PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born October 28, 1965, Bergamo.
PRESENT JOB POSITIONS
Since 12/1998 Mineralogy Curator at Museo di Storia Naturale of Milano (part-time position since 04/2012).
Since 04/2012 Gem-Research, consultant company in the fields of: colored gemstones, mineral specimens, and ore minerals (Li, Cs, HFSE, REE) prospecting and mining; mineral specimens evaluation and preparation; mineral specimens and gemstones exhibition; mineralogical, petrological and gemological scientific research.
Since 11/2015 M.C.P. S.r.l., majority owner. Laboratory of mineral specimens preparation. www.mcp-italy.com
PRESENT ISTITUTIONAL POSITIONS
Since 03/2019 President of GML/AIM (Lombardy Mineral Club/Italian Association of Mineralogy)
Since 08/2018 Ex-Chairman in the Museum Commission of I.M.A.
Since 06/2017 Member of the I.M.A. Sub-Commission on Tourmaline Nomenclature (for a nomenclature revision).
Since 01/2014 Scientific Director of MUM (Museo Mineralogico e Gemmologico “Luigi Celleri”), San Piero in Campo, Elba Island, Italy.
Since 01/2014 Associated Editor of Journal of Gemmology
PAST ISTITUTIONAL POSITIONS
09/2013 – 04/2018 Chairman of the Museums Commission of IMA.
02/2006 – 12/2015 Director of RMI (Rivista Mineralogica Italiana, Italian mineralogical magazine).
03/2013 – 09/2013 Italian Delegate at the I.M.A.-CM.
2004 – 2011 Member of the I.M.A. Sub-Commission on Tourmaline Nomenclature.
STUDIES
Post-Doctorate (1995-1996) Institute of Mineralogy and Petrology, Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Milano: “Chemical-physical studies of rare-elements minerals in pegmatites”.
Doctorate in Petrology and Isotope Geochemistry (1992) Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Milano, and National Research Council (CNR- institute of Isotope Geochemistry and Geochronology) of Pisa, thesis tytle: “The magmatic evolution of Ordovician meta-granitoids of the Serie dei Laghi (Southern Alps): petrologic and isotopic (Sr e Nd) data”.
Diploma in Earth Sciencies (1989) 110/110 cum lode. Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Milano. Thesis in igneous and metamorphic petrography, and ore (polymetallic and gold) deposits.
High school diploma (1985) Scientiphic high school at the Liceo Vescovile Sant’Alessandro, Bergamo.
AWARDS AND RECOGNISEMENTS
05/2015 “Ex-alunno dell’anno” (ex-student of the year), “S. Alessandro” high-scool in Bergamo (Italy)
02/2005 Werner Lieber Award, 2005 Best Article in ExtraLapis English, No. 8 – The Italian Island of Elba. A Mineralogical Jewel in the Tuscan Archipelago. “For multiple contributions to the issue”. “Friends of Mineralogy”, Tucson, Arizona (USA).
08/2003 Dedication of the new mineral “PEZZOTTAITE” – Cs (Be2 Li) Al2 Si6 O18 – approved by the IMA-Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names. The authors reported: “Named after Federico Pezzotta, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Milano, Italy; born 1965. Dr. Pezzotta has played a major role in characterizing the granitic pegmatites of Madagascar and their constituent minerals. He has made major contributions to our knowledge of the paragenesis of tourmaline-group minerals, particularly in Elba, Italy.”
05/1986 European Philips Contest for Young Scientists and Inventors Award, 18th edition, Oslo (Norway). Awarded research: “The quartz crystals of the dolomite pockets in the Bergamo area”.
ORGANIZATION OF CONFERENCES, SESSIONS, AND EXCURSIONS
09/2021 Co-organizer of the 3° International Conference on Tourmaline TUR2021 (www.TUR2021.com) in Elba Island, 9-11 september 2021, and of the pre- and post- conference field trips.
08/2018 Convenor of the Minerals and Mineral Museums Session at the XXII I.M.A. Meeting, Melbourne, Australia, 13-17 August, 2018.
