Yolande Le Calvez
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Yolande Le Calvez | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 April 1910 |
| Died | 17 December 2001 (aged 91) |
| Occupations | geologist, palaeontologist, geological engineer |
| Employer(s) | Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières, French National Centre for Scientific Research, |
Yolande Le Calvez (23 April 1910 – 17 December 2001)[1][2] was a French geologist, palaeontologist and geological engineer, specialising in foraminifera and their use in biostratigraphy. She was described by a colleague as the "grande dame" of micropaleontology.[3] She is one of 72 women in STEM whose names have been proposed to be added to the Eiffel Tower.[1]
Yolande Roman was born on 23 April 1910. She married in 1933, taking her husband's surname Le Calvez and was known as Yolande Le Calvez professionally.[4] Her 1970 doctoral thesis focused on the Paleogene of the Paris Basin.[5][3] She devoted her career to the study of fossil and modern foraminifera, single-celled organisms that maintain the balance of the oceanic ecosystem.[6] She used them as biostratigraphic markers.[7][8]
Career
In 1934, Le Calvez collaborated with her husband, Jean Le Calvez, a preparator at the Villefranche-sur-Mer Zoological Station, on the reproduction of foraminifera and the study of these micro-organisms in their natural environment.[5]
In 1944, Le Calvez was recruited as a geological engineer for the Bureau de Recherche Géologiques et Géophysiques (later the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières or BRGM),[1] where she worked with neurologist Pierre Marie. She revised the foraminifera collection and went on to head the micropalaeontology laboratory. When the BRGM moved to Orléans,[5] Le Calvez joined the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Institute of Palaeontology (MNHN) in 1966.[1]
In 1972, Le Calvez took over as head of the micropalaeontology laboratory,[1] succeeding Marthe Deflandre-Rigaud, a position she held until her retirement in 1977.[5] She continued her work promoting the collections of ancient authors and specialists in foraminifera and ostracods.[9] She edited the Cahiers de Micropaléontologie journal during this period.[9]
