MIKA ALAS - GREAT SERBIAN MATHEMATICIAN

BIJELJINA, MAY 5 /SRNA/ - Mihalo Petrović Alas, a.k.a. Mika Alas /1868-1943/, a Serbian mathematician, one of the first eight professors at the University of Belgrade, long-time professor of mathematics at Belgrade's Faculty of Philosophy, and a member of the Serbian Royal Academy, was born on May 6, 1868.

Alas authored over 250 scientific and professional papers and is a pioneer in the development of modern cybernetics.

As a boy, he learned the fishing trade from the Belgrade fisherman Gašpar Čuklja.

He later passed the master exam of the fishermen's guild, and thus earned the nickname Mika Alas /Mika Fisherman/.

He wrote over 400 papers on theoretical and applied mathematics, mathematical physics and chemistry, mechanics, geometry, and general phenomenology.

Alas was the creator of mathematical phenomenology and the theory of mathematical spectra, which found practical application in astronomical, statistical, and other types of calculations. He made significant contributions to mathematical analysis, particularly in the theory of differential equations and function theory.

His works include: "Qualitative Integration of Differential Equations," "Elements of Mathematical Phenomenology," "Phenomenological Mapping," "Lectures on Mathematical Spectra," the travelogue "Through the Polar Region," and the popular science piece "The Tale of the Eel."

Alas also pursued a military career. In 1898, Mika Alas passed the exam for reserve second lieutenant and took part in both Balkan Wars as a reserve engineering lieutenant, later becoming a 2nd class captain.

During World War I, Alas served as adjutant to Prince Đorđe Karađorđević. After the bombing of Belgrade, he went to Niš, then to France, and eventually to Switzerland, where he remained until the end of the war, working in the field of cryptography.

In 1917, he developed a new cipher system, which was immediately adopted for use. After the war, he refined it and named it the "three-card system". This system continued to be used in both the military and diplomacy.

Because of his expertise in cryptography, the military reengaged Alas shortly before the outbreak of World War II. At the very start of the war, in April 1941, he was captured in Sarajevo and taken as a prisoner to Nuremberg, where he spent three months in captivity.

Thanks to the intervention of Prince Đorđe Karađorđević in the middle of the same year, Alas was released due to his age, after which he returned to Belgrade.

Five original practical patents by Mika Alas were registered at the French Patent Office: a rangefinder, a portable gear mechanism, an eternal calendar, a depth gauge for submerged objects, and a method for avoiding minefields.

Mika Alas passed away in 1943.