The award was presented to her in recognition of her long-standing and internationally recognised research in particle physics, a field that seeks to answer one of the most fundamental questions in science: what is the world made of? Dr Melić studies heavy hadrons, particles that contain heavy quarks, and her work helps test how accurately the Standard Model of particle physics describes nature at its deepest level.
Particle physics explores a world far smaller than the atom. This is the world of quarks and other fundamental particles, whose properties are investigated through complex experiments and theoretical models. Dr Melić’s research focuses in particular on the behaviour of heavy hadrons, their decays, interactions and lifetimes. Such studies are important because they enable precise tests of the Standard Model, the theory that describes fundamental particles and their interactions.
The results of her work have been recognised by the international scientific community, and their significance is confirmed by citations in leading compilations of particle physics results, including the Review of Particle Physics by the Particle Data Group, as well as in other relevant reviews in the field of particle physics phenomenology. The City of Zagreb Award presented to Dr Blaženka Melić is a recognition of her scientific excellence and a confirmation of the international relevance of the research carried out at the Ruđer Bošković Institute.
“Receiving the City of Zagreb Award in the field of science is a great recognition of my work to date and a strong incentive to continue my research and develop new ideas. This achievement is also partly the result of joint scientific work with younger collaborators, to whom I am sincerely grateful. I also see this award as a confirmation of the importance of science in a broader social context,” said Dr Blaženka Melić.
To date, Dr Melić has published 54 scientific papers, 48 of them in Q1 journals, and her work has been cited more than 1,600 times according to Web of Science. In the past five years, she has published ten papers in Q1 journals and one review article, eight of them with leading authorship. In 2025 alone, she published three papers in the prestigious Journal of High Energy Physics, covering three different research directions with international and Croatian early-career collaborators.
She has delivered 55 lectures and presentations, including 34 invited and 15 plenary talks at prominent international conferences around the world, as well as 17 lectures at international institutions.
The award-winning research is based on her scientific projects and numerous international collaborations. Among other projects, she has led three projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, dedicated to physics within and beyond the Standard Model, the decays and lifetimes of heavy hadrons, and non-perturbative quantum chromodynamics in heavy-flavour physics.
Dr Melić’s international reputation is further reflected in her research stays abroad, including fellowships awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Fulbright Program. In addition to her scientific work, an important part of her contribution is her work with younger researchers and her teaching at the doctoral programme of the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. Dr Melić is also a full professor by title at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb.
The Ruđer Bošković Institute congratulates Dr Blaženka Melić on this important recognition and the City of Zagreb Award, and wishes her continued success in her scientific work.
