Stanko Grafenauer

After completing his degree, Grafenauer worked as a geologist in the mines of Mežica and Raduša (1949–1954). He also worked at the Geological Institute of Macedonia in Skopje. His professional endeavors focused on researching various minerals and implementing new measurement techniques in the field. In 1959, Grafenauer achieved habilitation. Subsequently, in 1961, he was appointed as an associate professor of ore deposit geology at the Faculty of Mining, Metallurgy, and Chemical Technology at the University of Ljubljana. In 1965, he became a full professor at its successor, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology. In April 1973, he was elected as an associate member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In April 1981, he became a full member of the academy. Throughout his career, he received several accolades, including the Boris Kidrič Foundation Award in 1972, which honoured his outstanding achievements.^[2] He was the first in Yugoslavia to use the electron microprobe and he found there a number of rare minerals, such as maucherite and mackinawite.^[1][3]

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Stanko Grafenauer displayed diverse interests. As a retiree, he authored a book featuring recipes for dishes prepared within his family. He had a daughter named Irena Grafenauer, who gained renown as a flutist. His father was linguist and historian, best known as historian of literature, Ivan Grafenauer, his sister was designer, architect and choreographer Marija Grafenauer-Vogelnik, and his brother was the historian Bogo Grafenauer.