Professor PhD. Petre Gastescu
Prof. Petre Gâştescu, PhD, was born on the 13th of November 1931, at Soci village, Miroslăveşti commune, Iaşi County; the secondary education was done in Iaşi (Veniamin Costachi Seminary) and the high school from Paşcani; university education at the Geology-Geography Faculty, Geography department of Bucharest University, graduated with honor (merit diploma) in 1955; he defended his doctoral thesis with on topic "Lacurile din România-geneză şi regim hidrologic" (The Lakes of Romania – genesis and hydrologic regime), at the University of Cluj in 1961,and obtained the title of PhD (dr.habil) defending the thesis "Lacurile din România-limnologie regională" (The Lakes from Romania – Regional Limnology), 1971 at the same university.
Research activity from 1955 until 2014 at the Hydrometeorological General Management (1955-1958) and at the Geography Institute of Romanian Academy (1958-2001), at present he is a partner researcher. Educational activity at "Valahia" University from Targoviste, where he had been appointed in 1994, at Hyperion University in Bucharest, where he has been appointed since 2004, at the University from Bucharest as associate professor (since 1994).
During the over 60 years of scientific and teaching activity from 1955 until 2015, the professor Petre Gâştescu has consistently promoted the scientific research in the domain of hydrology, and especially, in limnology, diversifying at the same time the preoccupations related to the Danube river, the Danube Delta and Black Sea coast. Being a very good organizer, first of the research team and of the physical geography laboratory and then of the Institute of Geography, and at the same time a researcher, he managed to extend the area of scientific preoccupations and at the same time to competently and professionally continue and valorize the already existing research.
The numerous issues he has researched can be grouped into several important directions(limnology-genesis of the lake depressios, hydrological balance and regime thermic and hydrochemical features, lake ecosystem, limnological type and problems of terminology; hydrogeography and regional research).
He is a Charter Member and Chairman of the Romanian Limnogeographical Association (2008), Charter Member of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reservation, publishing the synthesis paper – The Danube Delta – a Biosphere Reservation, co-editor with Eng. Romulus Ştiucă (2006, 2008. He took part to number of international hydrology, geography symposiums, conferences and congresses, being a member in speciality committees of the Geography International Union and Hydrology International Scientific Association (IHSA).
He published more than 300 scientific works (books, articles, maps) in prestigious speciality magazines in Romania and abroad. He coordinated the drawing up of fundamental works in the framework of the Geography Institute, such as: The Romanian Danube Valley Geography (1969), Romanian Atlas (1972 – 1978), Romania Geography (1983 – 2005) The Country County Collection (41 volumes) and other paper works published in the Romanian Academy Publishing House.
He published many courses (to see the list of the paper works) for the university geographical educational system. Some of the works such as Lacurile pe glob (Lakes of the world-1969), Lacurile Terrei (Terra Lakes in many issues ,1979, 2002, 2006, 2008), Insulele Terrei (Terra Isles-1986, 2030, 2013), Fluviile Terrei (Terra Rivers- 1990, 2002, 2009), have a great audience geographical information message. We can add to these works the 5 issues of the Danube Delta Touristic Map and Rezervaţia Biosferei Delta Dunării - ghidul vizitatorului (Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve-visitor's guide, 2011), in collaboration with Ph in Eng. Grigore Baboianu– the Governor of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reservation, at that date, Ghidul vizitatorului zonei pontice a R.B.D.D. (Visitor's Guide for the Pontic area of D.D.B.R., 2013).
He is a member of some scientific societies (Geography – Romania and Italy, Ecology), commissions, editorial boards of the academic speciality journals.
Doctoral Advisor since 1972 -since present, 36 students – geographers, engineers had got their Ph.D. title under his guidance. He had been granted many awards, such as – the medal The Scientific Merit (1966), the prize of "Gheorghe Murgoci" Romanian Academy (1971), member of "Research Board Advisors of the American Biographical Institute" (2000), the title of Honour Professor of "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" from Iasi (2001) and the diploma of excellence and the medal of the same university on the occasion of the Geographical Academic Education Centenary (2004), Doctor Honoris Causa of "Stefan cel Mare" University from Suceava (2002) and of "Valahia" University from Targoviste (2007), "Simion Mehedinţi" diploma of excellence and medal – Geography Faculty of Bucharest University, Honour Professor-University Hyperion (2013), another diplomas of excellence from Romanian universities and research institutes.