HISTORIC
The "Emil Racovita" Institute of Speleology, the first one in the world dealing with cave research, was founded by the enterprising, well-known scientist Emil Racovita (1868-1947), biologist, polar explorer and pioneer of the Biospeleology, the foundation of the institute being endorsed by a special law, issued on April 26th, 1920.
In the first years, the institute was included in the Faculty of Sciences from Cluj, the official framework in which the scientist moved also the headquarters of the "Biospeologica" Scientific Society, founded by him in 1907, as an international body designed to coordinate the activity of all zoologists involved in the subterranean fauna research.
Along with Emil Racovita, at the institute from Cluj, two eminent biologists undertook their research: Rene Jeannel, French entomologist and remarkable biogeographer, and Pierre-Alfred Chappuis, Swiss researcher dealing with the study of the subterranean aquatic fauna.
In 1956, the institute managed by Professor Constantin Motas (1891-1980) was reorganized, in its new structure having the main headquarters in Bucharest and a branch in Cluj, while four years later it received the nowadays name ("Emil Racovita" Institute of Speleology) and it was taken under the patronage of the Romanian Academy and the management of the professors Traian Orghidan and Margareta Dumitrescu.
In the next decades, to the extensive biospeleological research schedule initially conceived by Emil Racovita in order to get an accurate reconstitution of the subterranean realm natural history, physical speleology and paleontology studies have been added.
Nowadays, organized under the patronage of the Romanian Academy, the "Emil Racovita" Institute of Speleology comprises five departments involved in specific research trends and programmes:
- • Biospeleology and Karst Edaphobiology
- • Geospeleology and Paleontology
- • Karstonomy, Karst Inventory and Protection
- • Hydrogeochemistry
- • Cluj – Napoca Department
MAIN RESEARCH TOPICS
- • Taxonomic, phyllogenetic, biogeographic and ecological studies on subterranean environments, in order to highlight their diversity and complexity.
- • Studies on the crystallography and mineralogy of the cave environment.
- • Reconstitution of the Quaternary climate oscillations, by applying the U-Th radiometric dating method in our own laboratory.
- • Studies on the fossil mammal assemblages.
- • Study of geochemical processes taking place in carstice and related environments.
- • Study on the karst systems complexity and distribution, regional karstology research.
- • Karst environment protection and its vulnerability to pollution.
RESEARCH FIELDS
- • Biospeleology and Edaphobiology
- • Geospeleology and Karstology
- • Geochronology and Paleontology
- • Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry
- • Karst Environment Ecology and Protection
- • Karst vulnerability management
HUMAN RESOURCES
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHER I
- • Ph.D. Constantin MARIN
- • Ph.D. Oana MOLDOVAN
- • Ph.D. Silviu CONSTANTIN
- • Ph.D. Daniel VEREȘ
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHER II
- • Ph.D. Daniela BORDA
- • Ph.D. Eugen NITU
- • Ph.D. Andrei GIURGINCA
- • Ph.D. Alexandru PETCULESCU
- • Ph.D. Alexandra HILLEBRAND-VOICULESCU
- • Ph.D. Aurel PERŞOIU
- • Ph.D. Marius ROBU
- • Ph.D. Raluca BĂNCILĂ
- • Ph.D. Ioana MELEG
- • Ph.D. Traian BRAD
- • Ph.D. Rodica PLĂIAŞU
- • Ph.D. Virgil DRĂGUȘIN
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHER III
- • Ph.D. Augustin NAE
- • Ph.D. Ruxandra NĂSTASE-BUCUR
- • Ph.D. Sebastian Ionuț POPA
- • Ph.D. Marius VLAICU
- • Ph.D. Alin TUDORACHE
- • Ph.D. Cristian-Mihai MUNTEANU
- • Ph.D. Ionuț MIREA
- • Ph.D. Ioana NAE
- • Ph.D. Nicolae CRUCERU
- • Ph.D. Ștefan Cătălin BABA
- • Marius KENESZ
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHER
- • Ph.D. Luchiana FAUR
- • Răzvan ARGHIR
- • Valerică TOMA
- • Cătălina HAIDĂU
SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANT RESEARCHER
- • Robert Florin Opran
ASSISTANT
- • Nicolae ARGINTARU
- • Floarea RĂDUCA
ASSOCIATE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHER
- • Ph.D. Cristian GORAN - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Sanda IEPURE - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Nenad BUZJAK - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Vlad CODREA - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Tiziana DI LORENZO - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Angelica FEURDEAN - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Ulrich HAMBACH - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Monica IONIȚĂ-SCHOLZ - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Ilinca JUVARA-BALȘ - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Cristian LASCU - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Jack LONGMAN - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Christos PENNOS - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Ioana PERȘOIU - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Șerban SÂRBU - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Cristian SITAR - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Ionel Grigorie TABACARU - cercetător asociat
- • Ph.D. Laura TÂRLĂ - cercetător asociat
ORGANIZATION
GENERAL MANAGER: Ph.D. Constantin MARIN
DEPUTY MANAGER: Ph.D. Virgil DRĂGUȘIN
SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL
- • Ph.D. Constantin Marin - Scientific Council President
- • Ph.D. Dumitru MURARIU - Scientific Manager
- • Ph.D. Raluca BANCILA - Head of Biospeleology and Edaphobiology of the Karst Compartment
- • Ph.D. Silviu CONSTANTIN - Head of Geospeleology and Karstology Compartment
- • Ph.D. Marius VLAICU - Head of Karstonomy, Karst Inventory and Protection Compartment
- • Ph.D. Alin TUDORACHE-
- • Ph.D. Cristian MUNTEANU - Scientific Council Secretary
- • Ph.D. Traian BRAD - Member
- • Ph.D. Alexandru PETCULESCU - Member
COMPARTMENTS AND OFFICES
- • BIOSPELEOLOGY AND EDAPHOBILOGY OF THE KARST
- • GEOSPELEOLOGY AND KARSTOLOGY
- • KARSTONOMY, KARST, INVENTORY AND PROTECTION
- • HYDROGEOCHEMISTRY
- • CLUJ-NAPOCA
- • JURIDICAL
- • ACCOUNTING FINANCIAL
- • ADMINISTRATIVE
DOCUMENTS
- • ERIS Rules of organization and functioning
- • ERIS Rules of Procedure
- • ERIS Code of Ethics
- • ERIS legislation
- • 2021 Activity Report
- • 2020 Activity Report
- • 2019 Activity Report
- • 2018 Activity Report
- • 2017 Activity Report
- • 2016 Activity Report
- • 2015 Activity Report
- • 2014 Activity Report
- • 2013 Activity Report
- • 2012 Activity Report
- • 2011 Activity Report
- • 2010 Activity Report
- • 2009 Activity Report
- • 2008 Activity Report