Report on the Eötvös 100 Exhibition held at the Assembly of the European Geoscience Union (EGU), Vienna, 8-12 April 2019
The EGU General Assembly was held between the 4th and 8th of April 2019 in Vienna, where a commemorative exhibition was displayed on the occasion of the Eötvös anniversary. At the exhibition booth posters were shown about the life and works of Loránd Eötvös, illustrated by a selection of the greatest stereoscopic photographs made by Eötvös. The highlight of the exhibition was undoubtedly the original double torsion balance that was transported to the venue from the Geodetic and Geophysical Institute, Sopron.
The exhibition was extremely popular all week long among the more than 15,000 participants of the assembly. Many of the visitors – mostly from the field of geophysics and geodesy – were mainly attracted by the torsion balance. Some of them knew only the name of Eötvös, while others knew his work very well; we even had some visitors who were really thrilled to examine the more than one-hundred-year-old instrument: “I’ve been teaching this for twenty years, but have never seen one!”
The shiny brass instrument also attracted a lot of visitors from other fields of science, even those curious enough to understand, though they had never heard of Eötvös. The 3D photos were popular, even among children who attended the conference with their parents.
The first day of the conference coincided with the actual day of the anniversary, which gave us an opportunity for brief live on-site reporting from Vienna of the commemorative celebration held at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest. During this reporting our special guests were Professor Sierd Cloetingh, President of Academia Europaea and Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), and Professor Jonathan Bamber, President of EGU.
Jonathan Bamber at the exhibition “I would like to thank the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for bringing the exhibit of Rolánd's work to the EGU General Assembly. This is the largest geoscience meeting in Europe covering all aspects of the discipline. We have 22 scientific divisions and, while many of the geoscientists working on the diverse topics we cover may not be familiar with Rolánd Eötvös’s pioneering work, so much of what we do relies on it. I am a glaciologist by background but much of what I do uses geodetic techniques that require accurate geodetic datums and an understanding of the Earth's gravity field, and so even in my own discipline, his contributions are being felt over a century after he made them."
Jonathan Bamber (EGU President)
"We thank you for choosing EGU as a venue for highlighting his outstanding contribution to geophysics and wish you a successful centennial celebration of his life and works.
Eötvos was one of the great pioneers in geoscience. At this conference of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), attended by 16,000 participants, including many young researchers, we all realise that we are standing on the shoulders of pioneers such as Loránd Eötvös. In 1919, one-hundred years ago, a landmark in the geosciences was created with the foundation of the International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy (IUGG), a field to which Eötvös contributed so much. It is most fitting that the Hungarian Academy of Sciences is present this year with this nice exhibition both at the EGU and IUGG conferences in, respectively, Vienna and Montreal. It is wonderful that this beautiful instrument behind me was brought from the recently renovated HAS institute of Geophysics and Geodesy in Sopron to Vienna for this occasion. Hungary plays an important role in international research programs in geosciences with a central role played by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, as also illustrated by the presence here today of the EGU President at this exhibition. I would like to express my congratulations and thanks to HAS for organising this event today.”
Sierd Cloetingh, President Academia Europaea, Honorary Member of the MTA
Sierd Cloetingh (at the double Eötvös torsion balance from Sopron)The exhibition of stereoscopic photos by Rolánd Eötvös was supported by the National Cultural Fund of Hungary (details: https://eotvos100.hu/en/page/medias); original photos: MBFSZ Eötvös Loránd Memorial Exhibition; digital conversion: Zsolt Regály (MTA CSFK); graphics: Márton Juhász (jmdesign.hu).
Sierd Cloetingh and Viktor Wesztergom (Director, MTA CSFK Geodetic and Geophysical Institute)Further notes from visitors
“I was so surprized to turn the corner at EGU and find the Eötvös exhibit. I have written about Eötvös and his balance so many times, but have never seen the instrument. It was fun to stand next to it; I did not realise it was so tall. Thanks for bringing it to the meeting.”
Professor Robin Elisabeth Bell (President/Elnök, American Geophysical Union)
Robin Elisabeth Bell (President, American Geophysical Union)“As a mathematical geoscientist, I knew the name of Eötvös because of my interests in geophysical fluid and solid mechanics. The dimensionless Eötvös number correlates gravitational and surface tension forces and is used in the motion of multi-phase liquids. Actually, Rolánd Eötvös contributed, through his exceptional studies, to several fields of geodesy and geophysics, and he is indeed a great Hungarian scientist.”
Alik Ismail-Zadeh (Secretary General/Főtitkár, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics)
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Alik Ismail-Zadeh (Secretary General, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics)Compiled by: Csenge Czanik, Veronika Barta (Exhibitors), László Szarka (Chair of Eötvös 100 Coordination Team)
The two exhibitors: Csenge Czanik and Veronika Barta (MTA CSFK Geodetic and Geophysical Institute)