In Memoriam Professor Albertas Čaplinskas (1942-2021)

Professor Dr Albertas Čaplinskas, one of the founders of Informatics Science in Lithuania, laureate of the Lithuanian Science Prize, passed away on July 11, 2021. Albertas Čaplinskas was a well-known scientist in software engineering, information systems engineering, law engineering, artificial intelligence fields in the Baltic States, Europe and worldwide.

After graduating from Moscow Lomonosov State University, Faculty of Mathematics in 1966, he began his professional career at Vilnius University as a lecturer, senior engineer and shift supervisor. In 1970, Albertas Čaplinskas began working at the Institute of Physics and Mathematics, LSSR Academy of Sciences (later State Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, now Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies, Vilnius University), to which he remained faithful to the end. Started as a senior engineer, he became chief research fellow, head of the Software Engineering department. Prof. Albertas Čaplinskas wrote close to 200 scientific articles; is the author of 5 books. He led many research projects and two industrial projects.

During all these years, Albertas Čaplinskas consistently distributed his knowledge to the young. He lectured at Vilnius University and Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, including 7 courses for doctoral students. In 2001 he was awarded the pedagogical title of professor. He was the chairman of the Vilnius University Doctoral Studies in Informatics Engineering Committee. Under his supervision, 6 doctoral students defended their doctoral thesis.

Albertas Čaplinskas was active in different expert activities – he was a member of USSR Science and Techniques Committee expert group on software engineering and system programming, a scientific consultant of the Lithuanian Communication and Informatics Ministry, Lithuania expert in the Information Society Technologies Committee of European Union 6th and 7th Framework Programme, a member of new EU countries expert group on software (SPRERS project).

We can find the results of Albertas work in all areas related to informatics. After several years of his valuable activity, the Lithuanian Computer Society was finally established in 1989.
Albertas’ contribution to establishing relations with colleagues from other countries was remarkable. He was in constant contact with colleagues from Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Russia. He was also an active organiser, steering and program committee member as well as proceedings editor of the series of the International Baltic Conferences on Databases and Information Systems (Baltic DB & IS), member of the program committee of nearly 30 different international scientific conferences.

Albertas Čaplinskas was an Honorary Doctor of the University of Latvia. He received a Lithuanian Science Prize in 2007, an award from the Council of Ministers of Lithuania for the research in 1987, Diploma from the Scientific-Technical Society of the Academic S. Vavilov for the best computer program in Lithuania in 1986.
Closer colleagues are proud to be mentees of his school and will remember Albertas as a reliable and sensitive fellow. We lost an authoritative, insightful, broad-minded scientist whose opinion was highly valued by colleagues of all generations.