.  László Rácz 

HUNGARIAN JOURNAL OF 
  INDUSTRY AND CHEMISTRY 

Vol. 45(1) Editorial preface 

hjic.mk.uni-pannon.hu  

DOI: 10.1515/hjic-2017-0021 

IN MEMORIAM JÁNOS LISZI 

This issue is dedicated to Professor János Liszi who was the Rector of the 
University of Veszprém in 1989-1995. The University acquired this name 
during his term in an era of severe political and economic challenges 
(today: University of Pannonia). Under his leadership the University took 
on these challenges and has been modernized to become an institution with 
a wider scope. He was the head of the Department of Physical Chemistry 
for many years. The Department was also reshaped during this period.  

His early death was unexpected and mourned. 

He influenced the life of many and left his mark on his Alma Mater in 
Veszprém, but he also had an impact on other institutions as the 
commemoration of László Rácz below indicates. László Rácz was the Head 
of the Chemistry Department in Eger when Professor Liszi joined to teach 
Physical Chemistry there. 

It was an honor to organize and edit this issue to salute my respected 
supervisor. 

Veszprém, 10 October 2017.  Dezső Boda 
 Issue Editor  

THE EGER-CONNECTION OF PROFESSOR LISZI 

He was a tough and righteous man towards himself just as towards his colleagues in Veszprém. I can say that the 
same was true regarding his relationship with the colleagues and students of the Chemistry Department at the 
Eszterházy Károly College in Eger. That is why we got to like him so much. 

When a position for teaching Physical Chemistry became available in our Department, it was not easy to find the 
right person to fill the boots left by an excellent colleague who had held this position for 30 years. According to the 
urgent need to yield the proper knowledge to our students, our director indicated to Professor Liszi that there was a 
problem to be solved in Eger. He did not hesitate and drove 230 km to Eger right away. He assisted with our 
teaching work for many years. 

A fruitful professional relationship had been established between Veszprém and Eger. We gladly accepted the 
support offered by Professor Liszi. Beyond his Physical Chemistry courses in the curriculum, he regularly gave 
seminars about various topics not only to our students but also to colleagues and students from other departments. 
An example that I witnessed characterizes his professional work. After a class, a student from the Physics 
programme approached him and said, “I will enter the Chemistry programme because this was so beautiful and 
logical”. And he did. He became a Physics-Chemistry teacher and now works in the Physics Department. 

Since 2015, our College has functioned as a University. I am sure that the support of Professor Liszi has contributed 
to the development of our institution considerably. He has also contributed to my personal development because he 
encouraged me to defend my habilitation thesis. He also contributed to the education of our team beyond the field of 
Physical Chemistry. During excursions to Tihany and at The Benedictine Order he acted as a guide and 
demonstrated his vast knowledge of History and classical culture. 

The expertise of our Department, making wine, also belongs to classical culture. It was a pleasure to host him and 
his wife for wine tastings on several occasions. At such times, we discussed the science of wine-making. Time flew 
and we got onto the subject of the thermodynamics of multicomponent homogeneous systems after a few glasses of 
wine. Sadly the Blessing of St. John had to come early because he had an early start the following morning. The 
minimum 1000 m session in the swimming pool could not be left unperformed. 

Together with him we profess that technical details can only come after the firm scientific basics have been laid 
down. He achieved a lot for higher education and research in Eger. We are grateful for his efforts 

We respected and loved him not only for his knowledge, but also for his humanity. 

Eger, 12 October 2017