“Continue to be passionate about the university’s growth and performance”

Honorary citizen, honorary doctor, ”Professor of Industry” and ”John von Neumann” Professorial titles awarded by BME's strategic decision-making body.

„Senatus universitatis!” This was the call of the university's sceptre-bearer, signalling the start of the Senate's special open session. He led Member of the Hungarian Academy and BME's Rector János Józsa and chancellor Attila Kotán onto the dais in the assembly hall to take their seats at the Senate table, adorned with flowers. Between them was seated Archduke Georg von Habsburg, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, to their right Deputy Dean of Scientific and International Affairs János Levendovszky, Dean of BME's Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (VBK) József Nagy, Dean of BME's Faculty of Architecture (ÉPK) György Alföldi, Member of the Hungarian Academy and Dean of BME's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (GPK) Tibor Czigány, Member of the Hungarian Academy and Dean of BME's Faculty of Civil Engineering (ÉMK) László Dunai, to their left Vice-Rector for International Affairs Balázs Vince Nagy, Vice-Rector for Education Károly Veszprémi, Deputy Dean of Scientific and International Affairs at BME's Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (VIK) József Bíró, Dean of BME's Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering (KJK) István Varga, Dean of BME's Faculty of Natural Sciences (TTK) Miklós Horváth, Dean of BME's Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences (GTK) Tamás Koltai and Member of the Hungarian Academy and Chairman of the Habilitation Committee and Doctoral Council of the University Péter Huszthy. They all wore ceremonial robes, their chains of office and white gloves. President of the Students' Union Tibor Endre R. Nagy also joined them at the ceremonial table.

Rector János Józsa opened the special senate session after Hungary's national anthem and the song „Gaudeamus igitur” were sung by the university's choir. The Rector extended a special welcome to ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary Archduke Georg von Habsburg, retired associate professor Antal Molnár and conductor Dániel Erdélyi, BME's new Honorary Citizens, as well as Nobel laureate professor emeritus Dan Shechtman, recipient of the ”John von Neumann” Professorial title. He also welcomed professor emeritus David Arthur Nethercot, professors Manfred Kaltenbacher, Donatella Fiorani and Andrea Bondavalli on the occasion of receiving their Honorary Professorial titles, György Falk on being awarded the ”Industry Professor” title and all the students earning their PhD and DLA degrees. Another special welcome was extended to György Beck, Chairman of the John von Neumann Computer Society, to lecturers, academic staff and habilitated researchers receiving the Archduke Joseph Medallion, to the recipients of the Sztoczek József Medallion and the „Pro Juventute Universitatis” award, as well as all the lecturers awarded the ”BME's Distinguished University Lecturer” title.

According to the institution's traditions, the first item on the special session's agenda was the conferment of the ”BME's Honorary Citizen” titles. ”This year the Senate voted to award two such titles”, János Józsa told the audience. This title may be given by the Senate to natural persons, whose contributions, activities and conduct in support of BME's interests helped to improve the university's educational and research activities to a great degree, helped to raise its standing in the international academic community and are not employed by it as public servants.

At the proposal of Rector János Józsa, the ”BME's Honorary Citizen” title was awarded by the Senate to organist Dániel Erdélyi, conductor of BME's Symphonic Orchestra.

Dániel Erdélyi is choir master assistant and conductor at the Hungarian State Opera and also the artistic director of BME's 123-year-old Symphonic Orchestra. He works hard at raising the standard of the orchestra's artistic performances, preserving its traditions and promoting musical culture among the university's students. In the Rector's words, the ”BME's Honorary Citizen” title is awarded in recognition of his devotion as a conductor and his professionalism, which is on a par with that of his predecessors.

”I set out to nurture the existing community of BME's Orchestra through beautiful, quality music and to make sure that the 2-3 concerts we play per year are thoroughly enjoyed not only by the audience, but also by the members of this community. I feel that I have succeeded”, he confessed. The conductor, who has been in charge of the orchestra since 2015, added that he was pleased to see the university's dignitaries at their concerts. He thanked the members of the orchestra for their hard work, without which being awarded the ”Honorary Citizen” title would not have been possible. He added: ”be proud of this university, just as we are proud of our host institution!” He then invited everyone to the orchestra's next concert, to be held on 31 May 2019, when they will be performing ceremonial pieces and film scores. (bme.hu plans to report on the concert, held at the hall of BME's Central building – Editor's note.)

