SGAC Croatia Webinar Series #8

The SGAC Croatia Webinar Series aims to inspire and motivate university students and young professionals in Croatia and abroad to grow a career in the space industry.
Inspired by the motivational stories from talented SGAC members from all around the world, the SGAC team in Croatia aims to bring the same excitement about space and self-development in Croatia and the region.
A series of 8 webinars will host local experts in various fields such as space science and engineering, space policy, space business and others, and give them a floor to share their projects, ideas, and experiences with the community.
Everyone is welcome to attend and will be able to interact with lecturers at the end of each webinar session.

The eighth and final episode of the SGAC Croatia Webinar Series will cover the topic of space humanities. The guest speakers are creative individuals who their passion and curiosity towards space share with a broad audience. The topics that would be covered:

• The artist’s perception of space
• How could we express our creativity using space as an inspiration?
• How could we communicate space to a broad audience, and in particular to children and young generations?

Meet the speakers

• • Goran Nikolašević, Space Educator and President at the Association for Astronautics and Space Technologies, UAST, former Executive Director at World Space Week Association – presentation title: “Space for all”
  • Vernesa Smolčić, PhD Astronomy, Full Professor, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science (PMF), University of Zagreb, Croatia, Author and Coordinator of Astroučionica, a digital platform for space education and outreach – presentation title: “Learning about space with Astroučionica”
  • Saša Nuić, amateur astronomer and astrophotographer, active member of the Astronomical Society Infinitum (AD Beskraj) – presentation title: “Astrophotography through the prism of humanity”
  • Ksenija Kušec, MSc Architecture and mag. art. saxophonist, freelance artist in the field of literature – presentation title: “Tales from the Solar System”
  • Goran Hudec, PhD Electrical Engineering, Full professor at the Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb – presentation title: “Potočnik’s Space Odyssey”
  • Nena Brozan Perišić, MSc Civil Engineering, Main Program Coordinator at the International Science Fiction & Fantasy Festival Liburnicon – presentation title: “How to promote science among young people?”
  • Dominik Vuković, MSc Graphics, Freelance Illustrator, Graphic Artist and Painter, External Associate at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb – presentation title: “The Journey of the Golden Record”

Webinar host and moderator:

1. • Mirta Medanić, SGAC Alumna and National Point of Contact in Croatia 2017-2021

This webinar is hosted in partnership with Adriatic Aerospace Association, A3.

Notice: This webinar will be held in Croatian.

Other webinars from the SGAC Croatia Webinar Series are available on Youtube @spacegeneration:

• Webinar #1: “SGAC, the Space Industry for Young Professionals”, held on 11th February 2021. The recording is available here: https://youtu.be/OowrJfK7lUw.
• Webinar #2: “UN COPUOS and UNOOSA – Space and International Cooperation”, held on 25th February 2021. The recording could be found here: https://youtu.be/aiFin12T37s.
• Webinar #3: “Space is (not) Hard – Space Systems and Engineering”, held on 11th March 2021.
  Please visit: https://youtu.be/3_rwBx1QsCg.
• Webinar #4: “From Sputnik to Starlink – Space and Entrepreneurship”, held on 25th March 2021. The recording is available here:
  https://youtu.be/S-qix1p2opc.
• Webinar #5: “Solar System and Beyond – Scientific Research in Space”, held on 15th April 2021, with the recording on YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/L2EWU2CMPdk.
• Webinar #6: “Space Applications in Everyday Life – Satellite Data and Systems” held on 29^th April, 2021. The recording is available here: https://youtu.be/c8B5jn-f8Og.
• Webinar #7: “Challenges of Humans in Space” held on 13th May 2021. The recording is available here:
  https://youtu.be/d59wk9ah4vw.

Goran Nikolašević is a President of the Association for Astronautics and Space Technologies, UAST, space educator, project manager and social media specialist. With a background in mathematics, IT and aviation, Goran is an entrepreneur, inventor and long-time space advocate. He is a prolific speaker about space in public, schools, and media appearances. Prior experience includes programming, banking, air-traffic control and intellectual property rights management.

During his 6-year work at the World Space Week Association, WSWA at the leading positions: national coordinator in Croatia, global coordinator, operations manager and executive director, he significantly contributed to the growth of the World space Week, the largest global space event. Goran received the Service Award in 2017 for dedication and service in the World Space Week Association. Areas of his interest are Human Spaceflights and Earth Observation.

Vernesa Smolčić is a full professor at the Physics Department, Faculty of Science University of Zagreb. Her main area of research is astrophysics, and in particular observational, big data studies of galaxies, and their evolution in time, from early epochs of the universe until today. She held one of the most competitive European research grants (the European Research Council Starting grant), which allowed her to build an international team of researchers at the University of Zagreb (2014-2019). She is a member of the scientific steering committees of the international research projects COSMOS and XXL, and one of the three leaders of the COSMOS team, she is the head of the graduate studies module ‘Astrophysics’ at University of Zagreb and the Physics Council for Doctoral Studies at the Faculty of Science University of Zagreb.

Having returned to Croatia in 2013, she spent almost a decade developing her career abroad, in Germany, the USA, and Australia.

