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2801
UN
ION
OF SC
IENTISTS IN
BU
LGA
RIA
PRESEN
TATION
HISTORY
The Union of S
cientists in Bulgaria (U
SB
) was founded in
October 1944 by 15 prom
inent Bulgarian scientists. The U
nionquickly expanded and becam
e the largest organization ofscientists and higher school lecturers. It now
unifies scientistsfrom
different research areas, of different age, with different
political views. D
uring the years the Union has irrevocably stood
its positions of independent, non-governmental, non-profit, non-
political, professional and creative organization of scientists.The U
SB
Statutes define the organization as "national, voluntary,non-governm
ental and democratic, creative and professional
organization of scientists", "non-profit juridical body - associa-tion w
orking for the benefit of society…" and a U
nion "… built
and functioning on federative principles", continuing the innova-tive traditions of the scientific com
munity in B
ulgaria.AIM
The main aim
of the US
B is to assist the advancem
ent ofscience and higher education in the country, to prom
ote theirprestige and contribute to the prosperity of the R
epublic ofB
ulgaria. The US
B acts as an independent partner and consult-
ant to the Law- and D
ecision-makers in the elaboration and
implem
entation of the national strategy for the development of
science and higher education.The U
SB
voices and protects the rights and interests of itsm
embers and assists their innovative and professional activi-
ties.STRUCTURE
The US
B perform
s its activities through units or structures builton research or geographical area principles, called sectionsand branches.The sections are units in the capital, consisting of at least 25m
embers of the sam
e or similar research discipline. S
ectionspresently functioning at the U
SB
can be found on the next pagegraph.The branches are units of U
SB
spread outside of the capital, allover the country, built on geographic principle. B
ranches can becreated by m
inimum
25 mem
bers - scientists or universitylecturers.
National M
ilitary University "V. Levski" in national security, m
ilitaryscience, m
achine technology, plant growing technologies,
radiation protection, ecological risk and security, chemical toxic
substances, applied mechanics, hydraulics and theory of
automation.
Medicine, veterinary m
edicine and agriculture - the smallest
section in number unifies m
edical doctors, veterinarians andspecialists in soy-bean grow
th from the Veterinary Faculty of
the University and the Soy-bean trial station in the tow
n ofPavlikeni.
Information sources:
1.U
SB
mem
bers database Sofia
2.Inform
ation material provided by U
SB
branches offices3.
http://ww
w.usb-bg.org
4.http://w
ww
.bas.bg5.
http://ww
w.agriacad.bg
2702
Branches of U
SB
exist now in 25 tow
ns: Blagoevgrad, B
urgas,Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratza, G
abrovo, Dobritch, K
ardjali,K
yustendil, Lovetch, Pazardjik, P
leven, Plovdiv, R
azgrad,R
ousse, Svishtov, S
liven, Sm
oljan, Sofia R
egion, Stara
Sections in Sofia
Natural
sciences B
iological & m
edical sci. A
griculture H
umanities &
social sciences E
ngineering
Informatics
Mathe
matics
Mech
anics
Ph
ysics C
hemistry and
ph
armace
utics
Military sciences
Geolog
y and
geography
Techn
ical
sciences
Biolog
y B
iochem
istry, bioph
ysics and m
ollec. b
iology
Genetics
Imm
unology
Me
dical sciences
Micro
biology The
oretical a
nd evolution
biolog
y
Ag
robiology
Veterinary
me
dicine and
zootechnics
Forestry
Plants physiology
& b
iochemistry
Th
eological
sciences
History
Philo
logy
Philoso
phy E
conom
ics P
edagog
y and
psych
ology
Juridical science S
ociology
Map of B
ulgaria with U
SB
branches
At present, the A
cademy trains specialist for the N
avy and for them
erchant marine in all areas of m
aritime life. R
esearch anddevelopm
ent are conducted at the Academ
y in maritim
e scienceand m
arine technologies.M
arine sciences are also represented at the Institute of Ocean-
ology of the Bulgarian A
cademy of sciences located in Varna.
The research activities are in the field of marine physics,
chemistry, geology and archaeology, biology and ecology,
coastal dynamics and ocean technologies. It carries out com
-plex m
onitoring of the Bulgarian part of the B
lack Sea, develops
consulting and expert activities, prepares qualified marine
scientists. Scientists of the institute perform
educationalactivities and give lectures on over 50 subjects in differentuniversities (N
avy School, Technical U
niversity, Medical U
niver-sity and others).The Institute of Fish R
esources is part of the Agricultural
Academ
y. It is the only research institute that carries regulartests in B
ulgarian territorial waters and possesses a rich data
base collected for many years now
which m
akes it possible todraw
conclusions on the basic trends and changes in the Black
sea ecosystem. It has tw
o scientific departments - m
arine andsw
eet water fishery, w
here research is carried out in two m
aindirections: hydrobiology and ihtiology.
Veliko Tarnovo
The town is cradle of B
ulgarian history and culture. The educa-tional and scientific institutions cover m
ainly social and humani-
tarian sciences: history, languages and literature, pedagogy.Therefore Veliko Tarnovo branch m
embers are m
ostly humani-
tarian and social sciences specialists lecturing at the VelikoTarnovo U
niversity "Sv. K
iril and Metodii" in languages and
literature, library and bibliography, history, philosophy, pedagogy,econom
ics and computer system
s and technologies.A
quite significant number are historians, archeologists, experts
in restoration and conservation of archeological findings,investigators of m
edieval history, history of the old world, new
history of Bulgaria, m
ilitary history and arts.E
conomics, finances, credits and insurance policy, healthcare
economics, international relations and w
orld economy, m
arket-ing and logistics, geography of tourism
are the research fieldsof the econom
ics section mem
bers. They are lecturers at theU
niversity's economic faculty and at the N
ational Military
University "V. Levski".
Military and technical sciences section includes lecturers at the
0326
Zagora, Targovishte, Haskovo, S
houmen and Jam
bol. Thebiggest branches operate in the tow
ns with w
ell developedscientific, educational and cultural establishm
ents.ACTIVITIES
To reach its aim, U
SB
works in the follow
ing main directions:
• Elaborating expert view
s and statements on science and
higher education policies, strategies, action plans, specifically infunding of science, scientific ranks and degrees, ranking ofscientific and educational establishm
ents, methods for assess-
ment of research and researchers, interrelation education-
science-innovation and other issues of significance for thescientific com
munity and the advancem
ent of science andsociety.• S
upporting its mem
bers in the exchange of knowledge and
information, publication activities, better social status and
working infrastructure and recreation.
• Participating in international cooperation and netw
orks ofscientists.
Forms of activities
-Scientific events on different topics
More than 150 scientific events are organized annually by the
US
B and its units - international and national scientific con-
gresses, national and regional conferences with foreign partici-
pation, scientific sessions, seminars, round-table discussions,
eventually jointly with other organizations, institutes and higher
education establishments. E
very significant event is followed by
a publication of the contributions.A num
ber of traditional events are held regularly every year, suchas:
- National Forum
on Science, held every four years, A
pril,S
ofia, organized by US
B headquarters.