The University's Orchestra responded to the kind words of their conductor with a special surprise performance.

At the proposal of György Alföldi, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, the ”BME's Honorary Citizen” title was awarded by the Senate to retired associate professor Antal Molnár.

Antal Molnár was born in 1931. He graduated as an architect in 1953 at BME's Faculty of Architecture. He was a full-time lecturer at the Department of Industrial and Agricultural Building Design until 1996, after which he worked there as a part-time professor until 2001, then as a visiting professor. ”Mr Professor” and ”Tony Molnár's table” has been there for 66 years, becoming legendary by now. During his career hundreds of diploma theses and complex designs as well as thousands of industrial and agricultural building designs were completed with his guidance as thesis advisor. There are Ybl and Kossuth Prize winner architects among his former students. We believe that Antal Molnár's commitment, work ethic and loyalty towards the university, the faculty and the department are excellent; his knowledge and professional competence are exemplary, said György Alföldi.

”I always felt passionate about teaching at this university”, stressed Antal Molnár in his acceptance speech, recalling a key moment in his life, when in August 1949 he stepped into the assembly hall of the Central Building, which was designed by Alajos Hauszman and is still considered a modern building; one month later he started his studies at the Faculty of Architecture, where he graduated in 1953 and then worked as a lecturer for many decades. He talked about his insistence on coordinating the faculty's academic programmes in arts and technology, adding that he hopes that after celebrating 65 years since graduating, he will be around to commemorate the 70th anniversary.

”It has been our pleasure to present the ”Honorary Citizen”' titles to you, said Rector János Józsa addressing the awardees.

The second item on the special session's agenda was the conferment of the Honorary Doctor and Honorary Master titles in the form of diplomas bearing the university's seal and signatures, awarded to scholars who have gained international recognition in disciplines taught at BME and in addition to their outstanding individual scientific achievements have also contributed to raising the university's esteem locally and globally by participating in its academic programmes and scientific projects. This time four distinguished experts receive this honour, explained the member of the academy.

”David Arthur Nethercot is former Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London and former Deputy Principal (Teaching) of the Engineering Faculty. He has more than forty years' experience of academic, research, specialised advisory work and committee activity in the area of steel, aluminium and composite constructions. The professor has had scientific and academic connections with the former Department of Steel Structures at BME's Faculty of Civil Engineering and the current Department of Structural Engineering since 1986: he was involved in the launch of the English-language programme, participated in the faculty's PhD activities as an expert consultant and reviewer and has been working with us continuously on international scientific and standardisation projects. Based on these, the Faculty of Civil Engineering proposes the conferment of the ”BME's Honorary Doctor” title upon Professor Nethercot”, explained László Dunai.

”Respecting history and traditions has always been valued in the United Kingdom. I would not have thought at the start of my 50-year career that one day I would receive such an honour: to be awarded the Honorary Doctor title by one of the oldest technical universities in the world”, said David Arthur Nethercot in his acceptance speech. The professor continued that some of the PhD students sitting in the audience today would probably stand here on the podium in 50 years' time just like him, earning this esteemed recognition.

At the proposal of Tibor Czigány, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Honorary Doctor title was awarded to professor Manfred Kaltenbacher in recognition of his achievements in the field of mechanical engineering, which are outstanding also at an international level.

„Manfred Kaltenbacher is a professor at the Institute of Mechanics and Mechatronics of Vienna University of Technology and a leading figure in aeroacoustics simulation techniques. His scientific activities are wide-ranging: he has solved a number of problems within the industry by combining experimental and numerical techniques. Professor Kaltenbacher is a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and to date he has supervised 21 doctoral students who successfully earned their PhD degrees. The number of independent citations of him is close to 3000. Manfred Kaltenbacher maintains successful relations with several of BME's departments. These have led to joint publications, many BME students prepared their thesis designs under his guidance and he often held full courses for master's students of mechanical engineering at BME. He was involved in student and lecturer exchange visits within the framework of joint projects and acted as PhD thesis reviewer or PhD defence committee member in several cases.

