Roberto Rodriguez has been awarded the 2023 Medal of Merit of the European Federation of Geologists (EFG), following his nomination by the Official Spanish Association of Professional Geologists.
Dr Roberto Rodriguez has spent his entire professional career (47 years) at the Geological Survey of Spain (IGME) as a mapping geology specialist, and his work has greatly enhanced the standing and reputation of the profession.
He has served as a consultant for the World Bank for more than five years (2006–2010) on the PASMA Project (Plan to Support the Argentine Mining Sector), collaborating in the design, implementation, personnel training, and quality control of the Geological Map of Argentina programme. He has also provided support and advice for the institutional strengthening of the Dominican Republic authorities in the development of a new Dominican Geological Survey, financed by the SYSMIN Programme of the EU; to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC) in the elaboration of the tectonic map of Colombia as an expert of the Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CCGM-CGMW) together with other European members during 2017, 2018, and 2019; and to the Cuban authorities between 2019 and 2022, in the design and preparation of the first geological guide of Cuba, the Geological Guide of the Viñales Geopark, published in 2022. This work was carried out with the cooperation and support of the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Cuba, the Geological and Paleontological Institute of Cuba (Cuban Geological Survey), and the companies Ecovida and Geomining of Pinar del Río, as well as IGME.
As a researcher, he has conducted work in the Iberian Peninsula, the Andes, and Antarctica, participating in several projects supported and funded by the National R&D Plan, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, the World Bank, and the EU. He has taught PhD courses at the Universities of Oviedo and León, as well as numerous specialised courses in Structural Geology and Geological Mapping for the Geological Services of Argentina, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. He has authored more than 140 scientific articles and papers.
His promotion of geology to audiences outside the profession has focused on popularising the subject through multiple radio, press, and television programmes, as well as through his work as editor and author of the National Parks Geological Guides collection, which includes 21 guides covering 15 Spanish National Parks and the Viñales Geopark in Cuba. He has delivered numerous conferences on the dissemination of geology, geological maps, and geological guides through invited lectures and exhibitions.
Dr Rodriguez has undoubtedly influenced the perception of the European geology profession through his role as the Spanish representative at the Commission for the Geological Map of the World, as coordinator of WP15 Geological and Surface Dynamics Data in the European Plate Observing System (EPOS), as editor and author of the Geological Map of Spain and Portugal, and as project manager of the geological map of the Iberian microcontinent and its adjacent orogens.
His contribution to Spanish professional bodies has been significant and long-standing. He has served as second vice-president and member of the board of ICOG for more than 14 years, has organised and taught numerous training courses at the School of Geology, and has overseen several ICOG proposals to national and regional authorities on geological policies.
