"This year we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla, and we are proud that you and your team have continued on the path of the great inventor," the minister said in the message.
Soljacic, whose discovery is a theoretical basis showing that wireless energy transfer is possible, is an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
After completing secondary education in Zagreb, Soljacic was awarded a scholarship to study at MIT. He received a BsE degree in physics and electrical engineering from MIT in 1996, and earned his PhD in physics at Princeton University in 2000.
He has 14 patents and as many patent applications and is this year's winner of the prestigious award TR35 as one of the world's 35 best young inventors. The award is given by the oldest technology journal "Technology Review".