Acad. Ratko K. Janev was born in 1939 in Sandanski, Bulgaria. He has finished high school in 1957 in Skopje, and graduated on the Faculty of Electrical Engineering (Group Technical Physics) at the University of Belgrade in 1963. Post-graduate studies completed in 1965 at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Belgrade, and thereupon he joined the Institute of Nuclear Sciences “Boris Kidrič” in Vinca. Acad. Janev was on the specialization course on the State University of Leningrad, now St. Petersburg (1966-1967), where he worked on his doctoral dissertation on “Processes of electronic grip in slow atomic collisions” which he have successfuly defended in 1968 at the Natural Sciences Faculty in Belgrade.
Acad. Ratko Janev worked as scientific adviser at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences “Boris Kidrič” in Vinca until 1972 and then at the Institute of Physics in Belgrade until 1987. Since 1969 he taught courses at postgraduate studies on the Faculty Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Belgrade (Section for theoretical physics), and 1970-1973 lectured atomic physics on the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje. In the period from 1988 to 1999 Acad. Janev managed the programs of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna for atomic and molecular data for research into controlled thermonuclear fusion.
His extensive scientific work covers the areas of general and methodological problems of quantum theory of inter atomic particle mutual interactions, theory of interaction and collision processes between atomic particles, kinetic and transport processes in ionized environments, physicsof the collision processes between atomic particles and the surface of solids, physics of gas lasers and physics thermonuclear controlled fusion. Especially significant are the contributions of Acad. Janev in the development of the limit theory of changeable interaction between atomic particles and between atomic particles and solid surfaces, quantum dynamics of collision processes multiple electricized ions with atomic particles, physics of atomic processes in dense high temperature laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, as well as magnetic and inertia confined thermonuclear plasmas. In recent years the scientific interest of Academician Janev has been increasingly focused on the atomic and molecular processes at an early stage of evolution of the universe and galaxies, as well as processes in compact astrophysical objects (the last stages in the evolution of stars)
Acad. Јanev has published more than 300 scientific papers. He is author or co-author of 7 monographs, 27 review articles in elite international journals, 12 chapters in books of other authors and he was editor of 3 Proceedings of international scientific meetings. Acad. Janev was held introductory lectures at 35 international conferences.
As a visiting professor by invitation Acad. Janev has lectured courses and lectures at several universities in Europe (Paris, Bordeaux, Aarhus, Stockholm, Moscow, London, Durham, Brussels, Louvain-la-Neuve), America (Boulder, Knoxville, Princeton), Japan (Nagoya, Kyoto Tokyo, Osaka) and China (Beijing, Shanghaj, Xian, Chengdu). During his scientific activity academician Janev has realized long-standing scientific cooperation with the world’s top research institutions: the Paris Observatory in Meudon, Institute of Physics at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Kurchatov Institute in Moscow, University of Saint Petersburg, Laboratory of atomic collisions at the Catholic University in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, Princeton laboratory of plasma physics, National laboratory in Oak Ridge, National Institute of fusion science in Tajimi, Japan, Research center in Julich, Germany, Institute of Applied physics and mathematics in Beijing, China.
Due to his reputation in the scientific community in the field of atomic physics Acad. Janev was a member of the Council for Electronic and atomic collisions of the European Physical Society (1993- 1997) and member of the scientific or programming committees of international conferences: the European Physical Society Sectional Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics of ionized gases (ESCAMPIG) (1977- 1986); International Conference on Laser Science (LASER 1981-1984; Laser Science from 1985 to 1989); International Conference on Physics of electronic and atomic collisions (ICPEAC) (1985-1989); International conference on physics of highly electricized ions (1984, 1994); International Conference on Plasma Physics (1992, 1994); International conference on atomic and molecular data and their application (ICAMDATA) (1997 to present); President of the International Committee of the program: 2000-2004, International Symposium on Ion – Atom clashes (1992); International Symposium on atomic and molecular processes in the melting plasmas (Nagoya, Japan in 1996); International Symposium on Atomic Processes in Low -Temperature Computer (Oxford, 1997); International Seminar on atomic processes in plasmas (Tokyo, Japan, 1999). Together with Prof. A. Dalgarno from Harvard University, Academician. Janev in 1999 initiated the biennial International Conference on atomic and molecular data and their applications (ICAMDATA).
In the period 1983-1987 Acad. Janev was a consultant of the US National Laboratory in Oak Ridge and the National Laboratory and Plasma Physics at Princeton. In 1979 he gets the Honor of the Free University of Brussels, in 1982 he was elected member (employee) of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics in Boulder, USA, and in 2004 he received the prestigious German Humboldt Award for research in controlled thermonuclear fusion.
As a associate member of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts he was elected on October 7, 1988 and a permanent member elected on October 16, 2000.
Acad. Јanev passed away on 31.12.2019.
The most significant works:
- R.K. Janev: “Non-adiabatic transitions between ionic and covalent states” (in: Advances in Аtomic and Мolecular Physics, vol.12, p.1, 1976)
- R.K. Janev, L.P. Presnyakov: “Collision processes of multiply charged ions with atoms” (in: Physics Reports, vol.70, p.1, 1981)
- R.K. Janev, L.P. Presnyakov, V.P. Shevelko: “Physics of Highly Charged Ions” (Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1985)
- R.K. Janev, W.D. Langer, K. Evans, D.E. Post: “Elementary Processes in Hydrоgen-Helium Plasmas” (Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1987)
- M.I. Chibisov, R.K. Janev: “Asymptotic theory of exchange interactions in ion-atom systems” (in: Physics Reports, vol.166, p.1, 1988)
- R.K. Janev: “Atomic ans molecular physics issues in current thermonuclear fusion research” (in: Contemporary Physics, vol. 41, p.121, 2005)
- R.K. Janev, D. Reiter, U. Samm: “Atomic processes in low-temperature hydrogen plasmas” (in: Encyclopedia of Low-Temperature Plasmas, vol.1/2, p.110, 2007; RAN, Moscow)
- R.K. Janev, S.B. Zhang, J.G. Wang: “A review of quantum collision processes in Debye plasmas” (in: Matter and Radiation at Extremes, vol.1, p. 237, 2016)
