Rate My Professor Álvaro Penteado Crósta

Álvaro Penteado Crósta is a Brazilian geologist and Senior Professor at the Institute of Geosciences of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of São Paulo in 1977, a Master’s degree from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) in 1982, and a Ph.D. from Imperial College London in 1990. He served as Full Professor at UNICAMP’s Institute of Geosciences from 2005 until his retirement in 2023, after which he remained affiliated in an honorary capacity. During his tenure, he held multiple leadership roles, including Director of the Institute from 2005 to 2010, Head of the Department of Geology and Natural Resources, Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Geosciences, and various positions in university administration such as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Rector and Pro-Rector of University Development. He also served as UNICAMP’s Vice-Rector (General Coordinator) from 2013 to 2017.

Crósta’s research focuses on geological remote sensing, mineral exploration, and planetary geology, with particular expertise in impact structures in Brazil and South America. He is known for developing the Crosta Technique for detecting mineralization through multispectral and hyperspectral imagery. He has authored or co-authored numerous publications, including the book Processamento Digital de Imagens de Sensoriamento Remoto (1992) and papers on impact structures such as Araguainha, Vista Alegre, and Serra da Cangalha. He is a full member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of the State of São Paulo, a recipient of a CNPq Research Productivity Scholarship, and was elected to the Council of the Meteoritical Society for 2023–2025. He has served as Associate Editor for Economic Geology and the Brazilian Journal of Geology, and previously for the Geological Society of America Bulletin. In 2026, he received the title of Professor Emeritus from UNICAMP.