Josefina Castellví

Josefina Castellví
Born	1 July 1935
Nationality	Spain
Alma mater	University of Barcelona
Notable awards	Creu de Sant Jordi Award

Josefina Castellví Piulachs (born in Barcelona, 1 July 1935) is a Spanish oceanographer, biologist and writer.^[1] Castellvi Peak on Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island is named in her honour.

Early life and education

Daughter of a doctor and a housewife, Castellví was educated at the Montserrat Institute, Barcelona. She received a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Barcelona in 1957, then went to France, where in 1960 she specialised in oceanography and did some practical courses at the Sorbonne University. She completed a doctorate in biological sciences at the University of Barcelona in 1969.

Career

Since 1960 Castellví has worked at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) Institute of Marine Sciences, later serving as its Director from 1994-5 and its Catalonian delegate. In 1984 she was the first Spanish woman to participate in and coordinate an international expedition to Antarctica together with Antoni Ballester y Nolla. During this expedition the Juan Carlos I Antarctic Base was founded on Livingston Island, which permitted Spain to gain a consultative status to the Antarctic Treaty System in 1988. Castellví acted as the Head of the Base between 1989 and 1993 and also has served as the President of Universitat d'Estiu d'Andorra since 2010.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Josefina Castellví in 2003 receiving the decoration Cross of Saint Jordi.

Throughout her career, Castellví has received numerous awards and honours, most notably the Medalla d'Or of the City of Barcelona in 1994 and the Creu de Sant Jordi Award in 2003. In addition, she was awarded a National Culture Prize from the Parliament of Catalonia and the Catalan of the year Award in 2013. On 5 March 2015 she became the first woman to receive the August Pi i Sunyer Medal from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Barcelona, which was awarded in commemoration of International Women's Day.

Works

• 1967: Marine ecology
• 1996: I have lived in Antarctica
• 2005: The role played by oceans in the equilibrium of Planet Earth

Prizes

• Proèmula Prize for the female director of the year (1994).
• Medalla d'Or for Scientific Merit awarded by the City of Barcelona (1994).
• Narcís Monturiol Medal for the Scientific and Technological Merit awarded by the Government of Catalonia (1996).
• Lady of Goya Award awarded by the Spanish Friends of Goya Association (1997).
• Imhotep-Creu Blanca Foundation Prize (1998).
• The Spanish Geographic Society’s National Prize (1998).
• The Spanish Order of Civil Merit (2002).
• Creu de Sant Jordi Award by the Government of Catalonia (2003).
• Nationale Swisse Environmental Award (2003).
• Esteva Bassols Prize: "Senyora of Barcelona" (2005).
• Catalan of the year Award awarded and voted by the readers of El Peródico de Cataluña (2013).
• August Pi i Sunyer Medal awarded by the University of Barcelona (2015).

References