Administration

Management of FI

Kovács, István János

director general

+36 20 550 69 35

Kovács, István János

Phone : +36 20 550 69 35
E-mail:

Office 1.11

István János Kovács is the Director General of the HUN-REN Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science (https://epss.hun-ren.hu). Previously, he was the leader of the MTA EK Lendület Pannon LitH₂Oscope Research Group (https://lendulet.ggki.hu).

His research interests focus on the concentration, incorporation mechanisms, and physical role of trace amounts of “water” in minerals. Even in minor quantities, water plays a fundamental role in the operation of global plate tectonics. For the investigation of these processes, the Carpathian–Pannonian region represents an excellent natural laboratory. He also has extensive experience in the geological interpretation of deep geophysical data, particularly magnetotelluric (MT) and seismological observations, in the Carpathian–Pannonian region. In addition, he serves as the Hungarian coordinator of the international Topo-Transylvania collaboration, which focuses on the geodynamics of the Carpathian Bend Area, one of the most seismically active regions in Europe.

He has authored more than 150 articles in international peer-reviewed journals with impact factor, which have received over 2,500 independent citations, resulting in an h-index exceeding 30. He has served as a member of the editorial boards of American Mineralogist, Central European Geology, European Journal of Mineralogy, and Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica. He was an elected member of the Geochemical, Mineralogical and Petrological Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and served as President of its Petrological Sub-committee. He was also President of the Hungarian National Committee of the International Lithosphere Program. He has acted as supervisor or co-supervisor of five PhD students, as well as several MSc and BSc students.

His scientific achievements have been recognised by numerous international and domestic awards. He received the Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the Division on Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology and Volcanology of the European Geosciences Union (2011) and the Research Excellence Medal of the European Mineralogical Union (2015). Among his national honours, he received the Junior Prima Award in the category of Hungarian Science (2011), the Bolyai Plaquette (2017), and the Mária Vendl Medal of the Hungarian Geological Society (2018). In 2025, he was awarded honorary citizenship of his hometown, Szihalom.

He is married and is the father of two children: Emese (born 2012) and István Jr. (born 2014).