Manfred Kaltenbacher expressed his gratitude at being awarded the Honorary Doctor title, then talked about the cornerstones of the cooperation between the Institute of Mechanics and Mechatronics of Vienna University of Technology and Budapest University of Technology and Economics: ”our joint efforts are not only noteworthy in terms of our scientific work, but also in terms of student exchange, for example within the Erasmus+ programme. We conduct important research in aeroacoustics, which focuses not only on reducing noise pollution while maintaining the efficiency of various pieces of specialised equipment, but also exploring the potential application of this area of science in the field of medicine”.

At the proposal of György Alföldi, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, the Honorary Doctor title was awarded to professor Donatella Fiorani in recognition of her achievements in the field of architecture, which are outstanding also at an international level.

”Donatella Fiorani is a key figure in the architecture restoration academic programme of Sapienza University of Rome, as well as the conservation of architectural heritage in Italy and Europe. She was the president of the Italian Society for Architectural Conservation between 2013 and 2016. Her outstanding achievements as a lecturer and a researcher include publications in the fields of restoration research methodology and theory, as well as building research, which have been acknowledged internationally. We are awarding the Honorary Doctor title to Professor Fiorani in recognition of her European-standard research and academic efforts in the protection of our built cultural heritage, her commitment to restoration research at BME's Faculty of Architecture, her involvement in talent management and her generous professional support”, stressed György Alföldi.

”Receiving the Honorary Doctor title is an important recognition for me also as a woman, because it may inspire many female students, who start out with plenty of enthusiasm, but find that their motivation vanishes soon after beginning their careers. They need motivation, because they are still underrepresented in many areas of science”, said Donatella Fiorani, emphasising that Europe's architectural heritage needs to be preserved even at times when the pressures of tourism seem to be working against it. ”We have to realise the importance and role of our past in today's culture”, the professor stated.

At the proposal of Lászkó Jakab, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, the Honorary Doctor title was awarded to professor Andrea Bondavalli in recognition of his achievements in the field of computing, which are outstanding also at an international level.

”Andrea Bondavalli is a professor at the University of Firenze. He is an internationally renowned expert and researcher in critical cyber-physical systems within the area of resilient computing. He has had over 20 years of close relations with BME's experts, being involved in several joint EU and bilateral research projects, and highly-acclaimed publications. He also took part in nurturing the next generation of BME's scientists and lecturers”, explained József Bíró, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics in the absence of László Jakab.

Andrea Bondavalli revealed in his acceptance speech that he has had close ties with Budapest and the university for decades, but several important events in his life are also connected to the city. ”This is the greatest honour I could have ever received from the university”, he remarked.

As the third item on the special session's agenda the ”John von Neumann” Professor title was awarded to Dan Shechtman, Professor Emeritus at Technion - Israel Institute of Technology at the proposal of György Beck, Chairman of the John von Neumann Computer Society.

This prestigious title is awarded jointly by BME and the John von Neumann Computer Society to an internationally well-known and acknowledged professor of a Hungarian or foreign university whose field of expertise and activities are related to the scientific achievements of John von Neumann and whose activities are connected to BME. The award was presented jointly by the Rector and György Beck, Chairman of the John von Neumann Computer Society.

”Professor Dan Shechtman was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of quasicrystals. His achievements, which were only acknowledged by the scientific community after a considerable length of time, brought about a paradigm shift in materials science research, as a result of which the International Union of Crystallography (IUC) changed its definition of a crystal. Dan Shechtman graduated from Technion, where he received his PhD in 1972. Apart from Technion, he also conducted his research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Iowa State University in the USA. He started his research on quasicrystals in the 1980s. In 2011 he was the only scientist awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which is considered an outstanding recognition among Nobel laureates. In addition to his highly-esteemed scientific achievements, his research methodology and commitment to problem-solving are also exemplary. His work has been very inspirational to Hungarian science”, said György Beck about the world-famous scientist.

”Science has no boundaries, so cooperation is essential”, reasoned Dan Shechtman, underlining the importance of joint projects at research institutions, adding that it was a great honour to be awarded the professorial title named after John von Neumann. The Nobel laureate talked about his scientific achievements briefly, after which he added how proud he was of his wife, who also attended the event, as well as his children and grandchildren. He gave his advice to the young people in the audience: ”now, after you have chosen your field of research, try to be experts in it!”

