History of the Department of Mining and Geotechnics
After the founding of the Mining Officer Training Institute (Bergschule, Berg Schola) in Selmecbány in 1735 and its reorganization in the decree of 1763, the Mining Academy (Bergakademie, Academia Montanistica) became organizationally complete with the third practical mining department established in Selmec - on April 3, 1770 ).
The first prominent professor of the mining department was Christoph Traugott Delius, who also taught specialized knowledge of mining, mine measurement, ore preparation, mining law, mining economics, minting and forestry in the modern sense.
After reorganization in 1846, it operates under the name of the Department of Mining - Mine Measurement - Mining Engineering under the leadership of Professor János Adriány.
The war of independence of 1848-49 brought great changes in the life of the Mining Academy in Selmec. Students of Austrian and Czech origin were sent home. Independent mining and metallurgical institutes of higher education were founded for the former in Leoben, Austria, and for the latter in Přibram, Czech Republic.
In 1872, the teaching of mine metrology and geodesy was separated from the department. From then on, the name of the department changed to the Department of Mining and Ore Preparation under the leadership of Professor Lajos Litschauer.
In 1920, the institution from Selmec moved to Sopron, where it found a home under the name Mining and Forestry College, and despite the great financial losses it continued to provide higher education in mining, metallurgy and forestry.
In 1929, Péter Esztó joined the Department of Mining, who immediately took over the teaching of theoretical and practical mining skills, and from 1932 to 1953 he also led the department. Professor Péter Esztó was a teacher with extensive practical experience and theoretically versatile. In his scientific work, the theory of rock movement marked by his name is outstanding, even by international standards, with which he founded and launched Hungarian rock mechanics research. He also created lasting value with his research results dealing with mine ventilation, mine measurement and mining economic issues.
In 1949, the Technical University of Heavy Industry was founded in Miskolc with faculties of mining, smelting and mechanical engineering. From that time on, the basic subjects were temporarily taught in Miskolc for the first two years, and the specialized subjects were taught in Sopron until 1959, when the diploma was awarded.
All the specialized departments of the Faculty of Mining Engineering were relocated to Miskolc in 1959, where for many decades the head of the Mining Engineering Department was academician János Zambo.
Since the middle of 1994, the department has been called the Mining and Geotechnical Department, which was changed to the Mining and Geotechnical Institute Department in 2007. This designation expresses that it is capable of responding to the educational and research challenges of our time in a dignified manner while maintaining the best professional traditions: the extraction of the most diverse mineral raw materials, the removal of waste materials, the repair and recultivation of contaminated land areas, as well as specific engineering facilities to be created in the earth's crust, such as tunnels .
In 2023, the Mining and Energy Institute was created from the merger of the Mining and Geotechnical Institute and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Institute.
History of the Department of Geotechnical Equipment
Mining engineering education has played an important role in the education program since the founding of the Bergakademie in Selmec, in line with industrial needs.
In the names of the Academy's departments, the term mining engineering is first encountered in 1846 under the name Mine Cultivation - Mining Measurement - Mining Engineering Department. Although he was given an independent department only in 1904, under the leadership of Gyula Farbaky.
From 1913 to 1952, professor Jenő Tettamanti headed the department. At that time, the department's main topics were dewatering (pumping stations), mine transport and machine components.
From 1949, the mining engineer training started. Between 1952 and 1959, two departments of mining engineering operated, which were merged again after the final move to Miskolc.
From the end of the 1960s, in line with industrial needs, the mining engineering major was expanded to include mining electrical engineering, and the graduates were named: mining mechanical and mining electrical engineer. During this period, the enrollment is around 20 people per year. The majority of educational tasks meet the needs of mining engineering, mine cultivation and oil mining majors. In addition, the department carries out minor and major educational tasks in all departments of the faculty.
After 1968, the redevelopment of coal mining began and continued at a varying pace, which soon manifested itself in student interest. In the field of mining engineering, the training palette was expanded to include the field of oil and gas industry.
From the end of the 1980s, due to the spectacular decline of the industry, student interest in classic mining majors decreased so much that it was not possible to maintain separate mining and mining engineering majors.
In the 1990s, the organizational structure and educational profile of the Faculty of Mining Engineering changed significantly due to the changed circumstances.
The name of the former Department of Mining Engineering was changed to the Department of Geotechnical Equipment and, together with the Department of Process Engineering, it formed the Institute of Process Engineering and Geotechnical Equipment.
Since 2007, it has been operating under the name of the Geotechnical Equipment Institute Department under the auspices of the Mining and Geotechnical Institute.
In 2023, the Mining and Energy Institute was created from the merger of the Mining and Geotechnical Institute and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Institute.
