study.

In the1958 curriculum the Wood-industrial Department was divided into the Department of mechanical processing and the Department of chemical processing. Then the Forestry Department abolished the subject Mechanical wood processing, and the Department of mechanical wood processing introduced the subject Primary mechanical wood processing. Later on, at the Department of wood processing the subject Primary mechanical wood processing was divided into three subjects: Wood processing in sawmills and Veneers and plywood.

The teaching at the Chair was performed by prof. Dr. Milutin Knežević, the first Ph.D. in the field of wood processing, who successfully taught the subjects Wood processing in sawmills, Technology of processing of wood, veneers and plywood and Wood processing machines. Although he was a forestry engineer by education, he laid the foundations of Wood Processing at our Faculty, and we owe him gratitude for the establishment and development of the Wood-industrial department. The second generation of teachers at the Chair included prof. Dr. Nadežda Lukić-Simonović, prof. Dr. Momir Nikolić, prof. Dr. Mihailo Nikolić and Mr. Darinka Sisojević who laid the foundations of Wood anatomy from the aspect of wood technology.

In this period prof. Dr. Svetislav Vasiljević, prof. Dr. Jovan Pavić and prof. Dr. Mihailo Petrović provided significant help in the teaching of the subjects or related disciplines necessary for the Chair development. The third generation of teachers of the Chair included prof. Dr. Borislav Šoškić, prof. Dr. Branko Kolin and Assistant Professor Dr. Luka Glavaški. The fourth generation of teachers includes prof. Dr. Zdravko Popović, Full Professor and Dr. Vladislav Zdravković, Associate Professor. The fifth generation of teachers includes Dr. Goran Milić, Full professor, Dr. Ranko Popadić, Associate professor Dr. Nebojsa Todorović Full professor and Dr. Aleksandar Lovrić, Associate professor.

Prof. Until her retirement in 2022, Dragica Vilotić from the Department of Forestry taught the subject Wood Anatomy.