The fourth item on the special session's agenda was the conferment of the ”Industry Professor” title. ”This year the Senate voted to award one such title”, the Rector told the audience. The ”'Industry Professor” title is awarded to the best expert practitioners who participate in the university's academic programmes, have a university degree and have been awarded the Kossuth, Széchenyi or Gábor Dénes Prize in recognition of their outstanding professional achievements. At the proposal of Tibor Czigány, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the ”Industry Professor” title was awarded to mechanical engineer György Falk. The award was presented by Rector János Józsa.

György Falk is a certified mechanical engineer and Chairman of the Board at VARINEX Zrt, who was the first in Hungary to start rapid prototyping or, as it is known nowadays, 3D printing. He won financing for several joint research projects with BME and also donated machinery and materials to the department. György Falk is BME's honorary associate professor, who played a key role in introducing the academic programme in rapid prototyping/rapid tooling in Hungary. He regularly holds lectures and seminars, invited hundreds of students to participate in internships and helped students entering TDK (Students' Scientific Association) competitions, as well as those writing their thesis or getting their degrees by printing their designs. He is the recipient of several innovation awards, including the 2000 OM (Ministry of Education) Innovation Award, the 2002 Kármán Tódor Award, the 2004 and 2008 Industria Grand Prize and the 2017 Gábor Dénes Prize, explained Dean Tibor Czigány.

”I always felt supported here at Budapest University of Technology and Economics to be able to work in the field of 3D printing under the best conditions. We still have a lot to do, so I hope that I can continue my collaboration with such excellent colleagues at the university”, György Falk said, adding that this new technology is rapidly gaining ground in aero-structure manufacturing and other areas.

On behalf of the Senate, Rector János Józsa congratulated BME's new honorary doctors, ”John von Neumann” Professor and Industry Professor, asking them to hold these titles, awarded by the university, with pride.

As the fifth item on the special session's agenda, the most prestigious award of Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the Archduke Joseph Medallion was presented. This year the Senate acknowledged the achievements of five candidates with the medallion. The Archduke Joseph Medallion is awarded by the Senate in recognition of academic and scientific excellence, efforts aimed at strengthening the university's reputation and outstanding achievements in leadership, management, operations or other areas, contributing to BME's growth. The awards were presented by Rector János Józsa and ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary Archduke Georg von Habsburg to:

Imre István Bojtár, university professor of the Department of Structural Mechanics at the Faculty of Civil Engineering (at the proposal of László Dunai, Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering)

Péter Láng, university professor of the Department of Building Service and Process Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (at the proposal of Tibor Czigány, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering)

László Nyulászi, university professor and Head of the Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (at the proposal of József Nagy, Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology)

József Rohács, university professor of the Department of Aeronautics, Naval Architecture and Railway Vehicles at the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering (at the proposal of István Varga, Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering)

Beáta Koleszár Flamich, Head of the Finance and Accounting Directorate (at the proposal of Chancellor Attila Kotán)

