Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1988. január-június (42. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1988-01-07 / 1. szám
Thursday, Jan. 7. 1988 11. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZÓ flmERicfln HuncflRiflns Famous Hungarians Hungarians have been peak scientific achievers, and they still are. Here are a few of the hi-tech highlights: Comet encounter "The Hungarians played an outstanding part in the electronic data collection," The "Washington Post" remarked after the successful encounter between the Halley's Comet and the Vega space probe in 1986. The comet approaches the earth once every 76 years, so the opportunity had to be seized. The multinational Vega probe had several items of Hungarian hi-tech aboard, including the data collection system mentioned already, and the image-processing system. It was the first space robot in the world, operating without human intervention. Superconducting At the end of 1986, science hit the headlines when a group of IBM researchers managed to break a 1973 temperature record for superconductivity: -200° C. (Superconductivity is a state in which there is no electric resistance in a material and so no loss of energy.) After that the race was on among almost every physics institute in the world to find a material that would superconduct at a "hotter" temperature still. Hungarian groups joined in, and two separate labs managed to reproduce the results within a short time. Indeed they occasionally surpassed them; there were times when the world record was held by the Hungarians. Of .course the race continues, and will continue until this energy-saving state can be induced at room temperature. The potential of that for technology make minds boggle - in Hungary and around the world. Cell fusion We've nothing to be ashamed in genetic engineering and biotechnology either, which allow plant species to be improved fqr faster than by hybridization. Hungarian researchers have done it with tobacco and potatoes, and the method of fusing cells robbed of their walls was first elaborated in Hungary. Theoretically, that means any cell can be fused with any other, even if they are not of the same species or order» Work continues. Good mood pills One of several Hungarian pharmaceuticals to break into world market is Grandaxin, which acts on the central nervous system. What the Hungarian inventors did was to find a substance without the harmful side effects many exisis- ting tranquilizers have. Benzodiazepin compounds like Grandaxin have no muscle- relaxing influence, but their anxiety-reducing effect is five or six times greater. Prise-wise A number of scientific prizes awarded to Hungarian researchers confirm that they're following in the footsteps of their great predecessors. For example, Academician Ferenc Mezei was presented in 1986 with the Europhysics Prize by the European Association of ^Physicists for his discovery of the neutron-spin echo. The "trade" puts the Prize second only to a Nobel. In the same year, a Rockwell Prize from the International Technological Institute in the US went to the Hungarian Academician János Prohászka, shared with a Japanese and a US scientist, for technological achievement. Katalin Magos GOOD READING GUIDE Recommended by: Dr. Vera Vadas Dr. Vera Vadas PR manager, Hungarian Tourist Board "For many people a vacation, excursion or change of scene is the highlight of the year. Who you spend it with is important of course, but so is how you spend it, and a big help in deciding that can be provided by books. They're fun to read afterwards too." Books ’ about Hungary. There are plenty. The leading publisher of books in English is Corvina Kiadó, whose list opens a real window to the arts and sights. They've published 50 million copies in foreign languages over the past 30 years, and Corvina books are distributed in 70 countries. In Hungary the biggest range is to be found at the two foreign- language book stores in Budapest (V., Petőfi Sándor utca 2. and V., Váci utca 32). Here is a selection of pleasant, informative holiday reading. Of the guide books Peter Dobai's Budapest has a fine literary style. Zoltán Ha- lász's Hungary is a marvelous photographic account. Berlitz guides to Hungary are sold at Intertourist shops. A few from the popular Hungarian Folk Art series: Tekla DömÓtÖr's Hungarian Folk Customs, Alice Gaborján's Hungarian Peasant Costumes and György Martin's Hungarian Folk Dances. Among the art books in English, Jenő Barcsay's Anatomy for Artists is the most successful work of its kind (56 editions in 9 languages). András Székely's Munkácsy is the latest, introducing famous Hungarian painters. Of the cookery books Mari Lajos and Karoly Hemzft have a winner with 99 Appetizers with 33 Colour Photographs, one of a highly successful series. For children we recommend the entertaining If I Were a Grown-Up... by Eva Janikovszky and László Réber. Let's hope children who read it will return to Hungary as adults. József Pulitzer Publisher ( b. 1947 (Mako), d. 1911 (Charleston SC) A journalist and publisher in the States, he set up the School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York, in 1903. In his will he endowed the Pulitzer prizes for American journalism and literature, which have been awarded since 1917. Miklós Rozsa Composer b. 1907 (Budapest) A composer of piano, violin and cello concertos, and from around 1935 of film music too, he settled in Hollywood in 1940. He won three Academy Awards, and wrote scores for "The Thief of Baghdad", "The Jungle Book", "Madame Bovary", "Quo Vadis", "Ben Hur" and many other motion pictures. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Physician and biochemist b. 1893 (Budapest), d. 1986 (Woods Hole, US) He is associated with one of the big medical and biochemical breakthroughs of the 20th century: the isolation of vitamin C in paprika, while working in Szeged. Szent-Györgyi was also responsible for some basic conclusions about cellular metabolism and muscular biochemistry. In 1937, his medical achievements won him a Nobel Prize. József Szigeti Violinist b. 1892 (Budapest), d. 1973 (Luzerne, Switzerland) Béla Bartók dedicated first the piano and then the orchestral version of his ' First Rhapsody to Szigeti in 1928. He played a big part in making Bartók's music known to a wider audience, and appeared at concerts with him. He also played with clarinetist Benny Goodman. Much of his life was spent in the States. An agreement to set up a Hungarian- Japanese joint venture wa$ signed in Tokyo. The new joint venture in the form of a company named Salgótarján Fibre- glass Rt. will be manufacturing 4,4 00 tons of fibreglass a year beginning in 1989 for domestic and foreign users. Technology will be supplied by the Nit- to-Boseki Company, the largest Japanese manufacturer of fibreglass. NEW YEAR'S GREETING Wishing you a happy and healthy new year. Otto Gellert New Jersey
