History

Geology has been taught in Iași for more than 180 years: from the chair of Mineralogy and Geology of the Mihăileană Academy to today's Department of Geology, part of the Faculty of Geography and Geology of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University.

Grigore Cobălcescu (1831–1892), the first professor of geology of the University of Iași.

Milestones

1835 The Mihăileană Academy opens (16 June), with courses in natural history and chemistry.
1842 A chair of Mineralogy and Geology is founded, entrusted to Ion Ghica, a graduate of the Paris School of Mines.
1860 The University of Iași opens (26 October); “Mineralogy, Geology, Geognosy and Palaeontology” is taught in the Faculty of Philosophy.
1864 Grigore Cobălcescu, trained at the Sorbonne, takes the chair of geology and leads it until 1892.
1865 The Chair of Geology–Mineralogy–Palaeontology is created in the new Faculty of Sciences.
1888 The Krantz collection arrives: more than 8,500 minerals, rocks and fossils from all over the world — the core of today's collections.
1895 The chair splits into Mineralogy–Petrography (Vasile C. Buțureanu) and Palaeontology–Stratigraphy (Ion Simionescu).
1897 The present University building opens, with laboratories, collection rooms and a library.
1909 Gheorghe Macovei defends the first PhD thesis in geology in Iași, supervised by Ion Simionescu.
1937 Mircea Savul, the founder of Romanian geochemistry, becomes professor in Iași.
1944–1945 The University is evacuated to Alba Iulia and Zlatna; part of the collections and instruments is lost. The laboratories are rebuilt after the return to Iași.
1948 The University receives the name “Alexandru Ioan Cuza”.
1990 A new beginning for geology teaching in Iași, in growth and organisation.

Today

The former chairs of Geology–Palaeontology and Mineralogy–Geochemistry form the Department of Geology, which teaches at every level: bachelor's degrees in Geology (Geochemistry) and Geological Engineering, master's degrees in Environmental Geochemistry (also taught in English) and Wellsite Geology, and a PhD in Geology. The Krantz collection can be seen in the “Grigore Cobălcescu” Mineralogy Collection.