Imre Bojtár is an internationally renowned, inspirational lecturer and researcher, active in educational development and scientific management both at BME and nationwide. He was head of BME's Scientific Directorate and secretary of the Alliance of Budapest Universities for 10 years. BME OMIKK was established under his leadership by the fusion of BME's Library and the National Technical Library. He was in charge of founding the university's Biomechanics Research Centre, involving 18 departments, of which he was director for the first five years. Many TDK competition entries were compiled, and 7 doctoral students obtained their PhD degrees, in his research centre. He is awarded the Archduke Joseph Medallion in recognition of his extensive work for BME (based on the official laudation) Péter Láng is the professor of the Department of Building Service and Process Engineering, Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, recipient of the Gruber Award and the Szent-Györgyi Albert Award. He is an internationally recognised scientist, who was guest professor and researcher at several prominent foreign institutions, such as Imperial College London and the Technical University of Berlin. His specialist area within chemical engineering is material transfer operations. He has received numerous assignments from the industry, he is the author of many impact factor (Q1) articles and his name is referenced in many WoS citations. Professor Láng has been an inspirational scientist and academic at BME for over 45 years. He teaches and educates the future generations of engineers in Hungarian, English and French. 6 doctoral students have obtained their PhD degrees under his guidance. (based on the official laudation) László Nyulászi started teaching at BME in 1981. He is Head of the Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Head of the HAS BME Materials Structure and Modelling Research Group, the HAS BME Computational Chemistry Research Group and the George Oláh Doctoral School. He was deputy dean for research at the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology for four years. He is awarded in recognition of his successful leadership of the George Oláh Doctoral School's academic operations and his outstanding achievements in scientific research and the education of researchers. (based on the official laudation) During his career as a university professor, spanning several decades, József Rohács performed his duties to a high standard, furthering the interests of BME and the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering and becoming an internationally recognised scientist. He taught hundreds of students and played an important part in relaunching the aeronautical engineering programme. He participated in developing the faculty's academic programmes and launching the pilot training. He is a member of prestigious international organisations, thus also strengthening BME's reputation. He is awarded the Archduke Joseph Medallion in recognition of his professional achievements. (based on the official laudation) Beáta Koleszár Flamich, Head of the Finance and Accounting Directorate at BME's Chancellery has been working at the university since December 2008. During the past 10 years she became a key figure of the university's financial operations. BME's leadership could count on her knowledge, expertise and loyalty at all times. She always kept the university's interests in mind when performing her financial and operative duties, continuing to support the work of its organisational units. The knowledge she shared with her colleagues, her professionalism and expertise, as well as her legacy laid the foundations, upon which we can safely rely after her retirement. (based on the official laudation)

”It has been a great pleasure to present these prizes and awards on behalf of the Senate. Your laudation detailed all the achievements which earned you the appreciation of this university. I trust that you continue to be passionate about the growth and performance of Budapest University of Technology and Economics”, stressed the Rector, wishing all the best to the awardees.

The sixth item on the special session's agenda was the conferment of the Sztoczek József Medallion. This is awarded by the Senate to university staff members in recognition of their outstanding commitment to BME in management, financial operations, operative duties, development or other areas related to the university. The awards were presented by Rector János Józsa.

This year five people were recognised with the award:

Hajnalka Bada is a business management administrator at the Department of Highway and Railway Engineering of the Faculty of Civil Engineering. Apart from performing her duties at the department, she also actively contributes to the fast and accurate performance of management tasks at several other departments of the faculty and the Dean's Office. She receives this award in recognition of her enthusiasm and readiness to help others.

Éva Kiss Schlosser, counsellor of the Department of Hydrodynamic Systems at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. She receives this award in recognition of performing her management and HR administration duties thoroughly and to a high standard.

György Bosznai has been working as a technician at the Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science of the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology since 1977. He has been actively involved in the academic and research activities of the Surface Chemistry Group, helping students in their research with commitment and creativity. His work ethic and openness are exemplary for young people. His colleagues and the students can always count on his willingness to help and his positive attitude.

Ágnes Gyöngyösi Oravecz, management administrator of the Central Office of Studies has been performing her duties here as student affairs administrator for the past 15 years and prior to that in the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering with precision, professionalism and commitment. She receives the award in recognition of her exemplary behaviour and patience in helping students, teaching new colleagues and working together with other staff members.

Mrs Zoltán Mahó, head of administration at the Department of Networked Systems and Services of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, performs her duties with commitment and to a high standard. Her ability to work independently takes a considerable load off the department's management. She has a sound professional knowledge, enabling her to perform all aspects (educational development, finances) of the secretariat's tasks, and she is the heart of the community (to be presented at a later date).

As the seventh item on the special session's agenda, Rector János Józsa and President of the Students' Union Tibor Endre R. Nagy presented the Pro Juventute Universitatis awards.

This award is conferred by the Senate on the recommendation of the Students' Union upon people who have excelled in representing the interests of the students for a considerable length of time.

This year two people received the award:

Gábor Buza, retired associate professor and honorary university professor of the Department of Automotive Technologies at the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering. Thanks to him, the students and academic staff of the faculty have been preserving the Selmec (Banská Štiavnica) traditions since 1999, which greatly contributes to strengthening the students' community spirit, establishing inspirational community values and deepening the spirit of fellowship between the professors and their students. His values as a caring person are indisputable. Apart from passing on professional knowledge, one of his primary aspirations is to prepare his students to stand their ground in real life.

