DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Address: H-1078, Budapest, István u. 2, Hungary
Phone: (+36 1) 478 4176

Short history of the department

The regular teaching of chemistry began in 1857 whereas the independent department was established in 1879 and directed thereafter by several outstanding Hungarian scientist. Among others I. Bugarszky (1903-13) should be remembered for his work in discovering important principles in chemical thermodynamics. In his basement laboratory G. Hevesi made his first fundamental experiments in academic year 1916/17 using radioactive isotopes as tracers. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1943. In addition to their contribution to the medical chemistry G. Gróh (1913-33) and L. Urbányi (1943-57) developed the curriculum substantially and wrote modern text books. The building shared by the departments of chemistry and physiology gained its present architectural form after reconstructions in 1911, and was modernized in the early seventies.

Courses

Research activities

Teaching facilities

The training is based on lectures, laboratory practicals and consultations (optional). The lectures are illustrated with ca. 700 self prepared dias using them in Powerpoint presentation technique. Various orbital and molecule models, video films are also used to facilitate the better understanding. In the lab the students work alone with own accessories, including some instruments, e.g. pH-meter, spectrophotometer, polarimeter. Some chemical reactions, instrumental methods, etc. are presented in demonstrations.