In memory of Academician Dezső Kiss
Organization, 15 January 2019
On 15 January 2019, the 90th anniversary of the birth of Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Dezső Kiss (1929 – 2001) is celebrated who was the third JINR Director from 1989 to 1992.
In the proto (from left to right): JINR Director Academician D.D. Kiss and Academician A.A. Logunov, 21 August 1989. Photo by Yu.A. Tumanov
From the materials of the JINR Weekly Newspaper:
Dezső Kiss was a director in times of the USSR collapse which were difficult for the Institute, times of political and economic crises in the countries of Eastern Europe. Together with his colleagues and soulmates, in difficult conditions, he took the course on the preservation of intellectual and material potential of the Institute concentrating resources on the most promising areas of research, reducing the number of research fields, and changing the priorities. At meetings of the STC and the Scientific Council, in our newspaper, vivid discussions were held dedicated to the future of the Institute, drafts of new regulatory documents that then became the basis for further JINR activities.
In his last Director’s report at the meeting of the Committee of Plenipotentiaries in June 1992, Dezső Kiss confirmed the faith in the chosen way of saving the international scientific centre in Dubna… “The Institute is in for hard times,” concluded D. Kiss and expressed his hope that “the new directorate will continue the same policy in the interests of our joint, inseparable scientific centre.”
The portrait of the third JINR Director Academician Dezső Kiss in the “Director’s gallery” in the Green Hall of the International Conference Hall reminds today of those times, which were sincerely depicted by him in the article “Farewell to Dubna, thoughts of the future”: “I am an optimist and I am sure that the Institute will break the deadlock as an international scientific centre and, maybe, will gradually achieve the world level and will be attractive for everyone…”.
Dezső Kiss passed away in 2001 and was buried at the Central Cemetery in Budapest.
Dezső Kiss (15.01.1929 – 24.06.2001), a citizen of the Republic of Hungary, a famous physicist and organizer of science, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, professor, Academician of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Director (1989 – 1992), JINR Honorary Director.
Dezső Kiss graduated from the University of Debrecen (1952), defended his doctoral dissertation in the Central Research Institute for Physics (CRIP) of the HAS, Budapest. Academician Dezső Kiss held the post of Deputy Director General of the CRIP HAS (1979-1989). He carried out his scientific activities in FLNP JINR (1960-1963), the Niels Bohr Institute, Denmark (1967-1969), CERN (1975-1976). He was a JINR Vice-Director in 1976-1979, JINR Director in 1989-1992, JINR Honorary Director, Member of the JINR Scientific Council (1989-1992), member of the editorial staff of the journal “Physics of Elementary Particles and Atomic Nuclei”. He authored the book (jointly with A.L. Luibimov) “Introduction to experimental particle physics”. Dezső Kiss was President of the Eotvos Physical Society. Research interests of Academician Dezső Kiss included experimental particle physics and physics of atomic nuclei, neutrino physics. He was honoured to receive the following orders: the Order “Shock worker of Socialist Labour” (1960); the Golden Order of Labour, Hungarian People’s Republic (1975); the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, USSR (1979).