David A.T. Harper is a British

palaeontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

, specialising in fossil

brachiopods Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the fron ...

and numerical methods in palaeontology. He is Professor of Palaeontology in Earth Sciences at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. In December 2014 he began his term as President of the

Palaeontological Association The Palaeontological Association (PalAss for short) is a charitable organisation based in the UK founded in 1957 for the promotion of the study of palaeontology and its allied sciences. Publications The Association publishes two main journals ...

Career

Harper was previously Professor of Palaeontology and Head of Geology in the

Natural History Museum of Denmark The Natural History Museum of Denmark () is a natural history museum located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is affiliated with the University of Copenhagen The museum became an organizational entity in 2004 with the merger of Copenhagen's Zoological ...

, University of Copenhagen. He has published over 10 books and monographs, and also over 250 scientific articles. He is co-writer, with Øyvind Hammer, of the software package PAST. In recent years he has been addressing some of the major events in the history of life, for example the Cambrian Explosion, Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event and the end Ordovician mass extinctions. His research programmes have taken him to many parts of the world including Chile, China, Greenland, Russia and Tibet. His research has been recognized by foreign membership of the

Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters ({{Langx, da, Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab or ''Videnskabernes Selskab'') is a Danish academy of science. The Royal Danish Academy was established on 13 November 1742, and was create ...

, an Einstein Professorship in the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

and a D.Sc. from

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

. Between 2011 and 2013 he was Deputy Head of Colleges (Research and Scholarly Activities) at

Durham university Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

and served as Principal of

Van Mildert College Van Mildert College (colloquially known as Van Mil or Mildert) is one of the 17 constituent colleges of Durham University. The college was founded in 1965 and takes its name from William Van Mildert, the last Prince-Bishop to rule the County ...

between 2011 and 2021.

Selected publications

* ''Paleontological Data Analysis'', Hammer and Harper (2008) () * ''Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record'', Benton and Harper (2012) () * ''The Making of Ireland: Landscapes in Geology'', Williams and Harper (1999) () * ''Fossils and Strata, Late Ordovician Brachiopods from West-Central Alaska: Systematics, Ecology and Palaeobiogeography'', Rasmussen, Blodgett, and Harper (2012) () * ''William King D. SC.(1809-1886) A Palaeontological Tribute'', Harper (1988) () * ''

Basic Palaeontology ''Basic Palaeontology'' is a basic textbook on the study of paleontology written by the palaeontologists Michael J. Benton and David A.T. Harper, and published by Prentice Hall in 1997. It was described in a 1998 review by palaeontologist Mark ...

'' (with

Michael Benton Michael James Benton (born 8 April 1956) is a British palaeontologist, and professor of vertebrate paleontology, vertebrate palaeontology in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. His published work has mostly concentrated on ...

), Prentice Hall (1997)

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British palaeontologists Academics of Durham University Principals of Van Mildert College, Durham {{paleontologist-stub