Milan Mišík (3 November 1928 in

Skalica Skalica (, , Latin: ''Sakolcium'') is the largest town in Skalica District in western Slovakia in the Záhorie region. Located near the Czech Republic, Czech border, Skalica has a population of around 15,000. Etymology The name is derived from Slo ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

– 7 May 2011 in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) was Slovak

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and

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

. He excelled particularly as an expert in microfacies analysis,

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

sedimentology Sedimentology encompasses the study of modern sediments such as sand, silt, and clay, and the processes that result in their formation (erosion and weathering), transport, deposition and diagenesis. Sedimentologists apply their understanding of m ...

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The clas ...

of sedimentary rocks, but also in

paleogeography Palaeogeography (or paleogeography) is the study of historical geography, generally physical landscapes. Palaeogeography can also include the study of human or cultural environments. When the focus is specifically on landforms, the term pale ...

, general and

structural geology Structural geology is the study of the three-dimensional distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational histories. The primary goal of structural geology is to use measurements of present-day rock geometries to uncover informati ...

and

tectonics Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

. His best known scientific works were dealing with

carbonate rocks Carbonate rocks are a class of sedimentary rocks composed primarily of carbonate minerals. The two major types are limestone, which is composed of calcite or aragonite (different crystal forms of CaCO3), and Dolomite (rock), dolomite rock (also kn ...

and exotic conglomerates.

Life

Born into a family of teachers in

(Western

) on 3 November 1928, he graduated from high school in

in 1947. In 1951, he completed his studies in geology and geography at

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

Faculty of Natural Sciences A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

in Bratislava. He worked at the Department of Geology and paleontology from 19511960 as an assistant to professor Dimitrij Andrusov, and from 1960 to 1970 as an associated professor. From 19631965, Mišík taught at the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

, and from 1966 to 1970, he served as the head of the Department of Geology and paleontology where he lectured on the regional

Geology of the Western Carpathians The Western Carpathians are an Arc (geometry), arc-shaped mountain range, the northern branch of the Alps, Alpine-Himalayan fold and thrust belt, fold and thrust system called the Alpide belt, which evolved during the Alpine orogeny. In particula ...

, petrography of sedimentary rocks, geotectonics, historical geology and stratigraphy. In 1970 he obtained a doctoral degree and was appointed professor of geology. From 19811983 he taught geology at the Algerian University in

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

. He contributed to the development of the Faculty of natural sciences of Comenius University and the development of teaching methodology, and participated in the preparation of geology experts and researchers. He was devoted to these research activities into high age and published his last monograph at the age of 81. He died on May 7, 2011, in Bratislava. His funeral took place on May 11 in the Bratislava crematorium Urnový háj.

Research interest

His scientific research was focused on the microfacial and

stratigraphic Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

investigation of the

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

rocks of

Western Carpathians The Western Carpathians () are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland w ...

, sedimentary

of carbonate rocks and Mesozoic paleogeography. He published more than 130 scientific articles and 34 popular science articles. His best known works are the monographs on ''Microfacies of Mesozoic and Tertiary limestones of Western Carpathians'' (in English and Slovak) which met with a positive international response and laid the foundations of modern microfacial analysis in Slovakia. He was also the author of the guide ''Geological Excursion to Slovakia'' (1976) and an editor of the textbook ''Stratigraphical and historical geology'' (1985). He authored entry about the geology of Slovakia in Springer's ''Encyclopedia of European and Asian regional geology'' (1997). From 2003 to 2009, together with D. Reháková, he published a series of monographs about carbonate sedimentary rocks of the Western Carpathians. He was also an author of the popular science book ''Relay of science'' (1990) which was to bring scientific research to the general public. During his scientific career he led numerous domestic scientific projects

VEGA Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, and ...

and KEGA. Also collaborated in international UNESCO IGCP projects.

Important papers

Among the most important works of Milan Mišík these monographs are considered:Plašienka, D., Reháková, D. 2009
''K životnému jubileu profesora M. Mišíka.''
in Németh, Z. (Editor) ''7. predvianočný seminár SGS.'' Mineralia Slovaca, Goevestník, pp. 228230 * ''Microfacies of the Mesozoic and Tertiary limestones of the West Carpathians.'' (1966) * ''Geology of Czechoslovak Carpathians.'' In ''Geography of Czechoslovakia. Part I'' (in cooperation with

Oto Fusán Oto, Ōtō, or OTO may refer to: People * Oto (name), including a list of people with the name *The Otoe tribe (also spelled Oto), a Native American people Places * Oto, Spain, a village in the Valle de Broto, in Huesca, Aragon Japan * Ōtō, ...

and Augustín Gorek, 1968) * ''Geological Excursion to Slovakia.'' (1976) * ''Stratigraphic and historical geology.'' (with

Ivo Chlupáč Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated So ...

and

Ivan Cicha Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the ...

, 1985) * ''Exotic conglomerates in flysch sequences: Examples from the West Carpathians.'' In: M. Rakús, J. Dercourt, A. R. M. Nairn (Editors): Evolution of the Northern margin of Tethys. (together with Róbert Marschalko, 1988) * ''Relay of science.'' (1990) * ''Slovakia.'' In: E. M. Moores and R. W. Fairbridge (Editors): ''Encyclopedia of European and Asian regional geology.'' (1997) * ''Psefitic rocks (gravel, breccias, conglomerates) of the Western Carpathians.'' (with Daniela Reháková, 2004) * ''Dolomites, dolomitizátion, dedolomitization in rocks of the Western Carpathians.'' (with Reháková, 2007) * ''Limestones of Slovakia – Part I (bioherm, crinoidal, freshwater, ooidal and oncoidal limestones).'' (with Reháková, 2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misik, Milan 1928 births 2011 deaths People from Skalica Slovak geologists Comenius University alumni