 

Gábor Tevesz, associate professor of the Department of Automation and Applied Informatics at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics. In his career at the university he excelled in all areas to serve his students. He was Vice-Dean for Education for over a decade, during which he was known for his student-friendly attitude. He shaped the faculty's academic programmes so that they could meet the requirements of students and the industry as well as possible. As president of BME's Equal Opportunities Committee, he helped students with special needs at a university level to overcome their difficulties and pursue their studies with the same opportunities as their peers.

As the eighth item on the special session's agenda, the ”BME's Distinguished University Lecturer” award was presented on the recommendation of the Students' Union to lecturers and professors who had been evaluated by at least 100 students attending their courses and were ranked in the top 5 overall. In 2019 seven lecturers, active in the past two semesters, received the award from Rector János Józsa and President of the Students' Union Tibor Endre R. Nagy.

Szabolcs Berezvai, department engineer of the Department of Applied Mechanics at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering;

Gábor Buza, retired associate professor and honorary university professor of the Department of Automotive Technologies at the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering;

Rita Csőke, former lecturer of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences;

Péter Ekler, associate professor of the Department of Automation and Applied Informatics at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics;

Attila Kossa, associate professor of the Department of Applied Mechanics at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering;

Attila Nagy, Dr. habil., Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, associate professor of the Department of Algebra of the Institute of Mathematics at the Faculty of Natural Sciences;

József Attila Kupai, senior lecturer of the Department of Organic Chemistry and Technology at the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology.

As the ninth item on the special session's agenda, habilitation certificates were awarded to 1 person each in electrical engineering, mathematics and computer science, management and business administration, and engineering by Rector János Józsa and Deputy Chairman of BME's Habilitation Committee, professor Péter Huszty.

Pursuant to Act LXXX of 1993 on Higher Education, universities may award the title of Dr.habil. to those with a proven track record of successful scientific, creative and publishing activities and a high standard of teaching skills. This certificate entitles its holder to give university lectures in their respective disciplines.

”Dr.habil.” certificates were presented to:

László Á. Kóczy (Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences), for his research in the theory and practical applications of coalitional cooperative games within game theory;

Kornél Májlinger (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering), for his research in the tribological characteristics of metal matrix syntactic foams and high strength steels;

Gábor Battistig (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics), for the development of microelectronics technologies and his achievements in the development and device integration of metal and semiconductor nanostructures (to be presented at a later date);

Ákos G. Horváth (Faculty of Natural Sciences), for his research in non-Euclidean geometries, Minkowski and Lorentz spaces, and his theoretical work in convex geometry and the geometry of lattices (to be presented at a later date).

”Make the most of your acquired knowledge and your outstanding teaching skills to nurture the new generations of engineers for the good of our country and mankind as a whole. I wish you all the best: success, good health, perseverance and good luck in your endeavours”, Rector János Józsa added.

„Domine Magnifice Rector, Domini Spectabiles Decani, Distinguished members of the Senate, We have completed our doctoral programmes and met all the requirements stipulated by the university's Code of Doctoral Studies for acquiring PhD or DLA degrees. Hereby we ask to be awarded doctoral titles by the university”, said Bernát Wiandt, computer science engineer conveying the request of his fellow PhD students as the tenth item of the special session.

The Doctoral Schools awarded PhD and DLA degrees to 10 candidates in civil engineering, 2 in earth sciences, 16 in mechanical engineering, 4 in architecture, 10 in creative architecture, 6 in biochemical, environmental and chemical engineering, 17 in chemistry, 10 in information technology, 13 in electrical engineering, 3 in transportation and vehicle engineering, 10 in physics, 2 in psychology, 1 in management and business administration and 1 in philosophy.

The candidates took their oaths, after which János Józsa congratulated them, adding that ”in their future careers and studies they must strive to acquire as much knowledge as possible in their respective fields and be true to their oaths to fulfil their duties for the good of society and our country”.

After all the items of the agenda had been completed, the university's choir sang in celebration of the award-winners and the new doctors. The Senate's meeting concluded by singing the Szózat (Appeal), after which the members of the Senate left the hall to the tune of „Vivat academia, vivant professores!”.

Photographs of the award presentations can be accessed in BME's Photo Archives .

– GI –
Photo: János Philip