At this webinar, Vernesa will share with us her creative side. She is an author and a coordinator at Astroučionica, a digital platform with the aim to explain space science, the universe and everything in it in simple words. Beside creating educational and entertaining content for Youtube, Facebook and TikTok, Vernesa is a co-author and collaborator on other creative projects: Astrokuharica (eng. Astro Cookbook), a children’s book that meets cooking and astronomy and Psi u svemiru (eng. Dogs in Space) – a picture book about dogs and animal space flight.

Profile photo taken by Bruno Konjević

Born in 1969, Saša Nuić has been an amateur astronomer since 2008. He is an active member of the Astronomical Society Infinitum (AD Beskraj) in Zagreb. In 2009, he took his first astrophotographs. His work was exhibited at several exhibitions in Croatia. He is the author of several articles at the astronomical portal www.zvjezdarnica.com, and on the astrophotography blog astro.beer. He has given lectures related to astrophotography at around thirty popular science and astronomical events. At his lecture “Astrophotography through the prism of humanity” Saša will cover topics such as: How do camera sensors see the universe, and how do we experience it? Are measuring instruments enough for humanity? What is our space perspective, what is humans’ position in space?

Ksenija Kušec was born in 1965 in Zagreb. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and the Academy of Music at University of Zagreb (Wind Instruments Department: Saxophone). She worked in education. Since the beginning of 2016, she has been a member of the Croatian Association of Independent Artists. She has won several short story awards. She has published numerous stories in anthologies, magazines and on literature portals. The book Prozirna Lili (eng. Transparent Lili) is currently being translated into Ukrainian (Volodimyr Krinitsky). In 2014, the Puppet Factory Theater performed the play The Universe, which was based on an adaptation of the book Priče iz sunčeva sustava (eng. Tales from the Solar System). She writes screenplays for movies and has published nine books. She loves the underwater world and sometimes dives. Her wish is to become a pilot of Cessna, because she loves airplanes.

At the webinar she will speak about her book published in 2010. called “Tales from the Solar System”, a collection of stories about planets and other bodies of our Solar system where she intertwines real facts with imaginary moments.

Goran Hudec was born in Zagreb, where he finished the XV. Mathematics and Physics Gymnasium, in the first generation of students. He graduated in Computer Engineering and Informatics in 1973 from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Zagreb. In 1978 he obtained a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1992. Goran is currently employed at the Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb, as a full professor where he teaches electrical engineering courses. He was the leader of a number of projects, from innovative student projects to the IT industry. He is the author of a patent, and three university textbooks. He is the author of around 80 publications at TV Kalendar (author of text, selection of videos, editing). He was the president of the Croatian Aerospace Society and vice-president of the association “Korak po korak”. He is an active athlete, enjoying long-distance running, triathlon and mountain running.

When she was a young girl, Nena Brozan Perišić dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but in the end she decided to study at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Rijeka and became a master engineer in civil engineering. Her passion and love for science and space inspired her to join Cultural Front, an association which promotes culture and science among young people in the city of Opatija. As an active member of the association, she participated in the organization and led various workshops, quizzes and events for young people and children. She has been the main program coordinator of the international science fiction and fantasy festival Liburnicon.

At this webinar, Nena will cover the topic: How to promote science among young people? The Cultural Front Association found the answer to this question: through interesting workshops – from making astronaut suits to levitating rockets, games, quizzes and popular lectures by leading scientists – at the annual festival Liburnicon. The festival program combines educational and entertaining content with the participation of organizers, volunteers, guests, exhibitors and visitors themselves, which according to previous experiences is the perfect recipe for an unforgettable summer weekend in Opatija. And learning is always easier when having fun – would you agree?

Dominik Vuković was born in Zagreb in 1990. He gained his master’s degree in applied graphics and illustration at the Academy of Fine Arts in 2015. He participated in many art colonies and workshops and was awarded with prizes for his work. He exhibited in several group exhibitions and four solo ones. His solo exhibition “Hahari i žabe” (eng. “Hahari and frogs”), a series of red drawings about childhood and growing up, was set up in the art gallery Lauba in Zagreb and attracted the attention of art experts and the audience. After graduation, he worked in the collective “Space Shuttle” with his colleagues Klara Rusan and Martin Hrastić. He collaborated with the collective Pimp my Pump in the street art studio Lapo-Lapo and became acquainted with the making of murals. He collaborates with the Croatian publishing houses in Croatia on illustrating novels and picture books. He lives and works as a freelance illustrator, graphic artist and painter in Zagreb, and since 2019 he has been working as an external associate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in the graphic department.

He believes that art, just like science, is an evidence of human existence. At the webinar he will tell us more about his latest exhibition: “The Journey of the Golden Record”, a homage to the Voyager Golden Records, the two phonograph records that were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977.

Mirta Medanić is a program manager at Amphinicy Technologies, a satellite software company from Zagreb and Luxembourg. At Amphinicy, she manages several EU-funded projects. One of them is Blink, a software solution for ultra-fast acquisition and processing of Earth observation data, granted by the Horizon 2020 program for innovative SMEs in the Space sector. She holds a master’s degree in Telecommunications and Computing from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, the University in Zagreb (FER). She completed Space Studies Program 2019 at the International Space University in Strasbourg and calls herself a Space Optimist.
She has volunteered at the SGAC from 2017. As a former National Point of Contact in Croatia, she promotes space science and education among the young community in the country. Mirta is passionate about working with people and travelling.