Petre Jitariu (1905-1989, Iaşi) – physiologist, university professor, founder of the Romanian School of Biomagnetism.

He attended primary school in his home village and secondary and high school at Nicu Gane High School, Fălticeni, taking his Baccalaureate diploma in 1924. In 1929 he graduated from the Faculty of Sciences, Natural Sciences Department, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi. In 1930 he began his teaching career, as a teacher assistant at the Department of General and Comparative Physiology of the same faculty. In 1938 he defended his doctoral thesis in Natural Sciences at the University of Iaşi, with a theme on  the physiology of the liver. Between 1938 and 1939 he perfected his specialization in Animal Physiology at the University of Göttingen (Germany) under the supervision of the famous physiologists H. Rein, E. Lehnartz and R. Pohl. In 1947 he became professor at the Department of Animal Physiology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi, delivering lectures on Comparative and Ecological Animal Physiology until 1975, when he became a consulting professor.

Simultaneously with his teaching activity he was involved in the activity of organizing and coordinating biology education and scientific research. Thus he was Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences – Geography (1954-1967). In this period, due to his effort, several initiatives became reality: the faculty was relocated, the new Botanical Garden of Iaşi, Stejarul Biological, Geological and Geographical Research Station in Pângăraţi-Neamt (1956) and Biological Research Center Iasi (1968) were founded. Between 1968-1977, he was the director of the Biological Research Center Iasi, currently named The Biological Research Institute Iaşi.

In these institutes he founded a famous school of Animal Physiology, with numerous partners, opening new research directions in fields such as Biomagnetism, Environmental Physiology, Aquatic Animal Physiology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomembranology, Biophysics.

He brought valuable scientific contributions, publishing over 135 works in Romania and abroad. Together with his colleagues he was patented many invention and innovations.

He was elected member of the Romanian Academy (1974), previously being secretary of the Iasi Branch and then its president (1974-1989). He was also member of many scientific societies in Romania and abroad, being awarded many honorary titles, diplomas, medals and awards. He continued his activity until his death, on 30th June 1989.