The first institution in Macedonia to begin working on physics problems was the Chair of Physics, established on December 3, 1946. It was part of the Natural Sciences Department of the Faculty of Philosophy, founded on November 29 of the same year. The decision to create a Department of Physics expressed the need for natural science personnel in the Macedonian educational system, but it was also an expression of vision regarding the place and role of physics in modern society. The initial conditions in which the new institution began its work were more than modest. The formation of the necessary laboratories and the organization of an adequate library were yet to come. These difficult circumstances were overcome by the enthusiasm of the few teachers and the feeling that they were building an institution that serves as a foundation in the modern world.
A good illustration of the thoughts of the actors at that time are the words of Professor Mitrinović, spoken at the Founding Assembly of the Society of Mathematicians and Physicists of the People's Republic of Macedonia: "In the future, I would like to see the spirit of collectivity, initiative, commitment, and efficiency, as well as a constant striving for scientific and professional work of the highest possible quality, expressed among mathematicians and physicists to a greater extent than before. In this regard, we should persistently fight against indifference, lack of initiative, and skepticism."
The first physics teachers in higher education in Macedonia were Miodrag Živković, Dr. Marin Katalinić, Josip Mozer (from 1949), Ordan Pechijare, and Nada Spasova (from 1948). There were 6 full-time students in the first generation. Classes were held in buildings in the central city area of Skopje, which no longer exist. The curriculum studied by the first generation of physics students contained the following disciplines (the names of the teachers for the given subjects are in parentheses): experimental physics (M. Živković), general mathematics (Dragoslav Mitrinović), differential and integral calculus I (D. Mitrinović), analytical geometry (Jože Ulčar), goniometry (J. Ulčar), Russian language (Mikhail Olenjin), theory of errors (D. Mitrinović), higher algebra (J. Ulčar), calorics (M. Katalinić), introduction to physical measurements (M. Katalinić), acoustics (M. Živković), science of electricity (M. Katalinić), thermodynamics (M. Katalinić), differential and integral calculus II (J. Ulčar), differential equations (D. Mitrinović), vector theory (Platon Dimić), inorganic chemistry (Dimče Tošev), organic chemistry (Josif Jančulev), repetitorium of differential and integral calculus (P. Dimić), science of electricity and magnetism (M. Katalinić), optics (M. Katalinić), practical exercises (M. Katalinić), selected parts of mechanics and acoustics (M. Katalinić), seminar (M. Katalinić), introduction to atomic physics (M. Katalinić), theoretical mechanics (Petar Serafimov), selected parts of optics (M. Katalinić), alternating currents (M. Katalinić), school experimentation (M. Katalinić), pedagogy (Kiro Ćamilov), and guidance for the diploma thesis (M. Katalinić). The students attended a total of 30 subjects, and 10 exams were taken. Physics classes were also organized for students in the teaching groups for mathematics, chemistry, and biology, as well as for students at the Faculty of Medicine and the Higher Pedagogical School. In the first years, during the summer months, monthly courses were also organized for teachers from primary and secondary schools who, for the most part, had inadequate education in physics, considering that after the war there were only 4 physics graduates in Macedonia.
- Establishment of the First Laboratories and Development of the Library Fund
Professor Pechijare deserves particular credit for forming the first laboratories at the Department of Physics. Equipment for conducting laboratory exercises was purchased in East Germany, partly through exchange for food products. Some of the resources obtained this way are still in use today. Books and collections of scientific journals were acquired in the same manner (for example, Physics Abstracts starting from 1933 to 1945, which were subsequently purchased until 1980). A significant book fund was also obtained from older Yugoslav universities.
The first head of the Chair of Physics was Prof. Dr. Marin Katalinić, who came to Skopje with many years of work experience from the University of Zagreb. According to senior colleagues who knew him personally, he is particularly credited with forming the Institute's laboratories, the collection for demonstration experiments, and several laboratory manuals. He was also the first Vice-Rector of the University of Skopje and one of its first Rectors.
- The First Physics Graduates
The first physicists graduated during 1950: Dushko Tomovski, later a full professor of German Studies at the Faculty of Philology in Skopje; Olivera Spasova (Prokopieva), later a physics professor at the Pedagogical Academy in Skopje; and Georgi Mavrodiev, later a professor at the Institute of Physics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (PMF) in Skopje.
- Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Institute of Physics
Regarding spatial working conditions, the biggest step forward was achieved in the early 1950s. In the autumn of 1951, the building of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics was put into use, built on an exceptionally beautiful location according to the modern standards of that time. In 1958, the department separated from the Faculty of Philosophy and grew into the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, whereby the Department of Physics evolved into the Institute of Physics. All these changes led to improved working conditions and the beginning of a new era in the development of natural sciences and mathematics, and consequently, physics.