- Celebration of the D
ay of Bulgarian R
evival Leaders andB
ulgarian Scientists w
ith Best S
cientific Achievem
entAw
ards Cerem
ony, Novem
ber, Sofia, organized by U
SB
headquarters.- O
pen Discussion club on science and higher education
issues running through the year with 6 sessions annually,
organized by US
B headquarters.
- Archeology, history and cultural tourism
conference, heldevery tw
o years, May, S
houmen, organized by U
SB“S
houmen” branch.
medical plants; raw
materials processing technology of essen-
tial oil and medical plants. A licensed testing laboratory for
analyses and certificate issuing for oils, drugs, plant extracts,sow
ing seeds, cosmetics and pharm
aceuticals is establishedfor the purpose of natural cosm
etic production; The Institute ofM
ountainous Anim
al Breeding and A
griculture which deals
with breeding, cultivar studies and reproduction of fruit trees,
fodder production, meadow
maintenance, cattle, buffalo, sheep
and goats breeding.H
uman m
edics work at Trakia U
niversity Faculty of medicine
with U
niversity hospital and the Medical college Stara Zagora.
The mem
bers of the sections in mechanics, technical sciences,
economics, physics and m
athematics lecture at Trakia U
niver-sity Faculty of econom
ics, the Technical college Yambol, m
an-age private com
panies; some of them
come from
the Academ
yof S
ciences institutes and the National A
stronomy O
bservatory"Juri G
agarin".Varna
One of the im
portant branches of the Union, the Varna branch
has its headquarters in the town of Varna, situated on the
northern part of the Black sea coast. O
ne of the biggest city ofB
ulgaria, it is rich in intellectual potential and has uniquespecialists. In the 60-ties are created 6 sections, now
adaysthere are 5. The m
ain ones unify mem
bers in "Medical sciences
and stomatology", "Technical sciences", "M
arine sciences andtechnology", "S
ocial sciences, economics and law
" and "Ocean
sciences".M
edical doctors and dentists practice at the Medical U
niversityVarna, one of the biggest m
edical establishments in the county.
For over forty-five years the University has trained m
edicalprofessionals and experts in healthcare m
anagement and
public health in its faculties of medicine, dental m
edicine,pharm
acy and public health.The technical sciences are presented at the Technical U
niver-sity Varna. E
stablished in 1962 as the Institute of mechanics
and electricity with only three faculties, now
the TechnicalU
niversity Varna prepares engineering staff in its six facultiessuch as S
hipbuilding, Mechanical engineering and technolo-
gies, Electrical engineering, E
lectronics, Com
puting andautom
ation, Marine sciences and ecology.
Marine sciences and technology m
embers w
ork at the "N.Y.
Vaptsarov" Naval A
cademy. It is the oldest technical school in
Bulgaria w
ith world fam
e and traditions in training sea experts.
2504
- National E
cology Sem
inar, April, S
ofia, organized by"B
iology" section of US
B.
- May D
ays of Science, M
ay, Veliko Tarnovo, organized byU
SB
"Veliko Tarnovo" branch.
- International Scientific C
onference, June, Stara Zagora,
organized by US
B "S
tara Zagora" branch.
- International Conference of Young S
cientists, June, Plovdiv,
organized by "Young Scientists C
lub" of Plovdiv
- National C
ongress on Theoretical and Applied M
echanics,S
eptember, organized by "M
echanics" Section of U
SB
.
- National C
ongress of Microbiology, O
ctober, organized by"M
icrobiology" section of US
B.
- Month of S
cience, October, Varna, organized by U
SB
"Varna" branch.
- Telecomm
unications national conference, October, S
ofia,organized by the "Technical S
ciences" section of US
B.
- Scientific conference R
ousse, October, R
ousse, organizedby the U
SB
"Rousse" branch and "A
. Kanchev" U
niversity.
- Philosophy conference, O
ctober, Sofia, organized by 3 U
SB
sections.
- Scientific conference on chem
istry, biotechnologies andfood technologies, O
ctober, Razgrad, organized by U
SB
and "A. K
anchev" University "R
azgrad" branches.
- Free Interdisciplinary Medical U
niversity, running throughthe year w
ith 6 sessions annually, organized by "Medical
Sciences" section of U
SB
.
-N
ation-wide discussions on science. Strategy, role,
place of Bulgarian scientists in the country and in the E
uropeanresearch area are recurring topics. A
n open Discussion club
runs through the year with 6 events annually focusing on the
main concerns in science and higher education, their latest
developments, draft law
s, strategies etc.-
Expert studies and reviews on the status of B
ulgarianscience and com
parative analysis in relation to EU
research.-
Publication and dissemination activities. U
SB also
operates a Publishing house. The official journal of the Union is
the journal “Science” published since 1991 in six issues
annually. “Science” is a bim
onthly interdisciplinary journal that
tional sections for testing and product certification and forcontrol of param
eters to working and environm
ent are accred-ited according to international and E
uropean standards. TheC
entre has scientific statute and scientific council under them
ethodical leadership of Agricultural A
cademy S
ofia.The M
ultiprofile municipal hospital R
ousse is the working
place of Rousse branch U
SB
mem
bers - medical doctors,
specialists in pediatrics, kinesitherapy and others.Stara Zagora
One of the big U
SB
branches, today the Stara Zagora UB
S has
roughly 450 regular mem
bers from Stara Zagora and the area
organized in 9 departments and 2 clubs, covering alm
ost allscientific fields, w
ith veterinary medicine, livestock - breeding,
agrobiology and human m
edicine being most w
idely repre-sented.A
griculture specialists and veterinarians lead in number and
come from
the Trakia University Stara Zagora w
hich has afaculty in agriculture w
ith majors in zoo engineering, agronom
y,ecology and environm
ent protection, agricultural engineering,fishery and aquaculture. Ò
hey are also affiliated to four institutesw
ithin the Agricultural A
cademy, described hereafter: The C
ottonand D
urum W
heat Research Institute C
hirpan, which perform
sactivities for creating and m
aintaining new plant cultivars,
developing new technologies in the area of agriculture and elite
cattle breeding, more specifically conducts specific studies in
breeding, agrotechnical and seed production, as well as
applied and extension service activities in the area of cotton anddurum
wheat and since 2003 has been investigating technolo-
gies for growing sunflow
er in the conditions of Southern B
ul-garia; The Institute for A
griculture Karnobat, w
hich investi-gates the selection of barley, oats and other attractive form
arkets agricultural crops using modern m
ethods of field,laboratory and m
athematical evaluation, especially varieties
resistant to abiotic and biotic stress with increased productivity
and product quality and suitable for cultivation in terms of
conventional or organic farming, as w
ell as the betterment of
local Karnobat breed especially m
ilk sheep population andm
aintenance of fine-wool breed sheep; The Institute of R
oses,Essential and M
edical Cultures, w
hose main activities are
introduction, selection and reproduction of essential oil andm
edical plants; creation and support of a gene fund of 216sorts, presented by 547 sam
ples, 161 essential oil and medical
plants varieties; technology development for essential oil and
0524
publishes empirical research and theoretical articles in all
scientific disciplines plus article in science policy, highereducation, international scientific cooperation, popularization ofthe activities of E
uropean and Bulgarian institutions. It gains in
popularity every year. Other traditional publication is the
Hom
oSciens – yearly new
spaper which presents em
inentB
ulgarian scientists. Books on scientific studies, review
s,volum
es of congress/conference proceedings, brochures areconstantly being published.-
Com
petition for best scientific achievements. Every
year the US
B announces this com
petition. Researchers -
individual mem
bers of the US
B or juridical bodies - m
embers of
the US
B, can be nom
inated. Researchers are divided in tw
ogroups - up to and above 35 years of age and participate w
ithw
orks that have been published during the last two years in six
research areas - natural, technical, biological and medical
sciences, agriculture, humanitarian and social sciences. A
llresearchers adm
itted for nomination in the com
petition receivea certificate for participation. The w
inners receive a diploma and
a material aw
ard. Special competition for young scientists up to
35 is also yearly organized. The awards are traditionally pre-
sented on the eve of 1st of Novem
ber - the Day of the B
ulgarianrevival leaders and B
ulgarian scientists.-
Honors. For their research or active union developm
entcontributions, U
SB
mem
bers can be awarded the H
onoraryS
ign, the Certificate w
ith badge, or the Honorary m
embership.
