Tribute to Ivan Stojmenovic
Milos Stojmenovic
It is with a heavy heart that I serve as guest editor of this commemorative issue of Ad Hoc Sensors & Wireless Networks. My father founded this journal 10 years ago in the field that he loved and contributed most to. Research was his passion, and he conveyed this passion to me throughout his life. We worked in different fields of computer science, mine being computer vision, but always looked for ways to work together. We recently came to the conclusion that our research fields overlapped in the area of robotics since robots need to see their surroundings, and also need to communicate with other robots. We had started to form ideas for projects that we could both contribute to since we worked together quite well. I will continue to pursue the course we set out and hope to achieve even a small part of what he was able to. He tirelessly encouraged me to pursue my research and never give up in the face of challenging or seemingly impossible problems. His perseverance, belief in himself, tireless and even relentless work ethic and ability to question the fundamentals of everything he encountered made him an incredibly successful researcher and a devoted mentor. He taught me how to conduct research, how to write scientific papers, and more importantly, how to be a better person.
I always looked at him as my father, and only recently stepped back to realize all of his scientific achievements. In recent years, he received many awards, and was received warmly in every corner of the globe that he travelled to. He had an endless list of invitations to conduct research in almost any university. Growing up with him got me used to his endless work, his travels and his success, which in my eyes became normal. Only now, when considering the big picture can I begin to measure his achievements. One man truly can change the world if he fully applies himself. Born in a small village in Serbia to parents that didn’t attend high school, Ivan Stojmenovic emerged as one of the most cited authors in Computer Science. At age 57, the fruits of his labor were just beginning to be collected, which makes this loss all the more painful and tragic.
In this special issue, we have collected the personal and professional perspectives, in the form of tributes from the closest friends and collaborators of Ivan. They have been classified according to the type of collaboration the contributors had with my father, which means in the capacity as co-authors, students, or promoters of research. I would like to thank all of my father’s closest friends and colleagues for remembering him in this issue.
Milos Stojmenovic
Singidunum University,
Serbia