The Editors of Acta Chromatographica would like to express
their profound sadness at the tragic loss of Szabolcs Nyiredy
at such an early age.
Szabolcs was on the editorial board of this journal for eleven years
and we will all miss him very much,
both as a respected colleague and as a much-loved friend.
Teresa Kowalska and Mieczys³aw Sajewicz
Professor Szabolcs Nyiredy (1950-2006)
Prof. Szabolcs Nyiredy who died, aged 56, on October 30, 2006, was a scientist, an author of numerous publications, and an editor of the journal he founded. He was a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, General Director and Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Medicinal Plants (Budakalász, Hungary), and President, Secretary General, or member of numerous international and Hungarian scientific organizations.
Prof. Nyiredy was educated in Budapest and completed his studies at Semmelweis University of Medicine by graduating as a certified pharmacist (Dipl. Pharm.). He started work in the Department of Pharmacy of the same university in 1975. In 1977 he moved to the Department of Pharmacognosy. Six years later Professor Sticher invited Szabolcs Nyiredy to be a lecturer at the Department of Pharmacy, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland, where he worked between 1983 and 1990. Scientifically, these eight years brought him world-wide recognition based on his inventions and numerous publications; during that time he also started his editorial activity.
He was called home to Hungary in 1990 to become head of the Institute of Medicinal Plants. Prof. Nyiredy's contribution to separation science and to the pharmaceutical industry is highlighted by his being the co-author of two books, the editor of three books, and the editor of fifteen special issues and proceedings. He is author or co-author of 22 book chapters and 140 publications that were cited almost 2000 times. He was also granted more than 20 patents for chromatographic and related instrumentation.
His scientific carrier is marked by numerous milestones, for example: 1975, Certified Pharmacist (Dipl. Pharm.); Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.); 1978, Professional Pharmacist of Pharmaceutical Technology; 1983, Professional Pharmacist for Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry; 1984, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.); 1991, Doctor of Chemical Science (D.Sc.); 1996, Habilitation (Pharm. Habil.); 2004, Corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Dr Nyiredy was awarded the Cvet Medal (1993), the Schulek Medal (1993), the Societas Pharmaceutica Hungarica Medal (1996), the Koritsánszky Medal (2000), the Soczewiñski Medal (2001), and the Dénes Gábor Award (2005).
In 1988 he founded the Journal of Planar Chromatography - Modern TLC (JPC) and was until his death its Editor-in-Chief. The journal soon became an international scientific forum for theoretical and practical aspects of planar chromatography. Several eminent scientists in planar chromatography became members of the editorial board of JPC at the request of Prof. Nyiredy; he also collected manuscripts from all over the world, and improved and published them. He was also on Editorial Board of Acta Chromatographica.
I and other colleagues always found him a kind and cooperative person.
John Donne's 'Meditation XVII' states: "No man is an island, entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less...". It is perfectly true of Prof. Szabolcs Nyiredy, who made an enormous contribution to separation science. Szabolcs, peace be with you.
Prof. Huba Kalasz
Semmelweis University of Medicine
Budapest, Hungaryn