Vladimir Szekely

After graduating, he worked as an assistant professor, assistant professor, and then associate professor at the Department of Electronic Devices (EET) of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering (VIK) of the Budapest University of Technology (BME). From 1989, he became a university professor of the Department, and then the head of the Department between 1990 and 2005. Between 1999 and 2002, he received a Széchenyi professorship. After his retirement, he became an emeritus professor of the Department.

Together with Kálmán Tarnay, he was the first to recognize the importance of computers in electronic design in Hungary. In the 1969/70 academic year, he and Kálmán Tarnay launched a further training course entitled “Introduction to Computer Programming for Electrical Engineers”, which ran for 5 years with 400 students. The Razdan machine, which was put into operation in the University Computer Center from 1968, provided the practical background. Computer programming courses were also held at the BME Institute of Further Engineering Training.
In Hungary, he pioneered the development of computer-aided design methods, such as the TRANZ-TRAN circuit simulation program (also together with Tarnay), with the help of which, starting in 1969, many students were introduced to the basics of computer circuit design for two and a half decades.

His work is characterized by the fact that he combined his extensive knowledge of mathematics, physics and network theory with the methods of computer graphics and digital signal processing in solving practical problems (e.g. liquid crystal thermography method for examining the static temperature distribution of integrated circuits). He also patented a computer printing device operating on a new principle in the mid-1990s, even reaching the prototype of a cash register using it. His fingerprint recognition algorithm is still referenced in many places today.

In order to utilize the research results of the research group he led, the BME ETT spin-off company MicReD Ltd. (which later became part of SIEMENS Digital Industries) was established with his participation in 1977. He managed the research and development work of the Ltd. for about 15 years. In the thermal measurement instrument market of integrated circuits, LEDs, power electronic components, the measuring instruments based on his work were market leaders in their category.

His scientific activity is also outstanding at an international level. In the world's semiconductor industry, the so-called structure function-based qualification procedure he developed is widespread among almost all semiconductor manufacturers. The procedure has become the basis of international metrology standards.

He defended his thesis for the degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences in 1978 and his academic doctoral thesis in 1989. He was elected a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2004 and a full member in 2010. – He has more than 400 international scientific publications.

He was a member of the Electronic Devices and Technologies Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Communications and Informatics Scientific Association (HTE). From 1999, he was the chairman of the program committee of the THERMINIC (Thermal Investigations of ICs and Systems) conference. Between 2002 and 2009, he was a guest editor of several special issues of the scientific journals Sensors & Actuators and Microelectronics Journal. In 2005, he became a member of the editorial board of Microelectronics Reliability.

Awards: Pollák–Virág Award (HTE, three times); Harvey Rosten Award for Excellence (2001); Academic Award (MTA, 2002); Szent-Györgyi Albert Award (Minister of Education, 2006); Gábor Dénes Award (Novofer Foundation, 2009).