Géza Virághalmy

From 1954 he was a scientific associate of the National Metrology Office, then he established and headed the Optical and Photometric Laboratory until 1971. Meanwhile, from 1961 he was a correspondence aspirant at the Astronomical Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on the topic of astronomical polarimetry.
From 1971 he was the technical group leader and then technical director of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences' Astronomical Observatory. He established a successful working relationship with the specialists of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences' Central Physical Research Institute (KFKI) to create digital measurement data collection. With their help, he connected a modern measurement control and measurement data collection system consisting of CAMAC modules manufactured by KFKI to the 1 m telescope, which was controlled by a TPAi computer. Later, they worked with IBM PC computers.

He successfully performed measurements with his two-channel polarimeter, developed for high-precision measurements of the polarization of stars, at the Haute Provence Observatory in France in 1974. Within the framework of the cooperation between the Armenian and Hungarian Academies of Sciences, he made several visits to the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory and personally supervised the commissioning of the photometer on its 2.6 m telescope.

He requested retirement in 1994, but continued to perform technical management duties until the end of 1999. Between 2000 and 2005, he was the director's advisor on technical matters.