The Honorary sign is bestow
ed to leading Bulgarian or foreign
researchers nationally or internationally recognized, who
maintain beneficial contacts w
ith units or mem
bers of the Union.
The Certificate is aw
arded to sections, branches or other US
Bunits, to higher schools and research organizations, businessor trade juridical bodies for perm
anent assistance or contribu-tion to U
SB
or its units. The Certificate can be aw
arded also tophysical persons - governm
ental, civil or business related, who
have actively contributed to the expansion of Union activities.
-C
ontacts and cooperation agreements w
ith main
Bulgarian research and high education institutions and non-
governmental organizations. U
SB
has signed agreements for
collaboration and cooperation with the B
ulgarian Academ
y ofS
ciences, the National A
gency for Assessm
ent and Accredita-
tion, the Bulgarian M
edical Doctor's U
nion, the Federation ofS
cientific and Technical Unions, the A
gency for Bulgarians Living
Abroad and a num
ber of others.
chemical analysis, irrigation, alternative agriculture system
s,m
echanization of the working processes, ecological system
s forplant protection etc. ensuring stable and com
petitive develop-m
ent of agriculture are determined; the Fruit P
roduction Institute,the Institute of Fishery and A
quaculture, the Institute of Tobaccoand Tobacco products.B
iology, chemistry, physics and m
athematics sections m
embers
come m
ainly from the P
lovdiv University "P. H
ilendarsky" where
they lecture in the faculties of biology, economics and social
sciences, mathem
atics and informatics, pedagogy, languages
and literature, chemistry, law
, philosophy and history.Rousse
Rousse branch is one of the big and im
portant units in US
Bstructure. It has developed m
ore than 10 sections with special-
ists in machine building technology, electronics and electro
technology, transportation, agriculture, economics, hum
anm
edicine, veterinary medicine and several ones in social
sciences.M
any of the mem
bers work at the "A
. Kanchev" U
niversity ofR
ousse lecturing in environment protection: w
ater preservation,w
aists; noise, combustible gases, bio fuels; G
PS
systems. The
University offers education in A
gricultural mechanisation (depart-
ments in A
gricultural machinery, R
epairing and reliability, Theoryof m
echanisms and m
achines and Material handling engineer-
ing and technologies, Ecology and environm
ental protection,Industrial design, Therm
otechnics, hydro- andpneum
otechnics); Mechanical and m
anufacturing engineering;E
lectrical and electronic engineering and automation; A
utomo-
tive and transport engineering; Business and m
anagement;
Natural science and education; Law
studies; Kinesiterapy and
occupational therapy. The tradition and the geographical locationof the U
niversity determine its strategic role of an educational,
scientific and intellectual centre of North-E
ast Bulgaria on both
the national and the international levels.Specialists in agriculture are affiliated to the R
ousse branch ofthe C
ollege of Agriculture Plovdiv (see P
lovdiv branch) where
they practice agriculture processes mechanization and selec-
tion; to the Agricultural, Forest m
achinery and Spare parts Testcentre - R
ousse. The Centre is a specialized unit w
ithin thestructure of the M
inistry of agriculture and foods. Its main
function is to register and control agricultural machinery accord-
ing to national regulations. It has modern m
easuring andcom
puting machinery, as w
ell as highly skilled experts. The func-
2306
-Joint activities w
ith foreign cultural and scientificbodies in B
ulgaria - Austrian S
cience and Research Liaison
Centre in S
ofia, French Cultural-Inform
ation Centre, B
ritishC
ouncil Bulgaria.
-B
ilateral and international contacts and cooperationagreem
ents with foreign partner organizations.
-M
embership in European scientific societies. Through
its sections, US
B m
aintains mem
bership in the Federation ofE
uropean Microbiological S
ocieties, Federation of European
Biochem
ical Societies, Fåderation of E
uropean Societies of
Plant B
iology, European C
omm
ittee on Illumination, E
uropeanU
nion of Science E
vents Organizers and International U
nion ofIm
munological S
ocieties.-
International home of scientists "Frederick Joliot-C
urie".This is the first conference centre in B
ulgaria, built in "St.C
onstantine and Elena" resort in 1968 and operated by the
Union of scientists in B
ulgaria to host scientific conferences andm
eetings and as a recreation complex for m
embers and
guests. The complex can accom
modate a gathering of up to 300
participants, or several smaller sim
ultaneous meetings. Full
standard audio-visual equipment is available. The hotel features
100 rooms. R
estaurant and refreshment facilities are available.
