Emilia Saulea

Emilia Săulea was a pioneering Romanian geologist and paleontologist, known for being the first female paleontologist from Romania. She was born on July 21, 1904, in Iasi, Romania. After graduating from the University of Iasi in 1929, she specialized in mineralogy and petrography of sedimentary rocks and earned her doctorate in geology at the University of Bucharest in 1946. Săulea's academic and professional career was marked by her contributions to the field of paleontology and stratigraphy of tertiary formations in Romania. She was an esteemed professor, teaching at the University of Iasi and later in Bucharest. Her work in research at the Geological Committee-Institute significantly advanced the understanding of microscopic fossil fauna from the Romanian Neogene period. Among her notable contributions are the creation of the first Romanian study on fossil foraminifera from the Miocene and the first lithofacial atlas of the Romanian Neogene. For her outstanding contributions, she was named an honorary member of the Romanian Academy in 1993. Emilia Săulea passed away on April 1, 1998, in Bucharest, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire future generations in the field of geosciences.