Volli Kalm (10 February 1953 in

Aluste Aluste is a village in Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish, Pärnu County in western-central Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finla ...

– 23 December 2017 in

Kääriku Kääriku is a village in Otepää Parish Otepää Parish ( et, Otepää vald) is a rural municipality in Valga County, southern Estonia. It includes the town of Otepää. Settlements ;Town Otepää ;Small boroughs Puka - Sangaste ;Villa ...

) was an Estonian geologist who, from 1 July 2012 to his death on 23 December 2017, was the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the University of Tartu.

Education and academic degrees

Kalm graduated from Vändra Secondary School in 1971 and began studying geology at the University of Tartu, graduating in 1976. From 1980 to 1984, he was a graduate student at the Institute of Geology at the Estonian Academy of Sciences, defending his degree in geology with a dissertation "Formation, composition and use of glaciofluvial deposits in Estonia" (his supervisor was Anto Raukas) in 1984. Between 1988 and 1989, he was a postdoctoral student at the Department of Geology at the University of Alberta.

Career

Kalm had worked since 1981 in the Institute of Geology at the Faculty of Biology and Geography of the University of Tartu (since 2008 at the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences at the Faculty of Science and Technology), first as an assistant, from 1986 to 1988 as a lecturer, from 1988 to 1992 as a docent, and, from 1992 until his appointment as rector, as a professor of applied geology. From 1998 to 2003, he was the Vice-Rector for the University of Tartu. In 2007, he applied twice to be the rector of the university; the first time in 2007 was a failure, losing the position to

Alar Karis Alar Karis (; born 26 March 1958) is an Estonian Molecular genetics, molecular geneticist, Developmental biology, developmental biologist, civil servant and politician who, since 11 October 2021, has served as the sixth President of Estonia. P ...

who was ahead of him in other elections. Kalm was chosen rector of the University of Tartu on 31 May 2012, ahead of Mart Ustav and Toivo Maimets.

Research

Kalm has published studies on the

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

lithology The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples, or with low magnification microscopy. Physical characteristics include colour, texture, grain size, and composition. Lit ...

and

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigrap ...

, clay and archaeological ceramics in Estonia and the paleogeography of the Baltic, Scandinavian and Andean glaciers.

Awards

*2005: 4th Class of the Order of the White Star (received 23 February 2005)

References

External links

"Portree: rektor Volli Kalm, sihikindel Jäämees"
ERR Novaator, 23 December 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalm, Volli 1953 births 2017 deaths People from Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish Estonian geologists Rectors of the University of Tartu University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class