Prof. Dr. László Palkovics
László Palkovics began his university studies at the Faculty of Transportation Engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in 1984, where he earned his engineering degree in 1989. Between 1989 and 1991, he was a participant in the doctoral scholarship program of the Scientific Qualification Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), where he earned his doctorate. After obtaining his doctoral degree, he started working as an assistant lecturer at the Department of Automotive Engineering at the Faculty of Transportation Engineering, BME. In 1992, he was appointed as a senior lecturer, in 1994 as an associate professor and department head, and in 2000 he received his appointment as a university professor.
Between 1993 and 1994, he was a researcher at the Canadian Research Council’s Vehicle Technology Center. Since 1994, he has been a scientific associate at the MTA Institute for Computer Science and Automation (SZTAKI). In 1995, he became the development director for electronic systems at the research and development institute of the Hungarian subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse, a German brake systems manufacturer. Between 2001 and 2003, he was the director of European electronic development in Germany, and in 2003, he was appointed director of European research and system development. He was a visiting researcher in Delft and Helsinki.
He was elected a board member of the Hungarian Scientific Association of Mechanical Engineers and the founding secretary general of the Hungarian Automotive Industry Association in 1996. In 2001, he became the president of the National Technical Development Committee. After the decision to build the Mercedes-Benz factory in Kecskemét, he was elected strategic vice-rector of the Kecskemét College in 2009.
He defended his doctoral dissertation at the MTA in 1998 and habilitated in 2000. He was elected a corresponding member of the MTA’s engineering section in 2007 and a full member in 2013. He is an editorial board member of the scientific journals:
- Vehicles and Agricultural Machinery
- International Journal of Vehicle Design
- Heavy Vehicles
- Journal of Automobile Engineering
His research areas include vehicle dynamics and stability, controlled vehicle systems, intelligent vehicle and road systems, and applied control theory. He is a significant educator, guiding numerous young doctoral candidates and launching their professional careers. For his internationally significant scientific work, he has received numerous professional and state awards, among the most important of which are:
- Young Manager of the Year (2000)
- Széchenyi Prize (2001)
- Bánki Donát Jubilee Award (2009)
- Gábor Dénes Prize (2009)
- European Road Transport Safety Award in the field of commercial vehicles (2009)
Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2013)
