Gediminas Motuza
Encyclopedia
Gediminas Motuza-Matuzevičius (born 24 August 1946 in Vilnius
) is a Lithuania
n geologist and author of geology textbooks. He is currently professor in the Faculty of the Natural Sciences at Vilnius University
and honorary professor of the Polish Academy of Sciences
.
Motuza was born to a Lithuanian–Latvia
n family of a painter and a linguist. After graduating from high school in 1963, he earned his A.B. degree from Vilnius University, Faculty of Natural Science in 1968. He started his career at the Institute of Mathematics and Cybernetics of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
as an engineer-geologist. From 1969 to 1973 he studied for a PhD degree at the Institute for Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Crystal Chemistry of Rare Elements in Moscow, where he defended his dissertation East Transbaikal Ore Deposit Location Pattern Study Based on Mathematical Statistics Methods. During this period he worked in the Pamir
and Altai Mountains, and in the Transbaikal
area.
Between 1982 and 1984, Motuza worked as a consultant for the Mozambique National Academy of Sciences. In 1984, he joined the Lithuanian Institute of Geology and Geography. In 1990 he was elected head of the Lithuanian Geological Society. Since 2003 he has been lecturing at the Department of Geology and Mineralogy of Vilnius University.
Motuza took part in a variety of governmental missions, including delineation of the state border between Lithuania, Russia and Latvia. He discovered the Mizarai crater
in Lithuania and identified the Vepriai crater
in Lithuania and the Dobele crater
in Latvia.
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
) is a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n geologist and author of geology textbooks. He is currently professor in the Faculty of the Natural Sciences at Vilnius University
Vilnius University
Vilnius University is the oldest university in the Baltic states and one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. It is also the largest university in Lithuania....
and honorary professor of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
.
Motuza was born to a Lithuanian–Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n family of a painter and a linguist. After graduating from high school in 1963, he earned his A.B. degree from Vilnius University, Faculty of Natural Science in 1968. He started his career at the Institute of Mathematics and Cybernetics of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences or LAS, founded in 1941 as the Lithuanian SSR Academy of Sciences , as an autonomous, state-subsidized establishment serving as a scientific advisory body to the government of Lithuanian SSR...
as an engineer-geologist. From 1969 to 1973 he studied for a PhD degree at the Institute for Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Crystal Chemistry of Rare Elements in Moscow, where he defended his dissertation East Transbaikal Ore Deposit Location Pattern Study Based on Mathematical Statistics Methods. During this period he worked in the Pamir
Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable...
and Altai Mountains, and in the Transbaikal
Transbaikal
Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia , or Dauria is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" Lake Baikal in Russia. The alternative name, Dauria, is derived from the ethnonym of the Daur people. It stretches for almost 1000 km from north to south from the Patomskoye Plateau and North...
area.
Between 1982 and 1984, Motuza worked as a consultant for the Mozambique National Academy of Sciences. In 1984, he joined the Lithuanian Institute of Geology and Geography. In 1990 he was elected head of the Lithuanian Geological Society. Since 2003 he has been lecturing at the Department of Geology and Mineralogy of Vilnius University.
Motuza took part in a variety of governmental missions, including delineation of the state border between Lithuania, Russia and Latvia. He discovered the Mizarai crater
Mizarai crater
Mizarai is a meteorite impact crater in Druskininkai municipality, Lithuania. The crater is not exposed to the surface and the site now hosts Mizarai village. The crater is about in diameter and about in depth. It was created by an asteroid, estimated in diameter, 500 ± 20 or 570 ± 50 million...
in Lithuania and identified the Vepriai crater
Vepriai crater
Vepriai is the largest impact crater in Lithuania, named after the town of Vepriai located at its center. The crater is not exposed to the surface, having been eroded and covered by sedimentary rocks during the last glacial period....
in Lithuania and the Dobele crater
Dobele crater
Dobele crater is an impact crater in central Latvia. The town of Dobele is built over the site of the crater.It is 4.5 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be 290 ± 35 million years . The impact structure is buried and is not visible.-External links:*, Meteoritics & Planetary Science, v....
in Latvia.