This is a favorite place for vacation for Union m
embers and the
connoisseur.M
EMBERSHIP
The mem
bership in the US
B is voluntary. M
embers can be
physical or juridical persons.•
Every physical person - B
ulgarian or foreign citizen, who
owns a scientific degree and/or scientific title, or is a higher
University graduate and perform
s or has performed till his
retirement science research and/or lecturing, can becom
em
ember of the U
SB
.•
Juridical bodies can become m
embers of U
SB
if they areunions, societies, associations, higher schools, researchinstitutes, clubs and other civil organizations, w
hose staffconsists of researchers and higher education specialists, andw
hich are non-governmental and dem
ocratic in character andtheir aim
s do not contradict to the Statute of the US
B. M
embers
can be organizations, centers, institutes, foundations etc. whose
areas of activity are science and higher education, as well as
those actively assisting and encouraging the development of
science and education.•
PhD
graduates, specialists and students related to the
Plovdiv
The Plovdiv branch is the biggest am
ong union branches andhas its ow
n building - a cultural heritage house from the R
enais-sance period w
ith meeting facilities - a favourite place for
mem
bers. Plovdiv branch m
embers are organized in several
scientific sections (listed according to the number of m
embers):
medicine, technical sciences, agriculture, biology, chem
istry,physics, m
athematics, biochem
istry and biophysics and a fewhum
anitarian specialities.M
edical specialists work in Plovdiv M
edical University and
cover fundamental and clinical m
edicine, stomatology, phar-
macy, healthcare m
anagement. Technical scientists w
ork mainly
at the Technical Universiity Plovdiv, the Plovdiv U
niversity "P.H
ilendarsky" and the University of Food Technologies. The
mission of the U
FT is to offer solutions to problems concerning
the development of the food and flavour industries, biotechno-
logical industry, catering and tourism and the related industrial
managem
ent, economics of food industries, heat engineering,
computer system
s and technologies, machine and instrum
entbuilding and autom
ation of production. Som
e of the chairs dealsw
ith technologies for the production of wine, m
ilk and milk
products, fruits and vegetables, tobacco, plant fats, soaps andetheric oils, non-organic and organic chem
istry, mathem
atics,m
achine building technologies.A
griculture mem
bers come from
the Agricultural U
niversityPlovdiv, w
ith faculties and specialties in agronomy, plant bio-
technologies, animal breeding, viticulture and horticulture,
tropical and subtropical agriculture, hydro meliorations, agricul-
tural engineering, plant protection, agro ecology, organic farm-
ing, economics; the C
ollege of Agriculture w
ith majors in agro
technologies and farming, technologies in horticulture and w
ine-production, econom
ics of tourism and agrarian econom
ics; andseveral institutes such as Vegetable C
rops Research Institute
working on breeding of vegetable crops and variety m
ainte-nance, especially in tom
atoes, pepper, potatoes, cucumbers,
onion, cabbage, green peas and garden bean using the classi-cal m
ethods (selection, interspecific hybridization, intervarietalhybridization, inbreeding, backcross etc.) as w
ell as more
modern in vitro m
ethods - embryogenesis, androgenesis. The
basic direction of the scientific investigations is the creation ofhigh yielding, high qualitative varieties possessing im
provedadaptability, resistance to biotic, abiotic and anthropogenicfactors. In the field of technologies the institute investigates thecrop rotation, soil cultivation, plant nutrition based on an agro-
0722
research and lecturing process can become associate m
em-
bers of US
B follow
ing a simplified procedure.
MANAGEM
ENT
The supreme governing body of the U
SB
is the General A
ssem-
bly (GA
). GA
consists of representatives of the Union m
embers,
elected according to quotas. GA
is convened at least once peryear. B
etween G
A meetings the U
SB
is managed by the G
overn-ing B
oard which defines the strategy and controls U
SB
activi-ties. G
overning Board m
embers are elected for a m
andate of 4years. A system
of permanent all-U
nion bodies is set up toassist the overall direction of the U
SB
: Com
mittee for B
estR
esearch Achievem
ents, Com
mittee for S
cientific Events and
International Relations, C
omm
ittee for Social P
rotection ofM
embers, C
omm
ittee for Young Researchers, "N
auka" Maga-
zine Editorial B
oard.The President of the U
SB
is representing the organization andfulfils its m
anagement follow
ing the GA
P and the G
overningB
oard decisions.CONTACTS
Union of S
cientists in Bulgaria
39, Madrid B
lvd.S
ofia 1505B
ulgariae-m
ails president@usb-bg.org; angelova@
usb-bg.org;science@
usb-bg.orgtel.: 00 359 2 943 01 28; 00 359 2 944 11 57fax: 00 359 2 944 15 90http://w
ww
.usb-bg.org
specialties, treats emergency cases, perform
s highly special-ized analysis and tests as w
ell as consultations. The PlevenM
edical University is one of the five m
edical universities inB
ulgaria with high prestige. Today, it incorporates educational
and therapeutic facilities, contemporary pre-clinical base,
Institute hospital with m
ore than 1000 beds with clinics in all
major m
edical fields, as well as a large num
ber of specializedclinics and research units w
ith modern diagnostic and thera-
peutic equipment. These are efficiently used to treat patients,
train students, trainee doctors, post-graduates and for researchw
ork. Education is carried out in the five faculties w
hich areM
edicine, Public health, H
ealthcare, the Medical college and
Languages and specialized training.A
unique for the US
B structure section in "A
viation" has been setup in P
leven. The mem
bers are lecturers at the Aviation Faculty
of the National M
ilitary University "V. Levski" (w
ith headquartersin Veliko Tarnovo) in fileds such as Aviation and space technol-ogy, A
erohydrodynamics, flight safety and aircraft guidance,
Military sciences and navigation, G
eo-information system
s andrem
ote methods for earth and space research and several
other.The agrobiology section consists of specialists in fodder on thestaff of the Institute of Forage C
rops Pleven. The establishment
is a national centre for complex applied scientific research and
development activities, advice and training in forage crop
breeding and technology and ruminant nutrition. It is a scientific
unit of the Agricultural A
cademy. M
ain research directionsinclude: B
reeding and seed production of forage crops; Technol-ogy and ecology of forage crops and Forage preservation, qualityevaluation and utilization.A
nother unique section is the "Viticulture and enology". M
embers
come from
the Institute of Viticulture and Enology, which is the
only research and applied institution in Bulgaria studying raisin
growth and vine production. The institute has a 106 years
history, has compiled and supports the biggest am
pelographiccollection on the B
alkans with 1865 sorts' nam
es and geneticresources. It has created technologies for production of certifiedraisin planting m
aterial and vine, including ecologically pureoutput.The rem
aining mem
bers are structured in the sections of"H
istory and archeology", "Philology" and "M
athematics" and are
part of the Regional history m
useum, the M
edical University and
other bodies.
2108
SECTIO
NS. R
ESEAR
CH
AN
D LEC
TUR
ING
CA
PAC
ITYThe purpose of this brochure is to try to present the capacity ofthe U
nion of scientists in Bulgaria in research and lecturing
activities in natural sciences, engineering sciences, biologicaland m
edical sciences, agriculture and some interdisciplinary
areas.S
ocial sciences, humanities and arts have been excluded from
the present review, since they have been considered of no
interest for the purpose of this material, although they present a
significant part of the Union's strengths.
Below
are reviewed the scientific sections of U
SB
from the point
of view of the m
embers' expertise, the institutions they w
ork inand the specific research and lecturing fields they cover.62%
of US
B m
embers in the capital are academ
icians, Acad-
emy of sciences corresponding m
embers, professors, senior
researchers and associate professors. 38% are assistant
professors, junior researchers and specialists. Mem
bersusually occupy high positions in the adm
inistrative and researchhierarchy. A
ge statistics show that young scientists above 35
years are only 6,2% of the m
embers, betw
een 35 and 65 -45,8%
and above 65 - 48%.
Hereafter is a description of 17 out of 24 sections by alphabeti-
cal order.Agrobiology
The Agrobiology section m
embers com
e mainly from
theInstitute of S
oil Sciences and the A
grobioinstitute. They work in
the areas of soil genesis, geography and classification; soilchem
istry; soil physics; soil microbiology; farm
ing systems and
mathem
atical modelling; agrochem
istry and fertilisation.The Institute of Soil Science "N
ikola Poushkarov" is a re-search institute w
ithin the structure of Agricultural A
cademy,
developing scientific, applied and extension service activities inthe field of soil science, agro ecology, agriculture and environ-m
ental protection, performs also teaching, consultancy, design
and economics.
