Hungarian Science Day: the responsibility of clarity

Scientific advice in the service of society - this is the motto of this year's Hungarian Science Celebration of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS). János Abonyi, Rector of the University of Pannonia, said at the ceremony held at the University of Pannonia on Thursday that this motto symbolises the effort to raise awareness of the importance of science serving the common good and the advisory role of science practitioners in a world of crises.

Credible researcher, personal example

Citing the utopian vision of the Nobel Prize-winning German writer Herman Hesse in The Glass Bead Game, the Rector said: 'Keeping all sources of knowledge clean and seeing clearly is a huge responsibility. In other words, as the writer puts it, referring to the knowledge community of the Castalas, "In commerce, politics and everywhere else, achievement and genius may occasionally make people look like fools, but never here". This is why János Abonyi says it is reassuring that a public opinion poll shows the MTA to be the most credible institution in our country. "At the University of Pannonia, we have known for 75 years that society's trust is our greatest treasure, and we must preserve it," he said. He added: "As the crisis around us intensifies, we must become not only credible researchers and advisors, but increasingly also educators and educators who serve as personal role models." He said that while everything is changing and crises are ahead, "we all want to and can believe in the eternity of science."

Greedy Sapiens Sapiens - the cause of another extinction event?

András Gelencsér, President of the Academic Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Veszprém, was sharply pointed in his statement, according to which humanity is fleeing from a series of interconnected crises into a virtual reality, stretched by illusions, economy, politics and media, with the uncompromising assistance of science. "In today's modern society, humanity, intoxicated with well-being, has driven science out of its ivory tower and into the yoke of utilitarian innovation. In this way, science has essentially lost its intellectual autonomy, it has been marginalised as a factor in shaping society and has become a servant of economic and political life. Yet science is the only social subsystem in which globalisation has been operating successfully for centuries: the laws of nature are universal," he said. The President said that if our modern world continues in this way, the scientists of the future will only have to document another extinction event on Earth, of which "Greedy Sapiens Sapiens" is both the cause and the victim.

According to Vanda Lamm, Vice-President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the tradition is "not about keeping the ashes, but about passing on the flame." She pointed out that almost two hundred years ago, on 3 November 1825, Count István Széchenyi donated one year's income from his estates to the Hungarian Scientific Society, the Academy, and that Hungarian science has been officially celebrated since 2003. In his opinion, science fulfils its role when it contributes to solving the most serious problems of the time.

At the Science Day celebrations, Dr Barna Hanula, habilitated associate professor at Széchenyi István University in Győr, gave an interesting lecture entitled "How can green energy be sustainable?"

Polinszky Prize and Researchers of the Year

In 2001, the Municipality of Veszprém established the "Polinszky Prize" in recognition of the work of persons who have made outstanding contributions to the technical, scientific and economic fields in Veszprém. This year, the prize was awarded to Dr. Bálint Heil, professor and former rector of the University of Pannonia (1981-1989), by Mayor Gyula Porga.

The Academic Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Veszprém has awarded the "Researcher of the Year Award" in recognition of the outstanding work of mid-career researchers under 45 years of age who are engaged in scientific research in the region. Veronika Barta, certified astronomer; Tamás Attila Hajnáczky, sociologist, romologist; Gábor László Seress, biologist, ecologist, senior research fellow of the Behavioural Ecology Research Group of the University of Pannonia.

The Senate awarded the TDK Teaching Prize to Dr. Szilviát Bátyi, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Humanities, and the title of Professor Emeritus to Dr. Ferenc Vonderviszt, retired Professor of the Faculty of Computer Engineering (MIK). The Habilitation Committee of our University has awarded the Habilitated Doctorate to Dr. László Czúni (MIK) and Dr. Lőrincz Márton.

The ceremony also included the inauguration of the doctoral candidates, the awarding of the Pannon Start Scholarship for the most outstanding first-year students and the National Scholarship for Higher Education.

The Board of Trustees of the "Foundationfor Chemists of Veszprém" announced a scholarship competition for full-time students of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Pannonia, who have achieved good academic results in the academic year 2023/2024 and who are engaged in technical and scientific activities beyond the curricular requirements.

This year, the prize was awarded to Dorottya Bishof - Weisz, Ferenc Gulyás and Nándor Orosz by Gábor Polinszky, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.