Amalia Ercoli Finzi Explained
Amalia Ercoli Finzi (; born 20 April 1937) is an Italian engineer and professor, Principal Investigator of the SD2 drill aboard the Philae spacecraft.
Early life and education
Ercoli Finzi was born at Gallarate, near Milan.
In 1962 she was the first Italian woman to graduate in aeronautical engineering, from the Polytechnic University of Milan, with a final grade of 100/100 cum laude.[1] [2] [3]
Research and career
She has taught at the Polytechnic University of Milan for more than fifty years, becoming associate professor in 1980 and professor in 1994. She has served as Professor of Orbital Mechanics, Director of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and on the board of Directors of the National Museum of Science and Technology. She has considerable experience in space flight dynamics. She has served as a scientific advisor for NASA, ASI and ESA[4] [5] and is an honorary lecturer at Milan's Politecnico university.[6]
She has been involved with several NASA - Italian Space Agency missions, including space tether missions, MiTEx and Columbus (ISS module). She was responsible for the SD2 instrument, which drilled the surface of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, collected materials and took them for analysis.[7] [8] [9]
Ercoli is married to Filiberto Finzi, son of Italian mathematician Bruno Finzi.[10] The couple have five children.[11] [12]
Awards and honors
In 2012 she won the Franck J. Malina Astronautics Medal from the International Astronautical Federation.[13] She was also awarded the Leonardo Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Italian Association of Science Journalists for her contributions to the exploration of space and education.[14] Ercoli is an advocate for women in science, and speaks up against stereotypes and bias.[15] [16] [17] In 2017 she won the Premio Porto Venere Donna award which is given annually by the Provincial Council of Women to recognise the most influential women in Italy.[18]
In 2018, the asteroid 24890 Amaliafinzi was named after her.
A Turin-based working copy of the latest Mars rover was named after Finzi in January 2022 by the European Space Agency. The model will simulate all the rover's actual moves on Mars.
Notes and References
- Web site: RNews, Amalia Finzi: 'Io ingegnere e nonna vi svelerò i segreti della cometa'. 2014-11-14. Repubblica Tv - la Repubblica.it. it. 2018-04-16.
- Web site: Amalia Ercoli Finzi. Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci. 2018-04-17.
- News: "Essere una donna é ancora motivo di discriminazione". Amalia Ercoli-Finzi Il Quorum. 2016-04-13. Il Quorum. 2018-04-16. it-IT.
- News: Amalia Ercoli Finzi: parla la prima donna ingegnere aeronautico d'Italia. 2017-12-21. Ingegneri.info. 2018-04-16. it-IT.
- Web site: Amalia Ercoli Finzi, ingénieur des comètes Les amis de l'Hotel Galliffet. www.amishotelgalliffet.com. it-IT. 2018-04-16.
- Web site: 2022-01-18. Copy of Mars rover named after Italian astrophysicist - English. 2022-01-19. ANSA.it. en.
- News: Intervista ad Amalia Ercoli Finzi, la "mamma" di Rosetta Close-up Engineering. Piazzolla. Antonio. 2015-11-18. Close-up Engineering Science & Tech. 2018-04-16. it-IT.
- Web site: Donne nella scienza: Amalia Ercoli Finzi infoclio.ch. www.infoclio.ch. fr. 2018-04-16.
- News: Amalia Ercoli Finzi, l'italiana che ha portato Philae vicino al sole. 2014-11-22. Gli Stati Generali. 2018-04-16. it-IT.
- News: Le eccellenze del Made in Italy, Amalia Ercole Finzi: da angelo del focolare a signora delle stelle - IlSudOnLine. 2014-12-25. IlSudOnLine. 2018-04-16. it-IT.
- News: Le eccellenze del Made in Italy, Amalia Ercole Finzi: da angelo del focolare a signora delle stelle - IlSudOnLine. 2014-12-25. IlSudOnLine. 2018-04-16. it-IT.
- News: Amalia Ercoli Finzi: "Con cinque figli grattugiavo mele in continuazione". Agnese. Maria Luisa. 2018-04-16. it.
- Web site: Amelia ERCOLI-FINZI Iaf. www.iafastro.org. en-GB. 2018-04-16.
- News: Amalia Ercole Finzi, Premio Leonardo alla carriera - Orbiter. 2012-12-03. Orbiter. 2018-04-16. it-IT.
- News: Amalia Ercoli-Finzi: "Alle bimbe regalate bambole e meccano, così sono diventata la signora delle comete". 2017-11-07. Repubblica.it. 2018-04-16. it.
- Web site: Amalia Ercoli Finzi, "Anche le donne possono farsi spazio in ambiti prevalentemente maschili". libreriamo.it. it-IT. 2018-04-16. 2016-10-28.
- News: Amalia Ercoli Finzi a Che tempo che fa, sapete quanti figli ha? - Funweek. 2016-09-26. Funweek. 2018-04-16. it-IT. https://web.archive.org/web/20180417105540/https://www.funweek.it/tv/amalia-ercoli-finzi-figli-che-tempo-che-fa/. 2018-04-17. dead.
- News: "Comet Lady" Amalia Ercoli Finzi to be awarded in Portovenere. 2017-07-23. Discover Portovenere Blog. 2018-04-16. en-US.