The Agrobioinstitute m
ain activities include: biotic stress inplants; abiotic stress - m
echanisms of tolerance and m
odelplants studies; plant genetic resources; genom
ics of agricultureplants; plants and m
etabolites; biodiversity; gene cloning andexpression; D
NA
marker system
s and bioinformatics. S
ervicesand support activities are also offered for production of pre-basicplanting m
aterial; analysis of plant health status; feed and food
bean cultures and agro technology including specializedlaboratories and the other - plant and anim
al breed production.The institute has created several m
ain sorts of wheat, barley,
beans, lentils, green beans, and sunflower as w
ell as haselaborated techniques to grow
these cultures in the country.A
nother institution with union m
embers is the D
obrudja College
of Technology Dobrich w
here students are trained in machines
and technology in agriculture and in electronic equipment and
automation.
Other m
embers are lecturers at the D
obrich branch of Shoumen
University in different specialties such as inform
atics andinform
ation technologies, primary education, plant protection;
some w
ork at the Dobrich history m
useum collecting, studying
and preserving historical documents and national heritage
monum
ents of the region.Kyustendil
Kyustendil is a sm
all branch which has developed three scien-
tific sections: agriculture, history and varia. The agriculturespecialists w
ork at the Institute of Agriculture - K
yustendil which
is in the structure of the Agricultural A
cademy and is a special-
ized departmental research institution for investigation of
theoretical and practical problems in agriculture, and assistance
to farmers. The research is carried in four m
ain departments:
Breeding, cultivar studies and reproduction of fruit trees; A
grotechnology, P
hysiology and Econom
ics; Plant protection and
Berry B
reeding and Technologies. US
B m
embers are part of the
staff of the institute and make research in extending and enrich-
ing of the available gene-stock of sweet cherry, sour cherry,
apple, pear, plum, table grape and rootstocks for these species;
distances and schemes of planting, pruning and orchard trees
shaping, systems for soil m
anagement; soil m
icrobiology,fertilization and irrigation; virus diseases, physiology andagrarian econom
ics or serve in the National service for advice in
agriculture.Pleven
The Pleven branch is one of the big branches of U
SB
. The town
is located in central Bulgaria and has several research and
education establishments. M
embers are structured in eight
sections and are specialists in a variety of fields.Leads in num
ber the Medical sciences section w
hose mem
-bers practice and lecture at the U
niversity multi-profile hospital
"Dr. G
. Stransky" or at the Pleven M
edical University. The hospital
carries out diagnostics and treatment of patients in all m
edical
09
quality evaluation by NIR
S; IS
KR
A2 inform
ation system for dairy
cattle; DN
A marker system
s - genetic authenticity, seed homo-
geneity; DN
A sequencing and fragm
ent analysis and analysis ofm
etabolites: GC
-MS
.Biochem
istry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology
As the nam
e of the section suggests, US
B m
embers' w
orkinginstitutions are m
ainly institutes of the Bulgarian A
cademy of
Sciences in the field of biophysics, biochem
istry and molecular
biology and the Faculty of Biology of S
ofia University.
The Institute of Biophysics and B
iomedical Engineering is a
leading research institute in the fields of biophysics, biochemis-
try, cellular biology, motor control and m
uscle electrophysiology.M
ain topics of research include the molecular structure, m
e-tabolism
and functions of biological mem
branes, excitable andphoto excitable m
embranes, ion channels, bio potentials and
extra cellular electric fields, conformation and function of
proteins. The basic research is closely associated with various
biomedical problem
s such as material biocom
patibility, disor-ders in the m
otor control and lung surfactant systems, pharm
a-cological m
ethods, etc.The Institute of M
olecular Biology is the m
ain institution in thecountry established to carrying out research and training in thefield of m
olecular biology and biochemistry. Specifically, studies
are performed in the follow
ing departments: G
ene Regulations,
Molecular biology of cell cycle, Structure and function of chrom
a-tin, B
iochemical pharm
acology and drug design. The instituteoperates a Laboratory for Yeast M
olecular Genetics and for
Medical and B
iological Research. C
utting-edge researchprogram
s are developed to address significant physiologicaland patho-physiological m
echanisms and m
aintenance of anactive linkage betw
een basic and clinical investigators with
research programs in atherosclerosis, cardiovascular biology,
diabetes, cancer and nanotechnology.A
few m
embers com
e form the Institute of Plant Physiology
and Genetics w
ho work m
ostly in the field of biology andm
olecular genetics, agronomy and plant protection, selection of
and seeds production.The institutes of experim
ental morphology, pathology and
anthropology, of microbiology, of biology and im
munology of
reproduction, of organic chemistry w
ith phytochemistry centre
also contribute to our mem
bership.The B
iological faculty of Sofia University is the w
orking placeof several U
SB
mem
bers lecturing in the fields of molecular
protection, Veterinary medicine, A
gronomy, P
lant Protection and
Managem
ent. It is a leading training and research centre inm
anagement and sustainable use of natural resources. U
nionm
embers here com
e from the Veterinary m
edicine andzooenginering departm
ents.The Institute of B
iology and Imm
unology of Reproduction at the
Bulgarian A
cademy of S
ciences conducts fundamental and
applied studies on reproduction in human and anim
als, studiesthe factors and m
echanisms involved in gam
etogenesis,fertilization, im
plantation and pregnancy and the processes ofautoreacivity and autoim
mune response in reproduction, as w
ellas the role of biom
olecules and metabolic processes for
storage and cryopreservation of reproductive tissues and cells.W
orks also on the development of biotechnological approaches
for artificial insemination, m
icromanipulations and em
bryotransfer in anim
als. US
B m
embers w
ork in the following depart-
ment: Im
munobiology of reproduction; R
eproductive biotech-nologies and cryobiology of gam
etes; Em
bryobiotechnologies inanim
als; Molecular im
munology and
imm
unoneuroendocrinology.The Institute for A
nimal B
reeding - Kostinbrod is part of the
Agricultural A
cademy. It perform
s studies and has the function ofm
ethodological centre for Bulgarian anim
al breeding sector. Forthis purpose it has its ow
n experimental laboratories and fields.
The areas it is working in are: anim
al genetics, nutrition andtechnology of fodder; anim
al biochemistry and physiology;
quality of animal production; sheep and bull breeding; reproduc-
tion; poultry breeding.
BR
AN
CH
ES. RESEA
RC
H A
ND
LECTU
RIN
G C
APA
CITY
A selection of U
SB
branches and their capacity is presentedhereafter. in alphabetical order. It includes 8 of the 25 branchesin the country in tow
ns that have larger research and lecturingcapacities and big research and educational establishm
ents.P
otential was sought m
ainly in agriculture, medical and biologi-
cal sciences, medicine and natural sciences.
Dobrich
The Dorbich branch is situated in the north-east part of the
country. Its mem
bers are structured in 4 scientific sections:agrobiology, m
edicine, humanities and technical sciences.
Agrobiolgy is the biggest one and includes m
embers affiliated to
Dobrudja A
gricultural Institute. The institute works in tw
o main
directions. One is research in crop cultures, sunflow
er selection,
20
1910
biology and biochemistry, cell biology and pathology, genetic
and cell engineering, biochemistry of m
icroorganisms etc.
