CURRICULUM VITAE
Attila is a Senior Research Chemist at the Western Regional Research Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Albany, California, conducting research on the utilization of agricultural products as chemical resources. He finished his undergraduate and graduate studies in Hungary. First, he was awarded a Diploma in Chemical Engineering at the Technical University of Budapest, then a doctoral degree in chemistry by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He was an Assistant Professor at the Technical University of Budapest and a Group Leader at the Central Chemical Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He left Hungary in 1956 and was a Research Fellow at McGill University in Montreal, Canada until 1958 when he joined the Western Research Center of Stauffer Chemical Company in Richmond, California as a Senior Group Leader. Since 1967 he is with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Albany, leading various research projects.
His research activities since 1951 earned him
international recognition as an expert in a wide variety of scientific areas. He has been
involved in
*Fluorine chemistry (35 years),
*Glow discharge chemistry (15 years),
*Agricultural chemistry (20 years),
*Textile chemistry (10 years),
*Energy research (10 years) [No doubt he is the youngest looking, 100+ year old!!].
He is recognized as one of the early pioneers in fluorine chemistry. He was one of the first few to apply electric glow discharge in organic chemistry. He was one of the leaders of the research for using agricultural products as alternate energy resources. His newest research is the utilization of agricultural products, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins for other than food purposes.
He is an internationally known expert on these fields, where he has more than 100 scientific publications, 25 patents, 3 books and numerous chapters and reports. He has lectured throughout the world at various scientific meetings, universities, and research institutes. He speaks four languages. The American Chemical Society lists him on its tour speaker list with eight topics. In 1976, the ACS California Section gave Attila the Outstanding Contribution to Chemistry Award recognizing his 25 years research in fluorine chemistry. In 1987, he was selected as the Federal Scientist of the Year in California. In 1997 the American Institute of Chemists honored him with the Chemical Pioneer Award.
His activities in the American Chemical Society date back to 1969. He chaired the California Section (twice), the Division of Professional Relations and many of their committees. He was elected three times to the ACS Board of Directors. He is member of various scientific societies and 10 ACS Divisions.
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