Professor Peter Fečko

This book is dedicated to Professor Peter Fečko, who passed away after a short illness on 10 March 2012 at the age of 51 years. Professor Fečko was co-author of Chapter 3 in Volume 2 of The coal handbook. For many years, he had been a worker at the Institute of Environmental Engineering at the Faculty of Mining and Geology of the Mining College – Technical University of Ostrava. The funeral took place on 14 March 2012 in the Church of St Maximilian in Hukvaldy.

Professor Peter Fečko, CSc, was born on 21 June 1960 in Stropkov in Slovakia. After finishing his studies at the grammar school in Prešov in 1979, he commenced his university studies at the Mining Faculty of VŠT in Košice in the field of mineral processing, focusing on environmental protection.

In 1984 he became a lecturer at the Department of Mineral Dressing at the Faculty of Mining and Geology (HGF) of the Mining College in Ostrava. In 1989 he finished his studies of university pedagogy at the Faculty of Arts at the Palacký University in Olomouc, and in 1991 he was successful in defending his dissertation thesis at the BF VŠT in Košice and gained the CSc title. Concurrently, he did intensive research in progressive biological–chemical methods of mineral processing and prepared a habilitation thesis, on the basis of which he was appointed Associate Professor in 1995. Following an inaugural lecture, he was appointed university professor of Mineral Dressing by the President of the Czech Republic in 2002.

Even if his pedagogical and scientific work filled Professor Fečko’s extremely active life, he also held significant positions at the Mining College-Technical University of Ostrava (VSB-TUO). First, he was the Head of the Department of Mineral Dressing; then for two terms of office he worked as a Vice Dean of the Faculty of Mining and Geology. Until 31 Professor Peter Fečko December 2011, he was Head of the Department of Waste Management and Biotechnology. In addition, he was the guarantor of the study fields of Processing and Disposal of Waste, Environmental Biotechnology and Mineral Biotechnology. As of 1 January 2012, the Rector of the Mining College-Technical University of Ostrava appointed Professor Fečko as Director of the Centre of Environmental Technologies.

Professor Fečko was an untiring promoter of the latest scientific knowledge and information, organising an international ‘Conference on Environment and Mineral Processing’, which had its fifteenth anniversary in 2011. In 2012 the Institute of Environmental Engineering (IEI) of HGF VŠB-TUO and the Moravian-Silesian Mining Association CSVTS HGF VSB-TU Ostrava held the 16th year of the Conference, which took place between 7 and 9 June, as a tribute to Professor Fečko.

Professor Fečko wrote a number of distinguished publications in national and foreign journals and proceedings. He was a respected international expert, and was invited to lecturing stays at various universities, including the University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Universidad del Valle (Colombia), the Universidad Industria de Santander (Colombia), and the University of Petrosani (Romania), and he repeatedly lectured at universities in Serbia, Croatia, Turkey and Poland.

Everybody who knew Professor Fečko recalls a fantastic teacher and internationally renowned expert, but also a sociable, creative and devoted person and an infectious life optimist. His straightforward and cheerful personality inspired all his colleagues, students and friends.

Despite his workload, Professor Fečko was an extremely amusing and kind-hearted man, always ready to help. The Mining College-Technical University of Ostrava has lost an unforgettable professor, pedagogue, colleague and a great students’ friend.