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The Chemical Educator
ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)
Abstract Volume 22
(2017) pp 205-207
Mihály T. Beck (1929–2017): an Obituary-Tribute
George B. Kauffman* and Laurie M. Kauffman
Department of Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740-8034, georgek@mail.fresnostate.edu
Published: 28 Devember 2017
Abstract. Mihály
T. Beck died on July 31, 2017 at the age of 87. He was born on November 14,
1929 in the village of Szőreg, today part of the town of Szeged. He began
his research in the field of reaction kinetics and coordination chemistry from
the Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Szeged in
1957. He
began his research at the Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry and became a Full Professor there in 1965. In 1965 he received the honorary title
of Professor at the Attila József Attila University in Szeged. He
was invited to head the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Lajos Kossuth
University in Debrecen in 1968, which began his long tenure of 22 years. In
1973 he became a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His publication
list included almost 500 items. About half of these are original research
articles, including five papers published in the widely respected international
journal Nature. He was named as a co-inventor on 23 patents, the most
significant being “Suntest,” a simple device for measuring the intensity of
sunlight, which was commercialized in Hungary during the 1990s. The remaining
publications reflect his second full career - that of a prolific popular
science writer and self-taught science historian. Humor in Science, his
last book was published in 2010 and gave vivid testament to the fact that his
intellect never grew old.
Key Words: Chemistry and History; Coordination Chemistry; Inorganic Chemistry; Analytical Chemistry; Physical Chemistry; Popular Science Writing; Inventions; Science History; Humor in Science; Sunlight Intensity; Microwaves; Fullerenes; Chemical Evolution; Nitrogen Oxides; Environment; History and Philosophy of Science; Pseudosciences
(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: georgek@mail.fresnostate.edu)
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