Zurab Tatashidze (Tintilozov) ( ka, ზურაბ ტატაშიძე; September 24, 1928 – June 12, 2011) was a Georgian geographer. Doctor of Geographical Sciences (1973),

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

(1979). Corresponding member of the

Georgian Academy of Sciences The Georgian National Academy of Sciences (GNAS) ( ka, საქართველოს მეცნიერებათა ეროვნული აკადემია, tr) is a main learned society of the Georgia. It was named Georgian S ...

(1997). Director of the Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography (1993–2005). President of the Georgian National Speleological Society (1998–2004). He was one of the discoverers of the

New Athos Cave The New Athos Cave ( ab, Афон Ҿыцтәи аҳаҧы; ka, ახალი ათონის მღვიმე; russian: Новоафонская Пещера) also Novoafonskaya, Novy Afon Cave, or New Afon Cave is a karst cave in the Iv ...

in 1961, which became one of the important tourism destinations in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Biography

Zurab Tatashidze was born on September 24, 1928, in the

Sachkhere Sachkhere ( ka, საჩხერე) is a town at the northern edge of the Imereti Province in Western Georgia (country), Georgia. It is the center of the Sachkhere Municipality. Farming is a major contributor to the economy of Sachkhere. Alv ...

Sachkhere Municipality Sachkhere ( ka, საჩხერის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Saçxeris municiṗaliṫeṫi'') is a district of Georgia, in the region of Imereti. Its main town is Sachkhere. From the north, the municipality of Sachkhere ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. In 1951 he finished the Faculty of Geography and Geology at

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი ''Ivane Javaxishvi ...

. At different times Zurab Tatashidze worked as a head teacher of the Gori Pedagogical Institute (1954–57), head teacher-scientist of the Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography (1958–60), head teacher of the Telavi Pedagogical Institute (1958–59), headed the Department of Karstology and Speleology of the Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography (1975–90), headed the Department of Geomorphology and Geoecology of the

(1983–93) and chief scientist colleague of the Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography (1990–93). His scientific works concerned

Speleology Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology). ...

Karstology Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

and

Geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

. In 1973 defending his

Doctor's degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

. He produced over 600 scientific works in

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

and

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...

s, of which 25 is fundamental

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

. Most of his work contain important material of scientific significance problem to the

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

. Zurab Tatashidze was an important researcher of

karst topography Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

Georgian and entirely,

Caucasus region The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. He made a great contribution in the development and popularization of speleological science in Georgia. With a professor

Levan Maruashvili Levan Iosifovich Maruashvili ( ka, ლევან იოსების ძე მარუაშვილი; born 25 October 1912, Novocherkassk, Russian Empire, – 5 December 1992, Tbilisi, Georgia) was a prominent Georgian geographer. Docto ...

he was one of the founders of the speleological science in Georgia. Zurab Tatashidze awarded the USSR State Prize in the field of science and technology in 1977 and the

Order of Honor Order of Honor may refer to: *Order of Honour (Armenia) *Order of Honor (Belarus), established in 1995 * Order of Honor (Georgia) *Order of Honour (Greece), an award that replaced the abolished Royal Order of George I in 1975 *Order of Honour (Moldo ...

in 1999. in 1998 Tatashidze was an honoured the "Person of the Year 1998" to the

American Biographical Institute The American Biographical Institute (ABI) was a paid-inclusion vanity biographical reference directory publisher based in Raleigh, North Carolina which had been publishing biographies since 1967. It generated revenue from sales of fraudulent certif ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatashidze, Zurab 1928 births 2011 deaths Tbilisi State University alumni Geographers from Georgia (country) Soviet geographers Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Order of Honor (Georgia) Corresponding Members of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences Directors of the Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography