In memoriam dr. Antal Lovas (1938–2026)
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Dr. Antal Lovas, Professor Emeritus of our Department, who died in the early hours of 6 January 2026 after a long illness borne with great patience and dignity. With his death, the Department of Automotive Technologies has lost not only an outstanding scientist and educator, but also a defining personality whose professional and human legacy shaped generations of colleagues and students.
Dr. Lovas was born on 14 August 1938 in Cegléd, Hungary. He graduated as a chemist in 1967 from Eötvös Loránd University and subsequently spent nearly three decades at the Research Institute for Solid State Physics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, where he worked as a research fellow, senior scientist, and group leader. His scientific career was closely associated with the research of non-equilibrium metallic materials, alloy development, and rapid solidification technologies. He played a pioneering role in introducing melt spinning and planar flow casting in Hungary, an achievement that was recognized with the Jánossy Prize in 1979. His research activities resulted in the preparation of several thousand samples and in an extensive body of publications that laid the foundation for numerous PhD and doctoral theses in Hungary and across Central Europe.
From 1993 onwards, Dr. Lovas was closely connected to the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, where he contributed continuously to engineering education, first as a lecturer and later as an associate professor. At the Department of Automotive Technologies, he remained an active and committed member of the academic community until his emeritus years and beyond. His teaching focused primarily on materials science and structural materials, always combining solid theoretical foundations with a strong sense of practical relevance. As a supervisor, he guided eleven doctoral students to successful completion and supported many diploma theses and student research projects, consistently emphasizing that scientific excellence must be accompanied by personal attention, responsibility, and trust.
His professional standing was reinforced by an extensive international network. He maintained close cooperation with several institutions, including the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Technical University of Košice, and served on international advisory and scientific committees for many years. As an invited lecturer, he regularly participated in international workshops and conferences. Importantly, he actively involved students and young researchers in these international collaborations, opening doors for them and helping them gain confidence and visibility in the global scientific community.
Beyond his impressive academic achievements, Dr. Lovas will be remembered above all for his personality. For younger colleagues and students, he was simply “Tóni bácsi” — a mentor who understood the art of scientific leadership exceptionally well. He created a friendly, supportive atmosphere around himself, where humour, mutual teasing, and shared laughter naturally coexisted with high professional standards and intellectual rigor. He knew when to guide, when to challenge, and when to step back and allow young researchers to find their own path.
Dr. Antal Lovas’s life and work became an integral part of the identity of our Department. His legacy lives on not only in his publications and former students, but also in the human and intellectual community he helped build over more than three decades. His absence is deeply felt, yet his example will continue to inspire us.
We remember him with profound respect and gratitude.
