Zoltán Rácz spent his teenage years playing chess. Then he studied physics, receiving an M.S. from the State University in St. Petersburg (Russia) and a Ph.D. from the E"otv"os University, Budapest (Hungary). He spent several years in visiting positions at various universities (Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, Virginia Tech, Oxford University, University of Rome "La sapienza") and, presently, he is a Sz'echenyi Professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, E"otv"os University.

His research interests in the early years included critical dynamics, far-from-equilibrium relaxation, and symmetry analysis of pattern formation. He also worked on aggregation problems and developed the notion of active zones for the description of interfaces in growth and reaction-diffusion processes. His current research is on phase transitions in nonequilibrium steady states, and on pattern formation in the wake of moving reaction zones (Liesegang phenomena). He is also involved in producing a picture gallery of (universal) distribution functions describing fluctuations of nonequilibrium interfaces.