Joseph Varga

* Tótpelsőc, October 27, 1903 – † Budapest, July 21, 1991 / mechanical engineer, university professor, writer on the history of science ; ; He graduated from the Újpest High School in 1921. He obtained his mechanical engineering diploma in 1925 at the József Nádor Technical University in Budapest. Soon after, he became the head of the general mechanical engineering department of the Ganz Waggon and Machine Factory. Under his direction, the production of Jendrassik-type turbocharged Diesel engines and the implementation of hydrodynamic drives began. These also made it possible for the factory to win tenders for railway multiple units in Egypt and Argentina in the 1930s. From 1945, he managed several departments as chief designer. From 1953, he was a university professor at the Department of Machine Elements at the Budapest University of Technology. In 1957, he became the head of the Department of Water Machines. Between 1965 and 1973, he was the dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. His work in the department covered pumps, hydrodynamic couplings, and the measurement of cavitation phenomena. He was a founding member of the Mechanical Engineering Scientific Association (GTE), organized in 1949. Even during the years of isolation, József Varga often invited Western speakers and organized the participation of Hungarian experts abroad. From 1962, he started an international conference series that has been organized every 3-4 years since then. In 1973, he received the State Prize for his achievements in water machine research and the development of hydrodynamic drives. ; ; His main works: ; Fundamental Questions of Management, 1947, ; Gear Pumps, 1954, ; Pump Operation Handbook (co-author), 1966, ; Hydraulic and Pneumatic Machines (editor, co-author), 1974, ; Biography of Donát Bánki, 1980, ; Tódor Kármán, 1981.