The Faculty of Geology of the University of Oviedo gathered around 200 people in an emotional tribute to the renowned geologist Andrés Pérez Estaún, one of the promoters of education in Asturias, deceased in August last year. This event, chaired by the rector of the University of Oviedo, Vicente Gotor, was also attended by the rector of the University of Granada and geologist, Francisco González Lodeiro, and Pérez Estaún´s children.

 

Pérez Estaún was Deputy Dean and Dean of the Faculty of Geology between 1984 and 1989, and in the 90´s he joined the Scientific Research Council of the Institute of Earth Sciences of Barcelona. Both his profile and his research career were analyzed in-depth by the people who attended this event. In addition to the rectors of the Universities of Oviedo and Granada, professor Fernando Bastida Ibáñez, president of the Organizing Committee; professor Carlos López Fernández, director of the Department of Geology; and Rosana Menéndez Duarte, dean of the Faculty, took part in the event as authorities. 

 

As for his colleagues and apprentices, some of the attendees were: Ernest Rutter, Professor of Structural Geology of the University of Manchester; Joaquín García Sansegundo and Francisco José Rodríguez Fernández, both of them professors in the field of Internal Geodynamics of the University of Oviedo; Miguel Arbizu Senosiaín, professor of Paleontology of the University of Oviedo; Ramón Carbonell Bertrán, Research professor of the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (CSIC); Juan Antonio Vera Torres, professor emeritus of Stratigraphy of the University of Granada; Montserrat Jiménez Sánchez, professor of External Geodynamics of the University of Oviedo; and Guillermo Pérez Borraz, the honoree´s son.

 

Andrés Pérez Estaún published 175 papers in international and national journals and books, 50 of which were published in journals of the Science Citation Index (ISI). His research line and scientific contributions were focused on plate tectonics, more specifically in the structure of mountain ranges and orogenic processes, using methodologies related to Structural Geology and Geophysics. This research work implies the inclusion of information coming from different disciplines of the field of Earth Sciences. In his projects, Estaún gathers a large network of collaborators, including scientists from different fields, institutions and countries.

 

Among the numerous projects in which he participated, it is worth mentioning the Magma Plan, aimed at obtaining a map of the geology of Spain, reflection seismic program of studies of the Iberian Peninsula (ESCI) and the Urals, the studies of fossil and active geological processes (Varisca, Urals and Antilles mountain ranges), and the application of Structural Geology and Geophysics to determine the architecture of rocky walls. In addition, he also took part in several collaboration projects in the industrial sector in the field of mining and in the development of methodologies for the characterization of the subsoil and their application in the construction of large infrastructures and repositories.