Paskal Sotirovski, (; b. 23 November 1927 in Vrben, today

Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality Mavrovo or Mavrova can refer to: * Mavrovo (region), a region in North Macedonia * Mavrovo National Park, a national park in North Macedonia * Mavrovo Lake, a lake in North Macedonia * Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality, a municipality in North Mace ...

– d. 20 January 2003 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) was a

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

astrophysicist, specializing in

solar physics Solar physics is the branch of astrophysics that specializes in the study of the Sun. It intersects with many disciplines of pure physics and astrophysics. Because the Sun is uniquely situated for close-range observing (other stars cannot be re ...

Education

Paskal finished primary school in Macedonia. He continued his education in

Gornji Milanovac Gornji Milanovac ( sr-Cyrl, Гoрњи Милановац, ) is a town and municipality located in the Moravica District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 23,109, while the population of the municipality is 38,985 (2022 census data). ...

(in Serbia) where he finished three grades of the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. Eventually, he graduated from the Educational School in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. Sotirovski spent some years as a school teacher in

Bela Crkva Bela Crkva ( sr-cyrl, Бела Црква, ; ; ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 7,456, while the Bela Crkva municipality has 14,451 ...

, but in 1950 he enrolled as a regular student at the Faculty of Philosophy and Department of Physics at the

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje The Saints Cyril and Methodius University () is a public university, public research university in Skopje, North Macedonia. It is the oldest and largest public university in the country. It is named after the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Christ ...

. He graduated in 1956 and started teaching

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

at the Josip Broz Tito High School in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

. In 1961, Sotirovski was employed as an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in

. Then, he was sent at specialization in Sorbonne,

. In 1964 he graduated with a degree in astrophysics. In 1971 he defended his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

thesis in

, and obtained the highest mark possible.

Career

After getting his PhD degree, Sotirovski became a member of the French National Center of Scientific Research, which is a great recognition of a

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

's work. He is also a member of the French Department of Solar and Planetary Astronomy and in 1991 he is elected for a member of

Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts () is an academic institution in North Macedonia. History The Academy of Sciences and Arts was established by the Socialist Republic of Macedonia's assembly on 23 February 1967 as the highest scientifi ...

. Sotirovski has his cabinet at the

Meudon Observatory The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomy, astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on t ...

. As a scientist with international reputation he gave lectures in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

etc. His scientific works were published in many journals and magazines around the world. He was able to speak fluently few world languages: English, French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, as well as his mother tongue

Foundation "Dr. Paskal Sotirovski"

In the 1990s Sotirovski established the foundation that bears his name and financially supports the young and talented Macedonian minds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sotirovski, Paskal 1927 births 2003 deaths Macedonian people of Albanian descent People from Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality Macedonian astrophycists