Amalia Ercoli Finzi
Born
Amalia Ercoli

(1937-04-20) 20 April 1937
Gallarate, Italy
Alma materPolytechnic University of Milan
EmployerPolytechnic University of Milan
Known forAerospace engineering
Philae

Amalia Ercoli Finzi (née Ercoli; 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,[4][2] 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.[2] She has considerable experience in space flight dynamics. She has served as a scientific advisor for NASA, ASI and ESA[5][6] and is an honorary lecturer at Milan's Politecnico university.[7]

She has been involved with several NASA - Italian Space Agency missions, including space tether missions, MiTEx and Columbus (ISS module).[2] She was responsible for the SD2 instrument, which drilled the surface of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, collected materials and took them for analysis.[8][9][10]

Ercoli is married to Filiberto Finzi, son of Italian mathematician Bruno Finzi.[11] The couple have five children.[12][13]

Awards and honors

In 2012 she won the Franck J. Malina Astronautics Medal from the International Astronautical Federation.[14] 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.[15] Ercoli is an advocate for women in science, and speaks up against stereotypes and bias.[16][17][18] 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.[19]

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.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "RNews, Amalia Finzi: 'Io ingegnere e nonna vi svelerò i segreti della cometa'". Repubblica Tv - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Amalia Ercoli Finzi" (PDF). Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  3. ↑ ""Essere una donna é ancora motivo di discriminazione". Amalia Ercoli-Finzi | Il Quorum". Il Quorum (in Italian). 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  4. ↑ PoliMi (2017-06-30), Qua e là nello spazio (A. E. Finzi), retrieved 2018-04-16
  5. ↑ "Amalia Ercoli Finzi: parla la prima donna ingegnere aeronautico d'Italia". Ingegneri.info (in Italian). 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  6. ↑ "Amalia Ercoli Finzi, ingénieur des comètes | Les amis de l'Hotel Galliffet". www.amishotelgalliffet.com (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  7. 1 2 "Copy of Mars rover named after Italian astrophysicist - English". ANSA.it. 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  8. ↑ Piazzolla, Antonio (2015-11-18). "Intervista ad Amalia Ercoli Finzi, la "mamma" di Rosetta | Close-up Engineering". Close-up Engineering | Science & Tech (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  9. ↑ "Donne nella scienza: Amalia Ercoli Finzi | infoclio.ch". www.infoclio.ch (in French). Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  10. ↑ "Amalia Ercoli Finzi, l'italiana che ha portato Philae vicino al sole". Gli Stati Generali (in Italian). 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  11. ↑ "Le eccellenze del Made in Italy, Amalia Ercole Finzi: da angelo del focolare a signora delle stelle - IlSudOnLine". IlSudOnLine (in Italian). 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  12. ↑ "Le eccellenze del Made in Italy, Amalia Ercole Finzi: da angelo del focolare a signora delle stelle - IlSudOnLine". IlSudOnLine (in Italian). 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  13. ↑ Agnese, Maria Luisa. "Amalia Ercoli Finzi: "Con cinque figli grattugiavo mele in continuazione"" (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  14. ↑ "Amelia ERCOLI-FINZI | Iaf". www.iafastro.org. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  15. ↑ "Amalia Ercole Finzi, Premio Leonardo alla carriera - Orbiter". Orbiter (in Italian). 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  16. ↑ "Amalia Ercoli-Finzi: "Alle bimbe regalate bambole e meccano, così sono diventata la signora delle comete"". Repubblica.it (in Italian). 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  17. ↑ "Amalia Ercoli Finzi, "Anche le donne possono farsi spazio in ambiti prevalentemente maschili"". libreriamo.it (in Italian). 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  18. ↑ "Amalia Ercoli Finzi a Che tempo che fa, sapete quanti figli ha? - Funweek". Funweek (in Italian). 2016-09-26. Archived from the original on 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  19. ↑ ""Comet Lady" Amalia Ercoli Finzi to be awarded in Portovenere". Discover Portovenere Blog. 2017-07-23. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
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