Ferenc Gécseg

From 1962 he worked his way up the university ladder at the József Attila University of Szeged (JATE): he started as an intern, defended his candidate of mathematical sciences thesis in 1967, and his academic doctorate thesis in 1976; he became a university professor in 1977. He is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences' Mathematics Committee, the Informatics and Computer Science Committee, and the Szeged Academic Committee. He has been a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences since 1987, and a full member since 1995. He has been a member of the Finnish Academy of Sciences since 1994.

Founding member of the Department of Computer Science at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. From 1975 to 1993 (as successor to László Kalmár), head of the Department of Fundamentals of Computer Science. From 1987 to 1990, dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Since 1990, he has been working at the then-established Institute of Informatics; most recently as a professor at the Department of Computer Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence. Founding member of the Doctoral School of Informatics. Emeritus professor at the University of Szeged (SZTE).

His main research interests are automata theory and universal algebra. His book on the theory of finite automata founded the field of automata in computer science. He is the author or co-author of more than eighty scientific publications, including seven books, book chapters, or book edits.

He was a visiting professor in Finland three times: University of Turku (1974–1975), Tampere University of Technology (1978), Finnish Academy of Sciences (1992–1993).

His awards: Géza Grünwald Prize (1966); Academic Prize (1980); László Kalmár Memorial Medal (1982); Tibor Szele Memorial Medal (1990); Albert Szent-Györgyi Prize (1995); Pro Universitate Prize (SZTE, 2004); Middle Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2007); Kalmár Prize (NJSZT, 2008).