Claudio Vita-Finzi, (born 21 November 1936) is an Australian-British

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

and academic. He was Professor of

Neotectonics Neotectonics, a subdiscipline of tectonics, is the study of the motions and deformations of Earth's crust ( geological and geomorphological processes) that are current or recent in geologic time. The term may also refer to the motions/deformations i ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

from 1987 to 2001, and has been a scientific associate at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

since 2001. His research is interdisciplinary, and involves the application of

tectonics Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...

and planetary science on landscape change: this has led to him working alongside archaeologists and climatologists among others.

Honours

Vita-Finzi is the recipient of two medals from the Royal Geographical Society: the

Back Award The Back Award, also referred to as the Back Grant, was first given by the Royal Geographical Society in 1882 for "applied or scientific geographical studies which make an outstanding contribution to the development of national or international pub ...

in 1971, and the Busk Medal in 2012 "for fieldwork on Mediterranean landscape change". In 1994, he was awarded the G. K. Warren Prize by the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

"for his distinguished contributions to fluvial morphology in relation to climate, tectonic activity, and human history (archaeological geology), on the basis of field investigations on several continents". He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1997. In 2012, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vita-Finzi, Claudio 1936 births Living people Australian geologists British geologists Tectonicists Academics of University College London Employees of the Natural History Museum, London Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Members of the American Philosophical Society