Prof. Felix Toteu, a Cameroonian geoscientist is Fellow of AAS since 2013. After his bachelor degree in 1977, (University of Yaoundé-1) and “Doctorat de 3ème Cycle” in 1981 (University of Nancy-1, France), he joined the Institute for Geological and Mining Research (IGMR), Cameroon in 1982. Hecompleted his “Doctorat ès Sciences Naturelles” in 1987 (University of Nancy-1) and was promoted Research Director in 1996. As researcher at IGMR, he pursued for more than 20 years an intensive
geological mapping and geochronological data collection in collaboration with various institutions abroad (CRPG of Nancy, Isotopic Geochemical Laboratory of the University of Kansas, GEUS in Denmark, Dept. of Geosciences of the University of Mainz, University of Cape Town in South Africa, …). Today, he proudly claims the paternity of an impressive geochronological database in Central African.
In 2007, he moved to professorship positions at the University of Botswana (2007-2008), University of Cape Town (2008-2009) and Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth (2009-2010). End of 2010, He joined UNESCO to coordinate UNESCO’s Earth Science Programme in Africa from the Nairobi office. Prof. Toteu activities also focused on connections between geodiversity, biodiversity and cultural and socio-economic development, initially through the Africa Alive Corridors initiative at the University of Cape Town and Nelson Mandela University, later in UNESCO, and recently with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) where he contributed to the “IUCN Revised Global Framework for the Application of criterion (viii) of the World Heritage Convention”. Prof. Toteu has more than 40 years’ experience as researcher and geoscience manager; he has gained a combination of field and laboratory skills that allowed him to have an in-depth knowledge of methods, approaches to solve geoscience issues as essential engine towards socio-economic development of the continent.
Prof. Toteu has occupied various functions and served the Earth science community in various capacities: Head of the Centre for Geological and Mining Research in Cameroon (1993-2006); President of the Geological Society of Africa (2004-2008); Africa representative on the Board (2007- 2009) to prepare and implement the United Nations-Declared International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE); member of the UNESCO/ICSU Working Group to evaluate the science and technology inputs to the Africa Consensus Statement to Rio+20 Conference in 2012; Bureau member of the Commission of the Geological Map of the World (CGMW) from 2008 to 2024; Member of the Governing Council of the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (2014-2020); President of the Advisory Bord of the PanAfGeo, a European Union funded project to improve the human resource capacity of African Geological Surveys (since 2016); IUCN panel member of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (2022 and 2024-2026).Prof. Toteu received the United States Fulbright Program Award in 1993; was elected Treasurer of AAS in 2015; is member of the Programme Committee of AAS since 2021 and Chaired of the AAS Membership & Advisory Committee (MAC) for Geological, Environmental, Earth and Space Sciences in 2021. He is Honorary Member of the Geological Society of London since 2011
