On July 4th, 2025, the 30th annual award ceremony of the “Hrvoje Požar” Foundation, organized by the Croatian Energy Society, was held in the ceremonial setting of the Library of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. These annual awards recognize outstanding professional and scientific contributions in the field of energy, including energy efficiency projects, innovations, and science promotion. For students, the award celebrates excellent academic achievements and exceptional master’s theses in energy-related studies.
This year, our assistant Petar Labura was honored for his outstanding master’s thesis titled Development of Tools for Operation of Smart Distribution Networks Based on Machine Learning Techniques, supervised by associate professor Tomislav Capuder at FER, who received the award on behalf of Petar. In the context of the energy transition and the growing need for intelligent system monitoring, Petar developed a novel machine learning model scalable to high dimensionality, capable of analyzing network states without requiring extensive information on network topology, thus offering a practical and forward-thinking solution for modern distribution networks.
We would also like to mention that our student Filip Novotny received the “Hrvoje Požar” award for his remarkable academic success in energy studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The recognition highlights his continued dedication and excellence in this demanding field.
The event gathered numerous guests from the energy sector – researchers, experts, scientists, industry representatives, as well as distinguished members of the academic community.
This traditional award ceremony emphasized the importance of education and innovation in the energy sector, providing a valuable platform for knowledge exchange and strengthening collaboration within the energy community.
