Vice-Chancellor Professor Lyn Karstadt (left), College of Engineering, Technology and Science (CEST) Dean, Professor Tibor Pasinszki and Ambassador of Hungary to New Zealand and the Pacific, Dr Zsolt Hetesy with the Gömböc 180.

The Fiji National University (FNU) aims to strengthen partnerships with international partners and countries such as Hungary.

The University’s College of Engineering, Science and Technology (CEST) recently hosted the Hungarian Ambassador, Dr Zsolt Hetesy at the Derrick Campus in Suva.

Dr Hetesy is a lawyer by background, and a civil servant since 1992. He worked in different leadership positions in the field of law, national security as well as in multilateral and bilateral diplomatic relations.

The New Zealand-based Ambassador commemorated his visit to FNU with the handover of a special gift from Hungary called the Gömböc 180.

The Gömböc is the first known convex, homogeneous object to have just one stable and one unstable equilibrium points. It is self-righting, always returning to its stable point.

His Excellency, Dr Hetesy said the presentation of this object will serve as a permanent reminder of the educational and international cooperation between Hungary and FNU.

“Apart from its mathematical importance, the Gömböc means a couple of things to me. One, that you should never accept that something is impossible. For decades and centuries everybody thought that it was impossible to create a homogeneous object that is self-righting,” he said.

“The second important message that I associate with the Gömböc is the importance of international cooperation.This object would not have been here without a meeting in 1995, at a conference between Hungarian mathematicians and their Russian counterpart.”

“Hence, I do believe it is an important message to keep cooperating internationally, as practical, and good things come out of cooperation. So, whenever the Embassy of Hungary can help, we are there to assist you.”

FNU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lyn Karstadt said the Ambassador’s visit to FNU was an important milestone in strengthening the University’s collaboration with Hungarian universities.

“I am also pleased to highlight that FNU has existing partnerships with Hungary through its University of Agriculture and Life Sciences,” Prof Karstadt said.

“This already six-year-old agreement allows for staff exchange between the two institutions, and for FNU students to study in Hungary.”

The Gömböc 180.

CEST Dean, Professor Tibor Pasinszki added that the Gömböc 180 would become a permanent exhibit at the University.

“Individual Gömböc pieces carry a unique serial number between 1 and the current year, each number is produced only once,” Prof Pasinszki explained.

“Gömböc 180 is manufactured from AlMgSi-alloy and the number 180 was chosen to commemorate the 180th meridian passing through Fiji,” he said.

The existence of the Gömböc was conjectured in 1995 by one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century, Vladimir Igorevich Arnold.

The Gömböc was invented in 2007 by Gábor Domokos and Péter Várkonyi from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary.