David Harper

David Harper is Emeritus Professor of Palaeontology in Durham University, United Kingdom. He chaired the International Commission on Stratigraphy (2016-2024) and previously served as chair of the ICS Subcommission on Ordovician Stratigraphy. Harper was President of the International Palaeontological Association and the Palaeontological Association. Apart from stratigraphy, he specialises in Lower Palaeozoic palaeontology and its fossil record. In addition, his research has addressed some of the most fundamental developments in the history of life, for example the Cambrian Explosion, Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event and the End Ordovician mass extinction. His research has been recognised by corresponding memberships of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, the Royal Swedish Physiographic Society and an Einstein Professorship in the Chinese Academy of Sciences together with two honorary doctorates (NUI Galway and Uppsala) and the Jean Baptiste Lamarck Medal from the European Geosciences Union.