The lecture series addressed Professor Szabolcs’s pioneering and school-founding role in the research of domestic salt-affected soils, his international scientific organizational activities, his two decades as director of the Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry, his work as editor-in-chief of Agrochemistry and Soil Science and his duties as president of the Hungarian Soil Science Society.

The event featured two surprise speakers. The first was Jorge Batlle-Sales, professor at the University of Valencia and president of the International Network on Salt-Affected Soils (INSAS). During his online appearance, he provided insight into his personal and professional relationship with Professor Szabolcs and his wife, Katalin Darab. The second surprise speaker was Mónika Szabolcs, István Szabolcs’s niece, who presented him as a private individual, sharing how his relatives saw him, and included excerpts from personal letters to bring their life situations at the time to life.

István Szabolcs was born on February 23, 1924, in Túrkeve, located in the heart of the Nagykunság region. He passed away on August 10, 1997, in Budapest. He was an outstanding soil scientist, chemist, and university professor. He was a member of the Soil Science, Agrochemistry, and Agricultural Water Management Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, a candidate of agricultural sciences (Moscow, 1953), and later the doctor of agricultural sciences (1959). His diverse career and scientific portfolio were fittingly reviewed by his former colleagues and those who continue his scientific legacy.