Amalia Ercoli Finzi
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20 April 1937
- Engineer
- academic
Amalia Ercoli Finzi | |
|---|---|
 Ercoli in late 2023 | |
| Born | Amalia Ercoli 20 April 1937 Gallarate, Italy |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Philae |
| Spouse | Filiberto Finzi |
| Relatives | Bruno Finzi (father-in-law) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Polytechnic University of Milan |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Aerospace engineering |
| Institutions | Polytechnic University of Milan |
Amalia Ercoli Finzi (Italian pronunciation: [aˈmaːlja ˈɛrkoli ˈfintsi]; née Ercoli; born 20 April 1937) is an Italian engineer and academic, Principal Investigator of the SD2 drill aboard the Philae spacecraft.
Ercoli was born in Gallarate. 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
Ercoli 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–ASI 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]
