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GSA 2018 Honorary Fellows

Bishal Upreti has furnished the most Eduardo Garzanti has been professor
complete exposure of all major tectonic in stratigraphy and sedimentology at the
elements in the Himalayan orogen, University of Milano-Bicocca since 2001
from which our current paradigm on and is currently vice-director of the Dept.
collisional orogenesis is derived. We of Earth and Environmental Science. A
also owe to this remarkable individual member of Academia Europaea, he has
who has selflessly made the Nepal served as GEV for sedimentary geology
Himalaya accessible to fellow geolo- and structural geology in the National
gists around the world. In the past four VQR for the years 2004–2010 and as
decades since the early days of the plate GEV for sedimentary geology for the
Bishal Upreti Eduardo Garzanti
tectonic revolution, Upreti has been an years 2011–2014. He is associate editor
integral part of every major scientific advance in Himalayan for prestigious international journals, including Geology, Terra
research, through sharing his deep knowledge on the stratigra- Nova, and Basin Research.
phy, structural geology, and the rich and colorful history of
Himalayan geologic studies with his international colleagues and Garzanti is an expert in the geology and tectonics of orogenic
mentoring the newcomers to his beloved country, Nepal. He has belts, with special emphasis on the Himalaya and the European
collaborated, as an equal partner, with the most preeminent Alps. He is also the world’s leading authority on the provenance
research groups around the world. Without his tirelessly writing of and controls on global sand composition, and the leader of the
supporting letters, patient and persistent assistance in removing most productive sedimentary provenance group. Since 1981, he
bureaucratic hurdles to obtain travel permits, and providing the has participated in more than 12 expeditions to the Himalaya of
most able logistic supports, none of the current scientific Pakistan, India, Nepal, South Tibet, and the Bengal Sea. His
achievement in the Nepal Himalaya would be possible. Upreti 1987 paper on the timing of initial India-Asia collision (Garzanti
has introduced many geologists to the Himalaya. et al., “Sedimentary record of the northward flight of India
and its collision with Eurasia [Ladakh Himalaya, India]”:
Much of his personal research has focused on natural hazards, Geodinamica Acta, v. 1, p. 297–312) is a pioneering contribution
a field of obvious importance in Nepal, where a rapidly evolving to the tectonics of Asia. This early work has stood the test of
orogenic system presents hazards ranging from glacial lake time and numerous further assessments of its conclusions and
outbursts, to massive landslides, to—as we all were reminded remains a gold standard in the Himalayan literature.
this past spring—devastating earthquakes. Upreti has been a
tireless emissary from the geologic community to the policy Garzanti has also worked extensively on the Paleozoic history
makers of Nepal for decades, and thus has contributed to Nepali of the Indian passive margin and the stratigraphic history of the
society through applied research and public awareness of Neotethys Ocean. His most recent scientific work, carried out in
geology. Not only through his work over the years but also with collaboration with researchers from British, French, North
other U.S. and international collaborators too numerous to American, and Indian institutions, involves petrographic and
mention, Upreti has opened the Nepali geologic community to mineralogical study of modern sands in Asian (Indus, Ganga,
the world community of geologic researchers, and has thus made Brahmaputra, Ayeyarwadi), African (Nile, Orange, Congo,
his mark in the administration of geological programs. Our Zambesi), and European (Po, Rhône, Danube) big river systems,
collective knowledge of Himalayan geology owes much to the and of Cenozoic foreland basins associated with the Himalayan
quiet, mostly behind-the-scenes efforts of this man. (Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the
Andaman Islands), and the Alps-Apennine orogenic systems.
Upreti has been recognized by others: He was president of both
the Nepal Geological Society and Disaster Preparedness Network– Garzanti was part of the IODP Science Planning Committee
Nepal. He was rector of Tribuhavan University and honorary for the recent Indus Fan Project. His sedimentary petrology work
member of the Nepal Geological Society. He recently received the involving both light and dense minerals is now complemented by
C.N.R. Rao Prize for Scientific Research awarded by The World an increasing array of geochemical and isotopic approaches,
Academy of Sciences and is active in the Nepal Academy of along with sophisticated statistical apparatus. He continues to
Science and Technology. He has been a key contributor on develop and refine schemes for interpreting tectonic processes
numerous reports and legislation for the Nepali government based on petrological modes. Garzanti’s phenomenal research
concerning disaster management and has provided numerous productivity, including more than 215 published papers in
invited lectures, including at the GSA Annual Meeting. respected international journals, is belied by his humble, self-
deprecating sense of humor, generosity, and general conviviality.
Garzanti shows no signs of slowing down, with approximately
30 published papers over the last two years. For his global research
in sedimentary geology and his extraordinary research
productivity, Garzanti is a model international scholar and highly
meritorious selection to GSA Honorary Fellow.

12 GSA Today | December 2018