Dr Tamás Kovács is Head of Maths and Science at A&J School and a physical chemist who moved from university research into school and higher-education teaching. QAHE and Kennedy University have awarded him the honorary title of Honorary Professor of Practice in Science Education. The title is an honorary distinction. It is not a statutory professorship and does not confer degree-awarding authority.
He was educated at Földes Ferenc Grammar School in Miskolc, then at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, where he took an MSc in Chemistry in 2004 and a PhD in Physical Chemistry in 2007, both graded outstanding, the doctorate summa cum laude. His selected master’s work covered physical chemistry, electrochemistry, biochemistry, organic chemistry and reaction kinetics. As a doctoral student in the Institute of Chemistry he worked on combustion, plasma chemistry and catalysis, taught mathematics and physical chemistry, and supervised an MChem project. In 2017 he completed a PGCE in Secondary Physics at Leeds Beckett University, again graded outstanding. He is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and is working toward Principal Fellowship. Other qualifications include a TEFL/TESOL certificate, a City & Guilds certificate in assessing vocational achievement, and a Higher National Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University Centre Leeds, awarded with merit in 2025. A National Professional Qualification for Headship with Teach First is in progress.
From 2007 to 2016 he was a research fellow at the University of Leeds, in the School of Chemistry and the School of Physics and Astronomy. The work covered combustion, nucleation and atmospheric chemistry, including chemical-kinetic modelling, climate simulations and papers in refereed journals. Between 2014 and 2016 he supervised a postgraduate researcher. Collaborations listed in his record include Eötvös Loránd University, Swinburne University of Technology, the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, UNAM, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the British Antarctic Survey, NASA, the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and the Mongolian Technical University. He helped organise the Younger European Chemists’ Conference in 2005 and the 1st European Chemistry Congress in 2006. His curriculum vitae records 45 publications, including five books and a book chapter, with a sixth book in preparation, and an h-index of 17. The papers run from catalytic combustion and plasma decomposition of carbon tetrachloride to crystal nucleation, the atmospheric lifetime of sulphur hexafluoride, and later work on STEM teaching and quantum foundations.
After the PGCE he taught physics and science at Heckmondwike Grammar School and Benton Park School, then joined University Centre Leeds in 2019 as a higher-education lecturer in biomedical science, teaching chemistry and pharmaceutical science from Level 3 to Level 7 and supervising dissertations. From 2021 to 2024 he was HE Engineering Programme Manager there, responsible for mathematics, science and electrical and electronic engineering units, the engineering apprenticeship, employer contact, programme design, safeguarding and the mentoring of a trainee teacher. In 2024 he assessed degree apprentices at Leeds Beckett University on engineering and chartered surveying programmes. Alongside this he tutored GCSE, A-level and undergraduate science and mathematics through Lextra Learning and privately.
Since October 2024 he has led the Maths and Science department at A&J School. He teaches primary, GCSE, A-level, International Baccalaureate, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and mentors candidates applying to universities in the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. He also supervises research at school, undergraduate and postgraduate level. Current interests listed in his record include global STEM and STEAM education, practical sessions in higher-education STEM, crystallisation and biomedical applications, combustion of olefins, and work on quantum mechanics, relativity and consciousness.
