Tibor Rubóczki’s Successful Doctoral (PhD) Defense

Tibor Rubóczki, a young researcher at our institute, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on 2 March 2026 at the Doctoral School of Earth Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, with a summa cum laude distinction. The reviewers of the dissertation were János Kiss and László Szarka. The doctoral committee was chaired by Gábor Timár, with Márk Szijártó as secretary, and Gábor Molnár and Lóránt Földváry as members.

Title of the doctoral dissertation: Application and Development of the Magnetotelluric Method for Deep Structure Research of the Pannonian Basin

The doctoral research was carried out under the supervision of Viktor Wesztergom, with the support of consultants Attila Galsa and Attila Novák.

The dissertation addressed theoretical and practical aspects of the magnetotelluric (MT) method, which is well suited for comprehensive investigation of lithospheric structure. The underlying principle of the method is that the distribution of subsurface specific resistivity — which carries direct geological and geochemical information — can be determined from electric and magnetic field components measured at the surface. Over the past 70 years, this long-established field has been pursued by numerous outstanding researchers at the HUN-REN Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science in Sopron (formerly GGKI), including Antal Ádám, József Verő, László Szarka, and many others. The presented results fit organically into the professional work that has been ongoing at our institute for decades, continuing the research directions established by predecessors.

The doctoral research focused on determining lithospheric thickness in selected areas of the Carpathian–Pannonian Region, including the Hungarian part of the Pannonian Basin and the Transylvanian Basin. In addition, a distinctive part of the work was the development of a 3D numerical model that enables the simulation of MT measurements for any arbitrarily defined resistivity model. The model also provides an opportunity for in-depth investigation of low-frequency electromagnetic phenomena, complementing the toolkit of currently available similar numerical solutions.

Figure 1. Depth map of the electrical lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (eLAB) of the Pannonian Basin (Rubóczki et al. 2024)

We congratulate Tibor on his successful PhD defense and wish him continued success in his research!

The thesis booklet is available here: 15.b. Thesis booklet (Hungarian)