Dr.rer.nat. Branko Matović, Scientific Advisor and Corresponding Member of The Academy of Engineering Sciences of Serbia (AESS), was Head of the Center of Excellence “Center for the Synthesis, Processing, and Characterization of Materials for Application in Extreme Conditions (CEXTREME LAB)” since 2015 when it was founded till 2024. Born on 26 November 1959 in Kraljevo, Serbia. He graduated from the Faculty of Mining and Geology at the Department of Mineralogy and Crystallography, where he earned a Magister. He got a Dr.Rer.Nat. title at the Max Plank Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, in the field of structural non-oxide ceramics. Employed since 1989 at the Institute for Refractory Materials Magnohrom, Kraljevo, and since 1998 at the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, where he obtained all the scientific titles until 2010 when he became a scientific advisor. In the teaching activity, he was an invited professor at the Institute of Technology of the University of Tokyo, Japan, in the 2010-2011 and 2016-2017 period. He is also a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT-Madras), India; where he lectured on several occasions and was the evaluator of several doctoral dissertations. He was also a lecturer at the postgraduate studies of the Military Academy in Belgrade, and the PhD studies of the Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics University of Niš.

His scientific and research activities are in the field of nanoparticle oxide powders synthesis, solid solutions structures suitable for ceramic fuel cell components, non-oxide ceramic synthesis, study of the phenomena occurring during densification of covalent compounds with low soluble additives and solid oxide compounds in the presence of a liquid phase (influence of the crystal lattice defects, activity of the starting materials, diffusion mechanisms that domine the synthesis process, high-pressure influence), phase transformations and phase equilibria. He published 5 book chapters and over 220 papers in the SCI-indexed international journals. According to the data provided by Scopus, the number of his citations, without self-citations, is 3600, while the h-index is 34, and the i10 index is 110. He was a mentor of 18 PhD candidates. He has given more than 35 invited lectures at international conferences and acted as a member of the Program Committee at over 20 international conferences. He is a reviewer of 20 leading international journals. Moreover, he was a Committee member for the accreditation of higher education institutions and study programs, and a project reviewer for the Serbian Ministry of Science. He was Principal Investigator in 6 national and 9 international research projects. He also participated as the Ministry of Science Commission member in the development of national scientific strategy and led the process of accreditation of academic, master’s, and doctoral studies on several occasions.

When international cooperation is concerned, he has made numerous short study visits to Universities abroad, as well as long visits as an invited professor, where he initiated the signing of scientific cooperation with the leading world institutions from Japan, Russia, Germany, Canada, China, India as well as from numerous European countries.

In management activities, it should be emphasized that he was the director of the Department of Material Science of the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences (2005-2016), and the Head of the Center for Excellence “CEXTREME LAB” of the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences (2015-2024). He was one of the Founding members of the Serbian Society for Ceramic Materials and President of the society since 2013. He also initiated the establishment of the Serbian Society for Innovative Materials in Extreme Conditions and has been President of the society since the year 2019.

He also organized 5 international conferences in Serbia focused on the field of ceramic materials and 2 international conferences on innovative materials in extreme conditions, which were attended by numerous world-renowned experts.