History of the Natural Gas Engineering Department
The initiation of the gas engineering course managed by the Department of Gas Engineering dates back to the 1960s, the years when significant natural gas fields were discovered in Hungary. A. Pál Szilas, head of the Department of Oil Production at the time, realized that the Hungarian natural gas wealth would fundamentally change the domestic gas supply based on city gas, and that the natural gas industry would need engineers with special knowledge. Thus, in 1967, the Department of Oil Production, in collaboration with the Department of Combustion and renowned industrial experts, started the gas engineering program at the University of Miskolc. Another significant step was that Dr. Vida Miklós, the technical director of the Capital Gas Works at the time, supported the training in Miskolc with all his professional and human authority, and thus gained immeasurable merits in Hungarian higher education in the gas industry.
The gas engineering education in Miskolc was based on the oil engineering education that had been taking place since 1951, and most of the subjects were taken care of by the parent department, the then Department of Oil Production, and from 1993, the then-founded Department of Gas Engineering. In addition to Dr. A. Pál Szilas, the then instructors of the former Department of Oil Production, Dr. Zoltán Gyulay, Dr. Ödön Alliquander, Dr. János Bognár, Dr. Béla Mating, Dr. János Tóth, Dr. Ferenc Patsch all took part in the education of the first gas engineers .
In addition to the parent department, the University's Department of Fire Science took an important role in the gas engineering education, from which Dr. József Antal Boza and Dr. Ottón Farkas undertook the education of gas combustion and industrial gas use. We must also acknowledge the prominent experts in the Hungarian gas industry who contributed to the work of the department as invited lecturers during the first period of the training. We mention the names of Dr. László Gráf, Dr. Tibor Laklia, Dr. József Pápay, Dr. László Péchy, Dr. Zoltán Schulteisz, Dr. Miklós Szűcs, András Tóth, and Attila Török. From the beginning, their professional work, preparation and exactingness were the guarantee of high-quality gas engineering training.
From 1993, as a result of the organizational development of the then Faculty of Mining Engineering, the Department of Oil Production continued its teaching and research activities in the form of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Institute with two departments, the Department of Gas Engineering and the Department of Petroleum Engineering. The first head of the Department of Gas Engineering was Dr. Jenő Csete.
During the last more than three decades, more than 300 people obtained full-time gas engineering degrees at the University of Miskolc, the number of gas engineering degrees exceeds 150, and another 300 engineers participated in further engineering training courses organized by the department. A large number of former "gas" students from Miskolc hold high management positions in the gas industry and in the areas of administration, supervision, science, research and development related to the gas industry. The history of the Hungarian natural gas industry and the higher-level gas industry training in Miskolc are inseparable.
History of the Petroleum Engineering Department
In Hungary, state-supported oil exploration began in 1893. In order to be able to meet the growing demand for specialists in the ever-growing industry, the Selmecbánya Mining Academy, the predecessor of the University of Miskolc, started teaching deep drilling and production technology in the Mining Department in 1904, until in 1943 it was decided to establish an independent Oil Production Department. Even this year, the Hungarian American Oil Industry Association (MAORT), which plays the biggest role in the Hungarian oil industry, declared that it fully supports the establishment of the new department. Although the first head of the department, dr Simon Papp, was appointed in 1944, the sad events of the Second World War prevented the actual establishment of the department.
Finally, the Oil Production Department was founded on July 1, 1951, under the leadership of Dr. Zoltán Gyulay. The department became the newest department of the Mining Academy in Sopron. From the very beginning, the department affected all areas of the oil industry, while the main focus was on the training of reservoir, production and drilling engineers. Over the years, the curriculum has undergone continuous development, while the standard of education has continuously increased. A number of well-known leading industry professionals were also involved in the education. The department has always made sure to include the latest technologies in education. Since Hungary has great geothermal potential, the department also started teaching subjects related to geothermal energy in the early 1970s. In 1986, the Explosion Prevention Laboratory and related education were established at our department as a result of the increase in safety technology needs.
The demand for specialists in the domestic gas industry dictated the start of gas engineering training in 1966. The training was created by dr. It is attributed to Pál A. Szilas. Students who join this course study subjects related to gas preparation, use and distribution.
Until the end of the 1980s, there were not many foreign students among the students who graduated from the department. The increase in demand for oil industry training in developing countries led to the introduction of English-language training. The five-year MS program began in 1987, and the first students graduated in 1992. For similar reasons, our 3-year MS program for students with a BS degree began in 1995, with the first students graduating in 1998.
The original department was transformed into the Petroleum and Natural Gas Institute in 1993. Two departments were established in the institute: the Department of Oil Engineering and the Department of Gas Engineering. (from 2007 Institute Department of Petroleum Engineering and Institute Department of Gas Engineering)
During the more than fifty years of the department's existence, more than 800 students have obtained the MS degree. In 2023, the Mining and Energy Institute was created from the merger of the Mining and Geotechnical Institute and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Institute.