The predecessor of our department is the IV. Department of Mechanical Engineering headed by Ede Kund. He became an \u201cextraordinary university professor\u201d in 1938, and a year later he also received the title of \u201cpublic ordinary\u201d teacher. According to the 1945\/46 yearbook searched by a colleague of L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Muzsnay, the department then had five lecturers: Alajos Lancsarics, an unpaid assistant professor, Tivadar Kiss, an unpaid teaching assistant, Lajos Puhr, a paid trainee, and Vida Vid, an unpaid trainee. Later, the teaching staff was expanded with seven teaching assistants, including Zolt\u00e1n Mede, Istv\u00e1n Ratsk\u00f3 and J\u00f3zsef Tak\u00e1cs.<\/p>\n
In October 1948, the article of Art\u00far Balogh was published in the \u201cAut\u00f3\u201d magazine, which is the predecessor of today’s \u201cAut\u00f3s\u00e9let\u201d magazine. In this article, he necessitated the start of the \u201cautomotive engineer\u201d training and the establishment of the automotive department. According to an article in December 1949 in the Aut\u00f3, this happened: the IV. Department of Mechanical Engineering, which was led by the retiring Ede Kund, was renamed to Gas Machines and Cars.<\/p>\n
Jurek Aur\u00e9l took over the management of the department as Acting Head of Department, and from September 1950 as a university professor. The teaching staff was supplemented by such well-known people as Gy\u00f6rgy Dezs\u00e9nyi, K\u00e1roly Gampe and S\u00e1ndor Terpl\u00e1n. By the way, this year is also important because it was the first time in Hungary that automotive engineering diplomas were awarded: 16 colleagues received it. The first one was received by Tam\u00e1s Szirtes, and a copy of the degree can be seen in the mini-museum on the ground floor of building J. Some other well-known collegues also got their degree in this year, for example \u00c1goston K\u00f6rmendy, Imre Kabai and Ferenc Sid\u00f3.<\/p>\n
A year later, the Faculty of Military Engineering set up another car themed department, which was led by S\u00e1ndor Bartalomeidesz, an engineering colonel. This was the Department of Armored and Motor Vehicles.<\/p>\n
The two car departments brotherly shared the invited speakers: both \u201ccivilians\u201d and soldiers were taught by such well-known professionals as Alfr\u00e9d Ball\u00f3, B\u00e9la Feledy, K\u00e1roly Jord\u00e1n, Tivadar Kiss, Ern\u0151 Kov\u00e1csh\u00e1zy, P\u00e1l R\u00e9ti and Jen\u0151 T\u00f6m\u00f6sy .<\/p>\n
After four years another car department was established: the agonizing University of Transport Technology in Szolnok was trying to set up a department of motor vehicle structure under the leadership of S\u00e1ndor Terpl\u00e1n. However, this department ceased after one year, because the University of Transport Technology dissoluted. The department was joined to \u00c9KME as the Faculty of Transport Operations. To be more precise, it merged with the Department of Gas and Automotive Engineering in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, which once again became the only automotive department in the country, because the Faculty of Military Engineering was abolished.<\/p>\n
A few years later, the Faculty of Transport Engineering became so strong that in 1961 it was considered timely to set up its own automotive department.<\/p>\n
Zolt\u00e1n L\u00e9vai was commissioned to organize the Department of Motor Vehicles. In 1968, the year following the union of the two technical universities in Budapest, the vehicle engineering training of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering was transferred to the Faculty of Transport Engineering together with its specialist and departments.<\/p>\n
In 1969, the two car department in the faculty, were merged. This partially happened because Professor Jurek was 65 years old at the time.<\/p>\n
The next organizational change happened after ten years. The three vehicle engineering departments (the Department of Aeronautics and Thermal Engineering (later Aircraft and Ships) the Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Railway Vehicles) formed the Institute of Vehicle Engineering.<\/p>\n
This era ended in 1995. The faculty council abolished the Institute, and the departments \u201cregained\u201d their independence.<\/p>\n
By the way, in addition to the ones mentioned earlier, Professor Lajos Ilosvai (1979 – 1986) headed the department of motor vehicles for a while (during the time of Zolt\u00e1n L\u00e9vai’s dean’s office and institute directorate).<\/p>\n
In 1994 when Professor L\u00e9vai became 65 years old, L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Palkovics, who founded the research and development institute of Knorr-Bremse Kft., became the new Head of Department. However, in 2002, due to his long-term employment abroad, he did not request an extension of his term.<\/p>\n
The new Head of Department was G\u00e1bor Melegh, who was also a student of Professor L\u00e9vai, just like L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Palkovics was. G\u00e1bor Melegh was an internationally recognized forensic expert.<\/p>\n
It is not possible to list here all the lecturers who have ever worked in the department, but we remember the names of those who have already left the ranks: G\u00e1bor B\u00e1nhidi, Jen\u0151 Bujtor, K\u00e1lm\u00e1n Dezs\u0151, S\u00e1ndor Gell\u00e9rthegyi, Zsigmond Habuda, L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Hodv\u00f3gner Fauszto, Imreh S\u00e1ndor, S\u00e1ndor Imre, Ternai Zolt\u00e1n, Terpl\u00e1n S\u00e1ndor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The ancestor of the department was the IV-th Department of Mechanical Engineering. According to the 1945\/46 yearbook searched by a colleague L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Muzsnay, the department then had only five lecturers. An article by Art\u00far Balogh was published in the October 1948 issue of today’s Car, the forerunner of today’s Aut\u00f3s\u00e9let, in which he demanded the start of the “car engineer” training and the establishment of the car department. The result of this was published a year later in the December 1949 issue of The Car.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":934,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-of-the-department","tag-history"],"yoast_head":"\n