The engineers and geographers who have earned a master’s degree at the Faculty of Earth Science and Engineering with outstanding results have the opportunity to continue their studies in the Mikoviny Sámuel Doctoral School of Earth Sciences, following a program of studies and research designed for each student’s interests. Full-time, part-time, or independent study programs are available. The program consists of two main parts: the study and research period (three years, completed with the absolutorium process) and the procedure leading to the doctoral degree (final exams, submission and defense of the dissertation).
The doctoral school carries out activities in those fields of the earth sciences that fit into the profile of the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Engineering and that are within the scope of the accreditation granted to the doctoral program. These fields are broken down into different topic areas of academic research. The topic areas are related to institutes of the faculty, and thus the institutes play a major role in the establishment of educational and research programs and in offering research topics. The research fields are: Geotechnical Systems and Processes; Fluid Production and Transport Systems; Environmental Processing and Raw Material Preparation; Research in Applied Geophysics; Research on Applied Geology and Hydrogeology; Physical and Human Geography.
The objective of the Mikoviny Sámuel Doctoral School of Earth Sciences is to provide a sound scientific foundation for engineering activities requiring fundamental knowledge in earth sciences and to publish the achievements supporting the developments and applications related to teaching at our Faculty. Building on the results of the PhD training started in the 1990s, the Doctoral School offers new and extensive opportunities for utilizing and modernizing the intellectual resources available at the Faculty.
MIKOVINY SÁMUEL DOCTORAL SCHOOL OF EARTH SCIENCES
The objective of the Doctoral School is to a provide sound scientific foundation for engineering activities and works requiring fundamental knowledge in earth sciences and to publish the achievements supporting the developments and applications related to the university-level training going on at our Faculty. Building on the results of the PhD training started in the 1990s, the Doctoral School offers new and extensive opportunities for utilising and modernising the intelectual resources available at the Faculty. The tendecies experienced in the past few decades clearly show that the 21st century faces new challenges related to research, location, exploitation, transportation and proccessing of raw materials and energy resources. There is a new requirement that after special processing a portion of discarded end products should be applied as basic and raw material in production processes in order to reduce the increasing amount of waste. In order to achieve this, new and efficient methods based on the latest achievements of earth and environmental sciences are needed. The fact that the application of new scientific achievements is under tight financial restriction is to be taken into consideration. There is a great demand for innovative researchers who are able to look at individual assignments as a part of a whole system and whose scientific achievements result in the emergence of competitive systems and processes. The integrated doctoral school is suitable for utilising the driving force triggered by the EU accession of Hungary. In line with the set objectives and exploiting the gradually increasing international co-operation and the opportunities offered by information technology, theDoctoral School offers new prospects to talented students studying at the Faculty. The market economy creates competition in the field of scientific research and development. A completely new generation of students has graduated from Hungarian universities and found employment in a much more competitive environment than before. The objective of the Doctoral School is to increase the positive tendencies in the field of research and academic activities as well. In the past few decades there have been epoch-making changes in the study of sciences. The focus of scientific research has been shifting toward universities. The results of the process are currently limited to a few universities, but the opportunities offered by doctoral schools are suitable for widening the scope of this process.
Name of the Doctoral School: Mikoviny Sámuel Doctoral School of Earth Sciences
Head of the Doctoral School: Dr. Péter Szűcs, MHAS, full professor
Discipline: Natural Sciences
Branch: Earth Sciences
The type of degree issued: PhD
Administration: Dean' Office (A/4. building 1. floor 136. room)
STRUCTURE OF THE DOCTORAL SCHOOL
The doctoral school carries out activities in those fields of the earth sciences that fit into the profile of the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Engineering and that are within the doctoral programme granted accreditation. These fields are broken down into different topic areas, showing its affiliation with academic research. The topic areas are related to institutes of the faculty, and thus the institutes play a major role in the establishment of educational and research programmes and in offering research topics. The head of the institute is responsible for direction and coordination of the doctoral programmes.
Research topic areas and research teams:
1. Fluid production and transport systems:
2. Raw material extraction and preparation, environmental process technology:
3. Research in applied geophysics:
4. Research on applied geology and hydrogeology:
5. Physical and human geography:
ABOUT MIKOVINY SÁMUEL (1700-1750)
Mikoviny Sámuel a many-sided engineer and a founder of mining education, was born around 300 years ago in Ábelfalva and died about 250 years ago near Trenčin on 25 March 1750. He studied in Banská Bystrica (Besztercebánya) and visited several western and southern European countries. After returning home in 1725, he worked as a county engineer in Bratislava (called Pressburg or Pozsony at that time). He was engaged in anti-flood works on Rye Island (Csallóköz) and in 1727 constructed a map of the hydrographic system of Lake Tata on the commission of Esterházy József. In 1728 in his Epistola he described the method of making maps, the cartographic principles and practical processes: the astronomical method of place location, the application of a quadrant, a telescope, a diopter and a scaled limbus, the construction of the advanced baseline-developer triangular system and the essence of magnetic declination. He drew the prime meridian constituting the basis of measurements through the towers of Bratislava Castle. Over seven years he constructed maps of forty-nine counties. County and other maps in the scale of 1:160,000 made it possible to design river control measurements, drain marshes and utilise farm lands as well as build road networks. He started his teaching career in the school for mining officers in Schemnitz (Selmecbánya) in 1735. He taught mathematics, mechanics and hydraulics and had practical classes in land and mine surveying. Over a period of ten years he constructed a water reservoir for an ore dressing plant, built huge dams and a system consisting of sixteen lakes. During the war of succession in 1743 Empress Maria Theresa employed him to design and build defensive and fortification works on the Moravian-Silesian frontier and to strengthen mountain passes and straits in order to protect the country from Prussian invasion. While carrying out anti-flooding works on the River Váh, he became ill and died.