A few
mem
bers are from m
edical universities of Sofia and
Varna, the Plovdiv U
niversity, the Forestry University and from
pharmacological com
panies.Biology
Biology section m
embers w
ork mainly at the Institute of
Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Research at the B
ulgarian Acad-
emy of S
ciences. IBE
R carries out research in theoretical and
applied aspects of ecology, biodiversity, environmental conser-
vation and sustainable use of biological resources with highly
qualified staff in the areas of botany, mycology, zoology, ecology,
hydrobiology, conservation biology, environmental genetic,
evolutionary biology and symilar.
Priority research trends are: Structure and functioning of biotic
comm
unities, ecosystems and landscapes; D
iversity of organ-ism
s and their ecological and evolutionary relationships on alllevels; O
rigin, development history and dynam
ics of biota and itscom
ponents: flora, mycota and fauna; S
cientific basis forconservation of living nature: identifying of threats and develop-ing of m
ethods for their removing or lim
iting; Approaches and
methods for sustainable m
anagement of protected nature
objects; Approaches and m
ethods for sustainable managem
entof biological resources, incl. studies on resource im
portance ofspecies and com
munities not used before; E
cology and biologyof species of econom
ical and social importance, incl. ap-
proaches and methods for assessm
ent; limiting the im
pact andregulation of density of invasive species, pests, parasites andother organism
s of importance to m
edicine, nature protection,agriculture, forestry, fishery, hunting, m
anagements of bio-
resources and other human activities; S
cientific basis of eco-logical risk assessm
ent, the quality of environment and im
pacton it, elaboration of approaches and m
ethods for biodiversityassessm
ent, bio-monitoring and safety system
s.U
SB
mem
bers in IBE
R w
ork in the fields of parasitology andhelm
intology, biology, botany, plant physiology, hydrobiology,ihtiology and fish breeding, plant biotechnologies, environm
entand ecosystem
s protection, zoology of invertebrates etc.The B
iological faculty of Sofia University is the w
orking place ofseveral m
embers - lecturers in cell biology, biotechnology,
zoology and biochemistry and physiology.
A few m
embers com
e from other A
cademy of sciences' insti-
tutes and from the A
grobioinstitute. Several w
ork at the
and processing; Optim
ization and decision making; S
ignalprocessing and pattern recognition; Inform
ation processes andsystem
s; Intelligent systems; E
mbedded intelligent technolo-
gies; Com
munication system
s and services; Hierarchical
systems.
The Institute of Metal Science, Equipm
ent and Technologies'm
ain priorities are: study of behaviour of newly created m
etalalloys in term
s of static, dynamic and altering loading; develop-
ment of m
ethods for assessing the remaining resource of
hazardous facilities; creation of new high-tech equipm
ent andprotective system
s that ensure national security and contributeto strengthening E
uropean security; creation of new nano-and
special materials, com
posites and technologies for theirproduction; hydro and aerodynam
ic design optimization of
vehicles, drilling platforms, sim
ulation and modelling research
on the qualities of ships, simulation studies the properties of the
vessels using a simulator system
s; identification of hydrody-nam
ic and aerodynamic efficiency of renew
able energy sources.The Space and Solar-terrestrial R
esearch Institute's mission
is to conduct fundamental and applied studies in the field of
space physics, remote sensing of the E
arth and planets, andaerospace system
s and technologies.U
SB
mem
bers work also at the Institute of m
eteorology andhydrology as hydrologists, m
eteorologists, research scientists,observers, etc. The institute is also m
entioned under the sectionof P
hysics.S
everal mem
bers come from
Bulgarian telecom
munications
operators, municipalities and private com
panies.W
orth mentioning is that part of the section m
embers are retired
scientists - machine construction engineers, geodesists, w
atersupply and hydro-engineers, environm
ental protection technolo-gists, m
etallurgists, production processes automation special-
ists etc.Veterinary M
edicine and Animal Breeding
US
B m
embers perform
research and applied studies andlecturing at the U
niversity of Forestry, at the Institute of Biology
and Imm
unology of Reproduction, at the A
nimal B
reedingInstitute - K
ostinbrod and a number of other institutions.
The University of Forestry is the only university in B
ulgariaproviding training of specialists in the field of Forestry, W
oodtechnology and furniture production, E
ngineering design offurniture and Landscape architecture. The U
niversity alsoprovides training of specialists in E
cology and environmental
1118
Natural history m
useum as responsible for plant departm
entand specialists in biology and ecology.
Biomedical engineering
The section has all its mem
bers working at the form
er Central
Laboratory for Biom
edical Engineering, now m
erged with the
Institute of Biophysics. The m
ain areas of research are analy-sis and processing of biom
edical signals and data, analysisand m
odeling excitability of biological structures, biomedical
informatics, m
olecular modeling and m
odeling and optimization
of bioprocess systems.
Chemistry and Pharm
acyThis is one of the big sections of the Union. M
embers are non-
organic and organic, physical, and analytical chemists, engi-
neers in chemistry, in m
etallurgy, specialists in polymers, in
chemical technologies of organic synthesis, of w
ood process-ing, of plant fats and ether oil, in spectroscopy, in sem
i-conduc-tor m
aterials and technologies, in silicate technologies, inelectronics and so on.They are affiliated to the Faculty of C
hemistry of Sofia U
niver-sity, w
here they lecture in the departments of inorganic, analyti-
cal, organic and physical chemistry as w
ell as in applied fieldsand chem
ical engineering.A
significant number w
ork at the Bulgarian A
cademy of Sci-
ences institutes of general and inorganic chemistry, of organic
chemistry and phytochem
istry, of physical chemistry, the insti-
tutes for polymers and for catalysis.
Union m
embers are also to be found at the U
niversity ofC
hemical Technology and M
etallurgy as lecturers in semicon-
ductor materials and technologies, in silicate technologies, in
electronic engineering, in chemical engineering etc.; at the
Technical University Sofia as w
ell as in some private enter-
prises for plant fats and ether oil production.Forestry sciences
All U
SB
mem
bers of "Forestry sciences" section come from
theForest R
esearch Institute at the Bulgarian A
cademy of S
ci-ences. The m
ain scientific fields of the institute are biodiversityin the forests and m
ethods for its conservation in situ and exsitu; clim
ate changes and their influence on forests; structureand functioning of forest ecosystem
s; forest genetic resources;som
atic embryogenesis; biological and integrated m
ethods andm
eans against diseases, insects and other pests in the forests;
the most com
plicated to analyze since its is composed of m
anydifferent specialists and experts com
ing from m
ore than 23institutes, universities, academ
ies, state, municipal and private
companies, m
useums and press agencies.
First ranks the Mining and G
eology University w
here ourm
embers are m
ostly lecturers in the area of mines' econom
icsand m
anagement, m
ining technologies and electro mechanics.