09/2016 Co-convenor of the Gem Materials Session of the 2° EMC, Rimini, Italy. September 11-15, 2016.
06/2005 Organizer of the international conference “Crystallization processes in Granitic Pegmatites”, May 23-29, 2005, including three days of field trip. Museo di Storia Naturale, Milano, University of New Orleans (LA). Elba Island, Tuscany, Italy.
06/2001 Organizer of the “Field Course on Rare Element Pegmatites of Madagascar”, Antananarivo, June 11-22 – 2001. Museum of Natural History Milan, University of New Orleans, Geological Survey, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Antananarivo.
09/1997 Co-organizer of the field trip excursion “Contaminated pegmatites and rare minerals of the eastern border of the Bergell Pluton, Sissone Valley, Sondrio”, Centro di Studio per la Geodinamica Alpina e Quaternaria, CNR Milano, Museo di Storia Naturale, Milano and Istituto Valtellinese di Mineralogia, Sondrio.
09/1997 Organizer of the “First International Workshop on Petrology, Rare Minerals and Gemstones of Shallow Depth Pegmatites” and of the field trip excursion “The mineralogy of the pegmatitic miarolitic cavities of the Baveno pink granite, of the Montorfano granitic stock and of the Cuasso al Monte granophyre”; Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Milano and Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali.
06/1992 Co-organizer and secretary of the “International School of Geochronology and Isotope Geochemistry” of Pontignano (SI); Univ. Milano, C.N.R. Pisa, Univ. Siena.
INVITATIONS AT NATIONAL AND AT INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS
2021 “Plenary Lecturer” at the 3° International Conference on Tourmaline TUR2021 (Elba Island, September 9-11, 2021). Presented plenary lecture: Elba tourmalines: “over two centuriest of collecting and of scientific research”.
2019 “Invited Speaker” at the European Gemmological Symposium 2019, May 24-26, Idar-Oberstain, Germany. Presented conference: “Madagascar Rubellite: Deposits and Recent Production”.
2018 “Invited Speaker” at the 17èmes Rendez Vous Gemmologiques de Paris, June 11, 2018, Association Francaise de Gemmologie. Presented conference: “Paraiba tourmaline from Mozambique and comparison with some Cu bearing tourmalines from Madagascar”.
2018 “Relazione a invito” at the “Giornata del Madagascar” May 12, 2018, Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali. Presented conference “Mineralogical adventures in Madagascar”.
2017 “Invited speaker” at the Technical Forum at the “Mango International Gem Show”, Nov. 2017, Changsha, China. Presented conference: “The Global Tourmaline Resources and Market”.
2017 “Key note speaker” at the Tourmaline 2017 International Symposium, Czech Republic. Presented conference: “Tourmaline crystals growth in gem-bearing pegmatites”.
2016 “Relazione a invito” at the “Il restauro del patrimonio scientifico e tecnologico, esperienze e prospettive”, “Tavola rotonda” at the “Salone del Restauro”, Fortezza da Basso, Florence, Nov. 11, 2016. Conference title: “Il restauro del patrimonio scientifico e tecnologico; I minerali”.
2016 “Invited Speaker” at the Smposium on African Mineralogy, Denver Gem & Mineral Show, September 2016. Presented conference: “Madagascar Gem Pegmatites”.
2016 “Invited Speaker” at the International Summit Forum at the CMGS, Chengzhou, China, May 20, 2016. Presented conference: “Mineral specimens preparation, a definition and history”.
2015 “Invited Speaker” at the Dallas Mineral Collecting Symposium, August 21-23, 2015. Presented conference: “Hunting tourmalines and rare associated minerals in central Madagascar”.
2014 “Invited Speaker” at the Pegmatite Session of the G.S.A. Annual Meeting. Presented conference: “Asymmetric textural and compositional features of granitic pegmatites; the example of gem bearing pegmatites of Elba Island, Thyrrhenian Sea, Italy”.
2014 “Geo-actor” at the “Geospettacolo: Geologi non per caso” with Patrizio Roversi, at the SGI-SIMP joint meeting, September 12, 2014. Title of the presentation: “Gemme, Stelle della Pietra”.
