IN MEMORIAM
Professor Dušan Velaševic
1939-2004

Dr. Dušan Velaševic, professor and for many years the Head of the Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade, Serbia, died on October 1st , 2004 in Belgrade, after short illness. He was 65 years old and in his last year of working, before retirement.

Profesor Dušan Velaševic was born in Šabac in 1939. In 1958, as the most talented in his class in the secondary school, he started his studies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade. As one of the most talented young engineers, he got a position at the Laboratory of Electronics, Vinca Institute, where he was a researcher in the area of measurement instruments and systems. He received his PhD degree in 1971 and immediately after that became a pioneer in implementing process control computers.

In 1974 he became an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade. He was one of the founders of the Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department. His students will mostly remember him as the professor who was teaching Systems programming, Compilers, and Expert systems. His numerous papers, books and textbooks in software engineering and data security gave enormous contribution to these areas.

After becoming a professor and being the Head of the Department for many years, he decided to stay in the background, giving way to younger professors to develop their management skills. After that period, he was the highest unofficial authority of the department and his opinions and suggestions were always accepted by others. His guidelines were crucial for further development of the department. He was the Head of the Software systems postgraduate study program and was appointed to be the Head of the new Software Engineering Department. The first class of this department just started this year, but unfortunately, he couldn’t participate in that start of the new department that he formed.

Dušan Velaševic will remain in our memories as a person with a great heart and a good man. He was a specific individual with a special human dimension, open hearted and with good will to help everyone. He created the environment where all staff at the department had good personal relations. During the years of repression at the university, he was a person with enormous moral credibility and at the same time a person without political ambitions. He was under pressure, removed from lecturing, just because he couldn't change his moral principles. After that period, he became even more respected by all who knew him.

He is survived by his wife, Gordana, son Peda and daughter Ivana. We were all happy to live with such a great man, scientist and professor, Dušan Velaševic.