On 19 May this year, the beautiful auditorium of the Budapest-Fasor Lutheran Secondary School hosted the renewal General Assembly of the Hungarian Chemical Society (HCS). Lívia Érfalvy, Deputy Director, welcomed the Meeting of Delegates, emphasizing the unity of education and academic life in the institution and commemorating the famous mathematician János Neumann, a former student of the school, who was born 120 years ago. The official program was opened by the outgoing President of HCS, Livia Simon Sarkadi, who expressed her warm thanks to the Society’s Executive Board, Secretariat, and members for their cooperation during her three terms. As an interesting point, Livia Simon Sarkadi mentioned that her election took place in the International Year of Chemistry, her first re-election in the Year of Light, and her second re-election in the International Year of the Periodic Table. The Assembly of Delegates voted for her to be given the title of Honorary President. Péter Szalay, Professor at Eötvös Loránd University, was elected as the new President. He mentioned the representation of the chemical community at the national and international level, improving the image of chemistry, and playing a role in the education of the next generation as the most important tasks. Tamás László Mika, Professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE), has been re-elected as the Secretary General.
For the first time, the Organic- and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Division of HCS, reorganized in 2021, held its one-day workshop on 30 June at Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE) as a satellite event of the 150th anniversary celebration series of the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. After a plenary lecture on the current state of the pharmaceutical industry, MSc and PhD students presented their latest results on organic and medicinal chemistry topics. The speakers deemed the best received valuable prizes.
In 2011, the International Year of Chemistry, the HCS launched its new conference series in Sopron under the name “HCS National Conference”, which became the largest joint meeting of Hungarian chemists. The aim of the conference, organized every four years, is to present and discuss their diverse professional knowledge in the fields of research, industrial practice and education. The 4th National Conference was held in Eger this year on 10-12 July, under the motto “Innovation – from basic research to implementation”. In addition to plenary lectures, numerous oral and poster presentations were delivered covering all areas of chemistry.
