This year we celebrate a significant jubilee – 80 Years of Dam Engineering in R Macedonia. Back in 1938, the first dam in R Macedonia was built – Matka arch dam. By construction of the dam and the appurtenant structures, at exit of the canyon of river Treska in nearby of the city of Skopje, was created reservoir Matka. By completion of the construction works on the hydropower plant located in the base of the dam, the power use of river Treska commenced. The Matka dam Design was prepared by academician Miladin M. Pecinar (1893-1973), one of the pioneers in the development of contemporary “Hydraulic Engineering” in Yugoslavia. At this occasion, here below a brief overview of the rich biography of academician Pecinar is presented, which by his noble work has indebted in great deal the Civil Engineering profession in R Macedonia.