FAST4Future October Seminar 

“Terrestrial field analogues for planetary research: some examples from the African continent” 

Presenter: Prof. Fulvio Franchi 

Affiliation of presenter: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università di Bari – Aldo Moro (Italy) 

Email of FAST4Future: info [at] cesst [dot] org Oct 22, 2024 10:00 AM Harare, Pretoria (CAT) 

Join Zoom Meeting https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/66926213523?pwd=TaBmBHnNwPe7obdKWHBkUaSN4QrGqy.1 

Meeting ID: 669 2621 3523 

Passcode: 109735 

Biography 

After 9 years as Lecturer and Professor at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), I moved back to Italy where I am holding the position of Associate Professor at the Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università di Bari – Aldo Moro (Italy). I also have an Honorary Professorship at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). After my PhD in Earth Science studying the astrobiological potential of Devonian carbonate mounds in the Moroccan Sahara, I have pursued a career at the crossroad between planetary science and carbonate sedimentology with a clear interest for biogeochemical pathways and astrobiology. Ever since my PhD in 2009 all my projects were deeply rooted in Africa working toward the creation of a Planetary Science community. In the past 5 years I have been awarded, as Coordinator (P.I.), two EC-funded projects, the Pan African Planetary and Space Science Network (PAPSSN) and FAST4Future (Focus on Africa Space Science for Future Development). I have successfully participated in two NERC projects and led my institution into the Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure funded by INFRAIA under Horizon2020. I coordinate the planetary field analogue Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana as part of the Europlanet2024 Transnational Access and successfully organized more than 20 field trips in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.