More than a thousand students were attracted to the first program of the series of events called “Adventures in Natural and Technical Sciences” organized by the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Debrecen in the Great Hall of the Kölcsey Center. At the opening of the event, paleontologist Attila Ősi presented the interesting aspects of paleontology.
The program aims to introduce the natural and technical sciences to the students, to see what interesting things await them if they choose this field during their further education.
The performance is the first stop of a larger series of events. We launched the series under the title Adventures in the Natural and Technical Sciences, and we plan to hold two or three similar events per semester. We want to present current scientific topics and new discoveries, which are of interest to young people and can be seen in the media every day. For each topic, we try to invite speakers who are world-renowned practitioners in their own field, and who are also nationally known, who regularly speak on television, radio, on the Internet, or who may have their podcast program or YouTube channel
– Ferenc Kun told the hirek.unideb.hu portal about the event.
The dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology emphasized that for Wednesday’s opening, they chose a topic that interests and moves everyone, so they chose dinosaurs.
– Everyone has heard of them, many had a time when they adored them, my little girl also has a plush T-Rex. However, few people know how dinosaurs were discovered and are being discovered, and even fewer know that successful excavations were also carried out in Hungary in this regard, explained the head of the faculty.
Attila Ősi, the paleontologist of the Department of Paleontology of ELTE, presented the interesting aspects of paleontology under the title “In pursuit of dinosaurs in Hungary and the wider world – from excavations to 3D modeling”.
My experience is that young and old alike, young and old alike, are interested in dinosaurs, perhaps this is the buzzword, but in general, getting to know the past, the distant living world of many millions of years ago, is a very good thing in itself, which interests everyone to some extent, some for a few minutes, some for a lifetime. The main thrust of today’s presentation is the Bakony dinosaur research and its results. I try to shed light on the matter so that it is clear to these students, who still have life and the future ahead of them, that the natural sciences are one of, if not the most important scientific discipline. The world has sped up so much, and everything is so easily accessible online, that I notice that students are only superficially interested in everything, they don’t delve into anything, even though this would be necessary in the case of the scientific world
– Attila Ősi pointed out.
In his presentation, the renowned paleontologist recalled: that for the first time in today’s Hungary, our ancestors came across dinosaur finds, which were footprints, in 1966. Interestingly, the bones belonging to these footprints from Mecsek have not been found to this day.
He explained how he became interested in the world of paleontology and how he and his colleagues embarked on the Sisyphean research work that led to the discovery of the famous dinosaur site in Bakony. He emphasized: that when someone is looking for a dino bone, they are not looking for the bone itself, but the rock, the former sediment.
Excavations have been going on for almost 25 years in that particular mine area, where these approximately 85 million-year-old rock layers, which can be dated to the Cretaceous period, are being dismantled, in which the first fossils of bones were found. For example, the armored dinosaur named Hungarosaurus tormai was found there.
Attila the Elder also spoke about how the excavations are carried out, the meticulous work that goes on, and how the remains are prepared from the rocks. By definition, the bones are not like they used to be, they are now heavy and fragile, before they are taken out, they must first be cleaned, glued in a circle and then they can be transported together with the stone, wrapped in foil and then in plaster. This is followed by preparation, which often lasts for days or even weeks. Thanks to today’s techniques, such as 3D modeling, they can show these former fragmentary finds in such a way that everyone can understand what they were.
At the end of the presentation, the braver ones could ask their questions, and the interest did not go unappreciated, as they not only received the answers but also received the Faculty of Science and Technology gift packages.
(unideb.hu)
