Research team

Assoc. prof. dr. Blaž Nardin graduated got MSc and Ph.D. at the Faculty of Mechanical engineering, University of Ljubljana. After graduation, he was employed at TECOS as a researcher, head of CAE department, deputy director, and finally as director. In 2006 he was employed at Gorenje Orodjarna, d.o.o. as general manager. In 2017 he became Executive Vice President at Gorenje d.d., responsible for Dishwashing and later also for the Cooling program. Between 2015 and 2021 he was vice president of the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  In 2020 he became a dean of the Faculty of Polymer Technology. His research areas are manufacturing technologies, which are also linked to moulds production, plastic processing technologies and 3D digitalization and reverse engineering.

He has been cooperating with the Faculty of Polymer Technology since the establishment of The Polymer Technology College (VŠTP) at the time, and he  also is an honorary member of the FTPO Academic Board. He is also a higher education teacher in the field of plastics processing technologies. He started his funtion as a dean on January 1st, 2020.

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +386 31 301 243

Assoc. prof. dr. Irena Pulko graduated with B.Sc. (2004) from the University of Maribor and then continued to pursue doctoral studies on porous polymers. During her Ph.D. study, she visited the laboratories of Prof. N. R. Cameron at University of Durham, Prof. C. Slugovc at TU Graz, and Prof. K. Jerabek at Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals in Prague.

She obtained her doctorate in 2009 and is currently a teacher and a vice dean for Education at Faculty of polymer technology. Her research focus is on the synthesis and characterisation of polymers mainly polymers prepared from high internal phase emulsions, biopolymers and biopolymer composites. She was project manager of the project Creative Core FTPO. She was involved in various research projects, namely FP7 SME 2008-2 Europian project HIP (Development of lowcost, lightweight highly insulating polymers for refrigerated transport, heating and cooling installations), PolyRegion, PolyRegion-Pro Act, Whole Cyrcle, etc..

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +386 41 628 873

doc. Dr. mont. Janez Slapnik is an Assistant Professor of Mining Science (2025, Montanuniversität Leoben, Austria).

doc. Dr. mont. Janez Slapnik completed his bachelor's degree (2015) and master's degree (2017) at the Faculty of Polymer Technology in Slovenj Gradec, and his doctorate (2025) at the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria.

During his career he gained international experience at the Polymer Competence Center Leoben GmbH, the Vienna University of Technology, and the Technical University of Dresden. Between 2020 and 2024 he was concurrently employed at Plastika Skaza d.o.o. as a research specialist. He has been employed at FTPO since 2015, and since 2025 serves as Assistant Professor and Vice Dean for Research.

His research focuses on covalently adaptable networks, sustainable polymer composites, and the use of generative artificial intelligence to accelerate materials innovation. In current international projects he acts as project leader (CampAIgn) and principal investigator (reCANet, Addcircles). He has published his work in 16 original scientific articles and holds a patent in the field of 3D printing of plastomagnets (SI 26316 A, 2023).

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +386 40 974 441

Silvester Bolka received his Diploma (M.Sc.) in Polymer Technology in 2013 from the Faculty of Polymer Technology, Slovenia.

During his professional career he served in various technical functions for Elan d.d. (Begunje, Slovenia), Elan GmbH (Fürnitz, Austria), R-Plast d.o.o. (Lesce, Slovenia) and Centre of Excellence Polymer Materials and Technologies (Ljubljana, Slovenia).

He joined FTPO in 2014 and serves as Head of Centre for Cooperation with Industry. His research interests comprise thermal, mechanical and chemical characterization of materials, processing technologies with emphasis on extrusion/compounding and injection moulding of thermoplastics, (bio)composites, biopolymers and polymer recycling.

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +386 31 339 985

Assist. Prof. dr. Matija Hriberšek graduated (2011) and received his doctorate (2018) at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Ljubljana. After graduation, he started working at the company Gorenje d.d., where he worked as an engineer in the development of washing and drying appliances. In 2013, he joined the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Ljubljana as a young researcher in the Cutting Laboratory, where he worked on numerical modeling of cutting processes. In 2019, he joined the company Podkrižnik d.o.o. as a researcher, where he was engaged in research in the field of high-performance polymer composite materials for propulsion applications.

He presented his research findings as a leading author in 10 original scientific articles, as well as a co-author of chapters in 2 scientific monographs. His area of ​​research is the characterization of advanced polymer composite materials, various polymer processing technologies and the field of reverse engineering. He joined the Faculty of Polymer Technology in November 2022, where he was elected to the position of assistant professor in the habilitation field of design and technology.

E-mail: [email protected]

doc. dr. Kaja Kupnik graduated in 2016 and obtained her master's degree in 2018 at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Maribor (FKKT, UM). In September 2024, she obtained her PhD in chemical engineering at FKKT UM and completed her work as a young researcher at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor. During her doctoral studies, she researched the synthesis of functionalized nanocellulose hybrids with antibacterial activity. She presented her research findings as the author of six original and two review scientific articles, as well as the author of one chapter in a monographic publication and at numerous domestic and international conferences. She is continuing her career, academic, and research path at the Faculty of Polymer Technology in Slovenj Gradec.

E-mail: [email protected]

Teja Pešl received her Diploma (M.Sc.) in Polymer technology in 2020 from the Faculty of Polymer Technology, Slovenia.

She joined FTPO in 2017 and now serves as an assistant.

E-mail: teja.peš[email protected]

Rebeka Lorber received her Diploma (M.Sc.) in Polymer Technology in 2020 from the Faculty of Polymer Technology, Slovenia.

She joined FTPO in 2018 right after graduation and now she serves as assistant.

E-mail: [email protected]

Tamara Rozman received her Diploma (M.Sc.) in Polymer Technology in 2021 from the Faculty of Polymer Technology, Slovenia.

She joined FTPO in 2018 right after graduation and now she serves as assistant.

E-mail: [email protected]

Patricija Skrivarnik holds a master's degree in polymer technology (2024, Faculty of Polymer Technology, Slovenia).

After completing her master's degree, she joined FTPO as an assistant.

E-mail: [email protected]

Rajko Bobovnik is a traffic technology engineer. He graduated in 1989 at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport in Portorož.

He was employed in various companies and institutions (UKC Ljubljana, Slovenijaturist, Kompas MTS) and managed his own company for 20 years. Most of his assignments were in project work and logistics.

Being a member of the FTPO team since 2013, he supports FTPO teachers and researchers by carrying out measurements and operating processing equipment, support for students during laboratory and thesis work. He also takes care of laboratory equipment maintenance.

E-mail: [email protected]

Marko Verčkovnik holds a degree in polymer technology (2024, Faculty of Polymer Technology, Slovenia).

After graduating, he joined FTPO as a laboratory technician.

E-mail: marko.verč[email protected]

Jure Dobnik holds a degree in polymer technology (2024, Faculty of Polymer Technology, Slovenia).

After graduating, he joined FTPO as a laboratory technician.

E-mail: [email protected]