Pavle Savić (Serbian Cyrillic: Павле Савић; January 10, 1909 - May 30, 1994) was a Serbian physicist and chemist.
Born in Thessaloniki, Savić graduated with a degree in physical chemistry from the University of Belgrade in 1932. In 1939, he received a 6 month scholarship from the French government for studying at the Institut du Radium; instead of 6 months, Savić stays for 4 years in France. In the years 1937 and 1938, he worked with Irène Joliot-Curie and Frédéric Joliot-Curie on research action of neutrons on the heavy elements. It was an important step in the discovery of nuclear fission. Together with Irène Joliot-Curie, Savić was nominated for Nobel Prize in Physics.[1]
When World War II began, Savić left France and came back to Yugoslavia to fight as a partisan against German occupation.
After the war he was one of the first promoters of the idea of constructing the Vinca Nuclear Institute in Vinča.[2] He was the principal of the Institute Vinča (in that time called INS "Boris Kidrič") 1960-1961 . In 1966 he returned to his position at his alma mater, the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Physical Chemistry and Department of Physics (now Faculty of Physics[3]).
He was the president of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1971 to 1981.
He was active till his last days. He published his last scientific paper a few months before his death, at the age of 85, in Belgrade.