More inform
ation on this University is available under the
Geology and G
eography sciences. Second is the Technical
University Sofia w
here US
B m
embers are lecturers in the areas
of electro engineering, electronics, computer technologies,
technical cybernetics, radio physics, computing technologies,
telecomm
unication technologies, organization and manage-
ment of production. TU
is a major educational research and
production complex offering highly qualified trainers, engineers
and technical staff, with m
odern laboratory facilities and consid-erable capacities for experim
entation and production. TheTechnical U
niversity Sofia is the largest higher engineering
school in Bulgaria w
ith long years of experience in trainingengineers. C
ontemporary engineering trends in m
echanical andelectrical engineering, electronics, pow
er generation, transport,autom
ation, computer science and telecom
munications, textile
engineering, industrial managem
ent are taught at the TechnicalU
niversity.Third place takes the U
niversity of Architecture, C
onstructionand G
eodesy where our m
embers train specialists in w
atersupply and sew
erage, industrial and civil construction technolo-gies, electro technologies and autom
atization.O
ther universities also have US
B m
embers - N
ew B
ulgarianU
niversity, Forestry University, M
ilitary Academ
y, the College of
telecomm
unications and post higher school, Libraries informa-
tion technologies college, Agricultural A
cademy, H
igher school ofcivil engineering, etc.Further are ranked several institutes of the B
ulgarian Academ
y ofS
ciences - Institute of Information and C
omm
unication Tech-nologies, Institute of M
etal Science, E
quipment and Technolo-
gies, Space and Solar-terrestrial R
esearch Institute, National
Institute of Meteorology and H
ydrology etc.The Institute of Inform
ation and Com
munication Technologies
research is in the following directions: C
omputer netw
orks andarchitectures; P
arallel algorithms; S
cientific computations;
Mathem
atical methods for sensor data processing; Linguistic
modelling; Inform
ation technologies for security; Grid technolo-
gies and applications; Technologies for knowledge m
anagement
1712
ecology of the game resources and m
ethods and technologiesfor reproduction and usage of w
ood resources.O
ur mem
bers are specialists in forest economy and m
anage-m
ent, mechanization of w
ood production and transportation,forest ecology, selection and production of seeds, soil chem
is-try.
Genetics
The section of Genetics has alm
ost all its mem
bers from the
Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics at the B
ulgarianA
cademy of sciences w
ho work m
ostly in the field of biology andm
olecular genetics, agronomy and plant protection, selection of
and seeds production.Geology and Geography
Mem
bers of this section work in G
eology and Geophysical
Institutes of the Bulgarian A
cademy of S
ciences; they arelecturers in the Faculty of G
eology and Geography at S
ofiaU
niversity "St. Klim
ent Ohridski" and at the U
niversity of Mining
and Geology, consultants and experts in state an private com
pa-nies.The research activities of the G
eology Institute include funda-m
ental and applied problems in the m
ain branches of thegeological know
ledge: palaeontology, stratigraphy, sedimentol-
ogy, geotectonics, regional geology, petrology, geochemistry,
mineralogy, m
ineral deposits, hydrogeology, engineeringgeology and geoecology.The G
eophysical Institute carries out fundamental and applied
research in the fields of physics of the solid earth - seismology,
geomagnetism
and gravimetry; physics of the earth's environ-
ment - atm
osphere, ionosphere; protection of the populationand risk m
itigation of unfavorable natural phenomena and
disasters; facilitating sustainable development and use of the
natural and raw-m
aterial resources in Bulgaria; registration,
processing, analysis and interpretation of the seismicity,
geomagnetic field, the status of the ionosphere and U
V radia-
tion level above the country and surrounding lands.The Faculty of G
eology and Geography at Sofia U
niversity "St.K
liment O
hridski" is one of the main national establishm
entsproviding education and research in the fields of geology andgeography in B
ulgaria in the following areas: geography of
tourism; geology and paleontology; m
ineralogy; petrology; oresand m
inerals; regional and political geography; social andeconom
ics geography; landscape sciences and environmental
physics, structure and properties of crystals and amorphous
materials, atom
and plasma physics, high precision therm
om-
eters, integrated optics, optical fibres, acoustoelectric andm
icroelectronic sensors, metal vapour lasers.
The Institute for Nuclear R
esearch and Nuclear Energy is the
leading complex center for research and application of nuclear
physics in Bulgaria. The scientific and applied investigations
carried out are connected with the m
ilestone problems of
Bulgaria. Ttraditional scientific areas include: Theory of the
elementary particles, string theory, theory of atom
ic nuclei,soliton interactions and quantum
phenomena; E
xperimental
physics of the elementary particles, nuclear reactions, structure
of atomic nuclei, cosm
ic rays and gamm
a-astrophysics at ultrahigh energies; H
igh energy physics; Neutron interactions and
cross sections, physics of the fission; Reactor physics, nuclear
energy and nuclear safety and security; Dosim
etry and radiationsafety; M
onitoring and managem
ent of the environment, radio-
ecology; Radiochem
istry, high precision analyses of sub-stances, developm
ent and production of radioactive sources;N
uclear and neutron methods for investigations of substances
and Nuclear instrum
ent design and production.The Institute for M
eteorology and Hydrology w
hich for more
than 134 years now has given its hum
ble information and
scientific contribution to the mastering and studying of the
problems related to the clim
ate change, weather and w
aterresources. The institute is a highly valued centre for w
eatherforecasts in all spheres of econom
y, agriculture and civil life.The Institute of Electronics conducts research and educationas w
ell as dissemination of scientific know
ledge in the fields ofphysical electronics, photonics and quantum
electronics as well
as radio sciences.The Institute of A
stronomy and N
ational Astronom
ical Observa-
tory carries out fundamental research in astronom
y and astro-physics, as w
ell as education of specialists and graduatestudents in this area. The Institute operates tw
o modern obser-
vatories for astronomical observations and research - N
ationalA
stronomical O
bservatory Rozhen and A
stronomical O
bservatoryB
elogradchik.A
few m
embers are lecturers at the P
hysical faculty of Sofia
University and the P
hysics Departm
ent of the Technical Univer-
sity Sofia.
Technical sciences
The bigger section of the US
B "Technical sciences" section is
1316
protection, geomorphology, cartography and clim
ate sciencesand hydrology.The U
niversity of Mining and G
eology is an academic and
research centre that provides training in the spheres of geology,in m
ining and electrical and mechanical engineering. It is an
institution where fundam
ental and applied scientific research iscarried out and general engineering education com
bined with a
profiled knowledge and abilities acquired. G
raduates areengineers in the areas of geology and m
ining, in power engi-
neering, in civil engineering and industrial construction, inenvironm
ental protection, and other branches.Im
munology
The Imm
unology section is one of the medium
size units ofU
SB
. Its mem
bers come m
ainly from the N
ational Centre for
Infectious and Parasitic Diseases as specialists in biochem
is-try and m
icrobiology, gene and cell engineering, pathologicalanatom
y and citopathology, imm
unochemistry etc. The N
CIP
D's
main directions of studies are in V
irology - on enteroviruses,viral hepatitis, m
easles, mum
ps and rubella, herpes virus,rikettsiae and chlam
idiae, influenza and acute respiratorydiseases, H
IV / A
IDS
, arboviruses, molecular virology and
retroviruses; in Microbiology - on m
ycology, enteric pathogens,streptococci and corynebacteria, biohazard level III infections,anaerobic infections, leptospira, borrelia, listeria, staphylococciand neisseriae, on m
olecular biology and tuberculosis; inE
pidemiology and C
D surveillance - on surveillance and early
warning, in Im
munology and A
llergology where several laborato-
ries work (on A
llergology, Imm
unomorphology and E
lectrochem-
istry, Mucosal Im
munity, M
ediators of Imm
une Reactions); in
Parasitology and tropical m
edicine with laboratory. The N
ationalIm
munization and C
onsultative Center is w
ith the centre.O
ther mem
bers come from
several Medical hospitals' im
mu-
nology chairs and laboratories, from A
cademy of S
ciencesInstitute of M
icrobiology, Institute for Experimental M
orphol-ogy, Pathology and A
nthropology and Institute of Biology and
Imm
unology or Reproduction as researchers in im
munology,
cell biology, biochemistry and m
icrobiology, molecular biology
etc.Inform
atics
A quickly developing field, it includes specialists in com
putersystem
s and technologies, mathem
atical modeling and applied
mathem
atics, radio electronics, system adm
inistration, informa-
University.
