Elsa G. Vilmundardóttir facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elsa Guðbjörg Vilmundardóttir
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Elsa G Vilmundardóttir (2004)
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| Born | 27 November 1932 |
| Died | 23 April 2008 (aged 75) |
| Nationality | Icelandic |
| Occupation | Geologist |
Elsa Guðbjörg Vilmundardóttir (born November 27, 1932 – died April 23, 2008) was a very important Icelandic scientist. She was the first woman in Iceland to get a degree in geology. This means she was the country's first female geologist! Elsa did much more than just study rocks. She was also very active in her community. She helped start the Icelandic Earth Association and was its leader for four years.
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Life Story of Elsa
Elsa Guðbjörg Vilmundardóttir was born in Vestmannaeyjar, an island group in Iceland. Her father was Vilmundur Guðmundsson, an engineer. Her mother was Gudrun Björnsdóttir, a seamstress. When Elsa was three years old, her family moved from the islands to Siglufjörður. Sadly, her father passed away soon after.
Elsa then lived with her grandparents for a while. At age 12, she moved to Reykjavík to live with her mother. Elsa later married Pálmi and they had two children, Guðrún Lára and Vilmundur. Elsa passed away at Landspítali - University Hospital on April 23, 2008. She became ill during a conference just hours before. Her funeral was held on May 7.
Elsa's Education and Early Work
Elsa finished high school at Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1953. In 1958, she traveled to Sweden. She started studying geology at Stockholm University. She studied there from 1958 to 1963.
During her university summers, Elsa worked on geological projects. She did fieldwork for the Electricity Department. Most of this work involved studying the area for the proposed Búrfellsvirkjun hydropower plant. She became very interested in the geology of Tungnáröræfa. After finishing her studies in 1963, she returned home. She began working for the Electricity Department. Later, she worked for the National Energy Authority (NEA) of Iceland. She worked there from 1967 until she retired in 2004.
In 1980, Elsa became a supervisor for a big project. This project was about mapping the geology of Iceland. Her research also included mapping tuff (a type of rock) and lava. She studied areas north of Vatnajökull glacier. She also looked at pyroclastic flows from old Hekla volcano eruptions. Elsa wrote many scientific papers. She also helped write a book called 100 Geosites in South-Iceland. This book was published in 2005 when she was 73. Throughout her life, Elsa became an expert in how tuff rocks are formed.
Elsa's Career and Community Work
When Elsa first started her career, she worked part-time jobs. From 1963 to 1978, she was self-employed to support her family. She worked on many different projects. She started at the Electrical Energy Office Agency in 1963. She also did contract work for Icelandic energy research. Most of her projects were about power plants. These plants were located in the southern highlands and in Fljótsdalur.
Elsa was involved in many groups and social causes. She was one of the people who started the Icelandic Earth Association. She was the leader of this association for four years. She also led the Energy Agency for two years.
Helping the Community
Elsa also helped start the Health Circle. She was the vice chairman of this group for sixteen years (1982-1998). People often asked her to speak at events. She wrote many articles to help the Health Circle's goals. She also regularly led the group's meetings.
Elsa spent a lot of time on geological mapping. This included mapping lava and moss. She became the supervisor for a geological mapping project of the Þjórsá river basin. This project was agreed upon by Orkustofnun and Landsvirkjun in 1980. They published 21 maps between 1983 and 1999. These maps helped prepare for understanding the rocks, soil, and water in the area.
Elsa was also on the board of the Kópavogur branch of the Red Cross. In 2002, she helped the board decide to change their focus. They wanted to greatly increase volunteer work to help the community in Kópavogur. Elsa was very active in the department's clothing sorting project. She also helped lead it. She was part of the department's emergency committee. She was very interested in preventing emergencies.
Elsa's Research Focus
Elsa's research mainly focused on creating geological maps. She would map the lava and tuff rock formations in the southern highlands. She led a big project to map the geology of the Þjórsá river area. This was a team effort with the National Energy Authority and Landsvirkjun.
Elsa worked in many parts of Iceland. However, she was especially drawn to the Southwest of Vatnajökull glacier. She did most of her research there. Her research was closely connected to her job. When she worked at The Electricity Office, she researched the Þjórsá river basin. This was one of the main projects of that office. In 1980, when they started making geological maps of the river basin, Elsa worked extra hours. She even used her vacation days to research the landscape. This helped a lot in creating those maps. Later in her career, Elsa started researching the eastern volcanic belt. She studied the tuff formations found there.
Elsa's research mostly involved making different geological maps.
