Background
Zavrtanik, Danilo was born on August 15, 1953 in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Son of Avgust and Alojzija Zavrtanik.
Zavrtanik, Danilo was born on August 15, 1953 in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Son of Avgust and Alojzija Zavrtanik.
Born in Nova Gorica, he graduated in 1979 from the Faculty for Natural Sciences and Technology of the University of Ljubljana. In 1987, he obtained his Doctor of Philosophy by defending a doctoral dissertation on "Angular distribution analysis of the reaction π−p -> π−π+n".
From 2006 he is a full professor of physics at the University of Nova Gorica and the head of its Laboratory for Astroparticle Physics. Before 1995 he was active in eksperimental particle physics through international collaborations CPLEAR and DELPHI at European Organization of Nuclear Research, where he was involved in the development of particle detectors, studies of Communist Party, T and Christian Peacemaker Teams violation in the decays of neutral kaons K0 and studies of heavy quark decays, West gauge boson decays and Higgs boson searches. Since 1995 he is working in the field of astroparticle physics within the Pierre Auger Collaboration, focusing on studies of cosmic rays with extreme energies.
He is a co-author of more than 350 scientific papers and more than 150 conference contributions.
He has been a thesis adviser to a number of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Ljubljana and the University of Nova Gorica. From 1992 to 1996 he served as director-general of the Jožef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana.
In 1995 he initiated the founding the School of Environmental Sciences in Nova Gorica which grew into Nova Gorica Polytechnic and finally into University of Nova Gorica. Since the beginning he has been serving as the president of this institution (from 2010 as a rector).
Member Slovene Society for Medical and Biological Engineering, Slovene Mathematics Physics and Astronomical Society, European Physical Society (member Board Interdivsnl. Group on applied Physics, 1995-1999), Slovene Chamber of Commerce (member governing board 1992-1995), Slovene National Science Foundation (vice president 1994-1996), E. Rusjan Foundation (management board).
Married Pia Bratina, September 16, 1972. 1 child, Marko.