The section includes also specialists in stomatology and
pharmacology, m
ainly working in the M
edical Academ
y special-ized faculties.A
considerable number of the m
embers are retired scientists
covering almost all m
edical fields.M
icrobiology
The Microbiology section unifies m
embers from
differentresearch fields and applied sectors. A num
ber of them com
efrom
the Institute of Microbiology of the B
ulgarian Academ
y ofS
ciences where studies in the area of general, applied and
infectious microbiology, virology, im
munology and m
ycology arecarried out. M
ore specifically they work on cell biology and
pathology; biotechnology incl. industrial, biochemistry and
microbiology and other m
icrobiological fields.O
ther mem
bers work at the Plant Protection Institute w
hich ispart of the A
gricultural Academ
y. At present, the institute
performs studies in seven m
ain scientific fields: biological andintegrated pest control; virology; entom
ology and radiobiology;quarantine; toxicology; phytopathology and plant Im
munity and
herbology.A
few m
embers - m
icrobiologists are lecturers at the Depart-
ment of B
iochemistry and M
icrobiology of New
Bulgarian
University and the U
niversity of Forestry, others work in "safety of
foods" department at the N
ational Veterinary medicine D
iagnos-tics R
esearch Centre, in the N
ational Centre for C
ontagious andP
arasitic Diseases, in the Institute of S
oil Science "N
ikolaP
oushkarov", in medical universities and hospitals.
Physics
Mem
bers of this section are affiliated to several Bulgarian
Academ
y of Sciences institutes. The Institute of Solid State
Physics carries our research in condensed matter physics,
optics, spectroscopy and laser physics; application of thisknow
ledge for the creation of new m
aterials, devices andanalytical m
ethods for micro- and nano-technologies, as w
ell asfor new
approaches in the interdisciplinary fields of the physicsw
ith biology, medicine, archaeology; transfer of the achieved
results to the economy of B
ulgaria. The main scientific and
applied achievements are in the field of condensed m
attertheory, critical phenom
ena and phase transitions, superconduc-tivity and superconducting m
aterials, low tem
perature physics,nanophysics, liquid crystal physics, soft and living m
atter
1514
tion technologies, library sciences and comm
unication, mass
comm
unication etc.U
SB
mem
bers work at B
ulgarian Academ
y of Sciences Institute
of Biophysics and B
iomedical E
ngineering (see section Bio-
chemistry), Institute of Inform
ation and Com
munication Tech-
nologies (see section Technical sciences), at University of
Library and Com
munication Technologies, B
urgas Free Univer-
sity, Technical University - S
ofia Chair of Inform
atics (describedunder technical sciences section), U
niversity of National and
World E
conomy, N
ew B
ulgarian University, C
ollege of Telecom-
munications and P
ost, Mining and G
eology University, S
ofiaU
niversity Chair of M
athematics and Inform
atics, Air traffic
administration.
Mathem
atics
It is a small section w
hich affiliates mem
bers from A
cademy of
Sciences' institutes and higher educational establishm
ents inS
ofia. Part of them
work at the Institute of M
athematics and
Informatics. The institute w
orks mainly in three strategic
research fields. These are mathem
atical structures with sub-
fields in discrete mathem
atical structures and applications;differential equations; analysis, geom
etry and topology; inm
athematical m
odeling: stochastics; operations research;m
umerical m
ethods and scientific calculations; approximation
theory and foundations of mathem
atical models; the second is
mathem
atical informatics w
ith subfield in mathem
atical founda-tions of inform
atics; mathem
atical linguistics and knowledge
processing; modeling of softw
are and cognitive processes;m
odeling of information processes and finally the third is in
modeling of educational processes in m
athematics and
informatics.
Faculty of Mathem
atics and Informatics at Sofia U
niversity isalso em
ploying union mem
bers of this section. They lecture inthe departm
ents of Algebra, A
nalytical mechanics, C
omplex
analysis and topology, Com
puter informatics, C
omputing
systems, D
ifferential equations, Education in m
athematics and
informatics, G
eometry, Inform
ation technologies, Mathem
aticalanalysis, M
athematical logic and applications, N
umerical
methods and algorithm
s, Probability, operations research and
statistics, Softw
are technologies and Laboratory mathem
aticalm
odeling in economics.
A few
are employed in other higher establishm
ents, in stateagencies and private com
panies.
Mechanics
The section of Mechanics is one of the sm
all US
B units. Its
mem
bers cover the specialties of construction, transport,m
achine and appliances engineers, applied mathem
atics,m
athematical physics, atom
ic physics, optics and spectroscopy,m
echanic systems in robotics, solid state m
echanics, theory ofprobabilities w
hich are working at the Institute of M
echanics atthe B
ulgarian Academ
y of Sciences. The Institute is a leading
scientific center with long traditions in fundam
ental and appliedresearch in m
echanics, robotics, mechatronics, biom
echanicsand related fields. The Institute also participates in the trainingof P
h.D. students and qualified specialists, it is involved in
innovation and expert activities, and practical application ofresearch results. A few
mem
bers work at B
ulgarian Academ
y ofSciences Institute of B
iophysics and Biom
edical Engineeringin the fields of autom
ation and system technologies, biotech-
nologies and automation of industrial enterprises, at the Insti-
tute of Molecular B
iology as mathem
aticians and at the Insti-tute of Physical C
hemistry as hydro engineers.
Medical science
One of the biggest sections in the U
nion, its mem
bers can betraced in the entire healthcare structure, but m
ainly they areaffiliated w
ith the Medical A
cademy Sofia and the m
edicaluniversities as lecturers, researchers and doctors. The special-ties they cover are obstetrics and gynecology, roentgen logy,derm
atology and dendrology, hematology, pediatrics, endocri-
nology, urology, neurology and psychiatry, physiology, pathology,neuroophtalm
ology, toxicology. In medical universities, for
example "Q
ueen Jovanna ISUL" U
niversity hospital US
B has
specialists in ophthalmology, stom
ach surgery, orthopedics andtraum
atology, gastroenterology, pediatrics, in others - infectiousdiseases, endocrinology, orthopaedics and gram
matology.
Beside these, in S
ofia there are several specialized hospitalssuch as the Em
ergency hospital "Pirogov" where U
SB
mem
-bers w
ork as clinical toxicologists, neurosurgeons etc.; theN
ational oncology centre, the Institute of orthopedics andtraum
atology and others for specific diseases with staff w
hichare m
embers of U
SB
.A
few m
embers w
ork at other multiprofile hospitals, polyclinics,
private health centres, at Sofia University and N
ew B
ulgarian
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