The publication of a 1975 paper in Communications of the ACM marked an early milestone in the career of Vladimir Batagelj, eleven years before he completed his doctoral studies. Born in Idrija, Slovenia, in 1948, Batagelj built a career centered on discrete mathematics, combinatorial optimization, and the methodology of social network analysis.
Academic Foundation and Teaching
Batagelj conducted his doctoral research at the University of Ljubljana, earning his Ph.D. in 1986 under the supervision of Tomaž Pisanski. He maintained a long-term affiliation with the University of Ljubljana, serving as a professor of sociology and statistics and chairing the Department of Sociology within the Faculty of Social Sciences. His international academic presence included visiting positions at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Konstanz. Over his career, he supervised 9 doctoral students and contributed to the editorial boards of the journals Informatica and the Journal of Social Structure.
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Starting in 1996, Batagelj collaborated with Andrej Mrvar to develop Pajek, a software package designed for the visualization and analysis of large-scale networks. This freely available tool became a focal point of his research output. The partnership with Mrvar yielded repeated recognition in the Graph Drawing Contest, resulting in seven first-place awards between 1995 and 2005, and subsequent inclusion in the Graph Drawing Hall of Fame.
Research and Publication
Batagelj's research portfolio includes over 20 textbooks written in Slovene, addressing subjects such as TeX, discrete mathematics, and combinatorics. His work has amassed more than 11,000 citations. His most frequently cited publication, Exploratory Social Network Analysis with Pajek, was coauthored with Wouter de Nooy and Andrej Mrvar. The book has undergone translation into Japanese and Chinese, with a revised third edition published by Cambridge University Press. In 2004, he coauthored Generalized Blockmodeling, which received the 2007 Harrison White Outstanding Book Award from the American Sociological Association.
Distinctions
In addition to his literary contributions, Batagelj received the Simmel Award alongside Anuška Ferligoj in 2007 for his contributions to the field. Richards Software Award. Much of his technical writing appeared in the Slovenian popular science journal Presek.
Fast facts
- Born: 1948, Idrija, Slovenia
- Ph.D.: University of Ljubljana, 1986
- Notable Software: Pajek
- Research Fields: Discrete mathematics, combinatorial optimization
- Primary Affiliation: University of Ljubljana
- Total Ph.D. students advised: 9
- Google Scholar citation count: Over 11,000
Questions readers ask
What is Pajek?
Pajek is a software tool created by Batagelj and Andrej Mrvar for the analysis and visualization of large-scale social networks.
What subjects did Batagelj cover in his textbooks?
He authored more than 20 textbooks in Slovene covering TeX, combinatorics, and discrete mathematics.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of Ljubljana
- Fields: mathematics
