The Faculty of Chemical Engineering of the Technical University Budapest [antikvár]

THE FACULTY OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING OF THETECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BUDAPESTF. Szabadváry and L. Gy. NagyAntecedentsThe Technical University Budapest celebrates its bicentenary in theacademic year 1982/83: King Joseph II's edict decreeing to start engineeringtraining at the Philosophical Faculty of the University in Pest, in an instituteestablished for this purpose and named Institutum Geometricum was issued inAugust 1782. After three (later two) study year and successfully passedtheoretical and practical examinations the students obtained the degreegeometer approbatus. The Institutum Geometricum was merged in 1850 withthe Joseph Industrial School.The engineers graduated at the Institutum Geometricum correspondedto the civil engineers of our age; they were trained in geodesy, roadconstruction and water management. No chemistry was taught at theInstitutum.Chemistry, however, was the branch of science which had reached a highlevel, that of research as early as in the 18th century in Hungary. While othersciences were at best taught at universities, both departments of chemistryexisting at the time in the country came forward with significant researchresults attracting international attention.The oldest department of chemistry in Hungary was established in 1763at the Academy of Mining in Selmecbánya. Its first professor was NicolasJacquin from the Netherlands, active in Selmecbánya till 1769 und sub-sequently professor at the University of Vienna. His successor was an Italian,Giovanni Scopoli, up to 1779, and the first head of the department ofchemistry who already had studied and graduated at Selmecbánya was AntalRuprecht. He remained there till 1792, when he became director of theChamber of Mining in Vienna. All three professors were highly active inscientific research.The Academy of Mining of Selmecbánya has outstanding importance inthe history of chemical education, having been the first in the world in theintroduction of chemical laboratory exercises.