2013 “Keynote Speaker” at the 6th International Symposium on Granitic Pegmatites, Bartlett, NH (USA), May 26-30, 2013. Presented conference: “Productive zones in gem-bearing pegmatites of central Madagascar, geochemical evolution and genetic inferences”.
2012 “Conferenza a invito”, III Convegno Nazionale di Gemmologia Scientifica, Florence (Italy), September 2013. Presented conference: “Giacimenti di tormalina gemma: esempi dall’isola d’Elba e dal Madagascar”.
2012 “Invited Speaker” at the CIBJO Congress 2012, May 19, Vicenza (Italy). Presented conference: “Tourmalines from Asia and from Europe”.
2011 “Invited Speaker” at the Gemmological Symposium, “From Mine to Market” Jaipur (India), November 2011. Presented conference: “Madagascar tourmaline production and market”.
2011 “Relazione a invito” at Geoitalia 2011, Tourin (Italy), September 2011.Presented conference: “The mineral collecting in Italy, from the origin to the present days”.
2011 “Invited Speaker” at the 13th Symposium FEEG (Fundation for European Education in Gemmology), January 23, 2011, Milan (Italy). Presented conference: “Demantoid Garnet from Antetezambato, North Madagascar”.
2011 “Invited Speaker” at the Saturday evening conference at the Westward-Look Mineral Show, February 2011, Tucson, AZ. Presented conference: “Demantoid and Tourmaline, mineral adventures from Madagascar”.
2008 “Keynote Speaker” at the session “Challenges to a Genentic Model for Pegmatites”, MAC-GAC Annual Meeting, Québec City, Canada. Presented conference: “Contribution to the description and the interpretation of pegmatitic rocks”.
2008 “Invited Speaker” at the SGG SSG (Swiss Gemmological Society), 2008. Presented conference: “Tourmaline and other gem minerals from pegmatitic deposits in Madagascar”.
2007 “Panelist” at the “I.C.A. Congress” (International Colored Gemstone Association), Dubai, Arabian Emirates. Presented conference: “Gem Localities in Madagascar”.
2007 “Invited Speaker” at the “Kongsberg Mineralsymposium 2007”, Kongsberg, Oslo, Norway. Presented conferences: “New data on rare accessory minerals from alkaline pegmatites on Mount Malosa, Zomba District, Malawi”, and “Ta-Nb borates and other rare accessory phases in granitic pegmatites of the Itremo Region, central Madagascar”.
2006 “Keynote Speaker” at the “4th International Gemological Symposium & GIA Gemological Research Conference”, San Diego, California (USA). Presented conference: “New Gem Localities in Madagascar”.
2002 “Invited Speaker” at the “29th Rochester Mineralogical Symposium”, Rochester, (USA). Presented conferences: “Old Classics and New Discoveries in the Pegmatites of Elba Island, Tuscany, Italy”, and “Minerals and Gemstones of Some Pegmatites of the Antsongombato Area, Central Madagascar”.
1999 “Invited Speaker” at the “E.E. Foord Memorial Pegmatite Symposium”, Denver, Colorado (USA). Presented conference: “Sc-Y-REE-minerals and evolution of miarolitic cavities in the NYF pegmatites in western Southern-Alps, Italy”.
INVITATIONS TO ON-LINE PROGRAMS AND CONFERENCES
2/2021 GemQuest 4 – Tourmaline, Feb. 28, 2021, 8.00 PM London. Hosted by Jolyon Paul of Mindat.org and gamdat.org. Presented topic: Gem Tourmaline from Elba Island (Italy), Rubaya (R.D. Congo), Mavuco (Mozambique), and Madagascar.
2/2021 What’s Hot and What’s Not in Tucson 2021, Blue Cap Production, Day 9. Federico Pezzotta & Associates from MCP.
2/2021 Mineral Talks Live, Blue Cap Production, Harward Mineralogical Museum and Society of Mineralogical Museums Professionals. January 3, Federico Pezzotta.
LANGUAGE: Italian, English, French
