Expert Details
Biodiversity, Organismal Biology, Speciation, Evolution of Living and Fossil Plants
ID: 729666
United Kingdom
He chaired the first ever external review of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, delivering a 40-page report that substantially altered the goals and modus operandi of the organizationHe reviewed the systematic botany programs and collections at the University of Cambridge: the ensuing report resulted in retention of the extensive collections and ultimately the advertisement of a full chair in plant systematics
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 2001 | Degree: DSc | Subject: Evolutionary Biology | Institution: University of London |
| Year: 1988 | Degree: PhD | Subject: Palaeozoic Palaeobotany | Institution: University of London |
| Year: 1984 | Degree: BSc | Subject: Earth Sciences | Institution: University of London |
| Year: 1982 | Degree: BSc | Subject: Life Sciences | Institution: University of Bedfordshire |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2007 to 2010 | Employer: University of Birmingham | Title: Research Fellow | Department: Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences |
Responsibilities:He integrated evidence from studies of living and fossil gymnosperms (naked seed plants), with the main aims of understanding the evolutionary relationships of the major groups and determining the origin of the angiosperms (flowering plants) |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2006 to 2007 | Employer: Biosciences Federation | Title: Head of Policy | Department: |
Responsibilities:He represented the highly heterogenous interests and goals of approximately 60 UK-based scientific societies as an independent lobbyist addressing the UK government and other key policy-makers |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2006 to 1999 | Employer: Natural History Museum, London | Title: Head of Department/ Merit Researcher | Department: Botany |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for offering leadership, management and high-quality research programmes in a department of approximately 80 staff and postdoctoral researchers |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1994 to 1999 | Employer: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh | Title: Director of Science/ Senior Researcher | Department: Science |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for offering leadership, management and high-quality research programmes in a department of approximately 85 staff and postdoctoral researchers |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1991 to 1994 | Employer: University of Oxford | Title: NERC Senior Research Fellow | Department: Earth Sciences and Plant Sciences |
Responsibilities:He developed and pursued an independent research programme in plant phylogenetics, focusing on fossils and funded by NERC |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1988 to 1991 | Employer: Smithsonian Institution | Title: Lindemann Research Fellow (ESUC/RS) | Department: Paleobiology |
Responsibilities:He developed and pursued an independent research programme in plant phylogenetics, focusing on fossils and funded by the Lindemann Fellowship of the English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth/Royal Society |
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International Experience
| Years | Country / Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Years: 1983 to Present | Country / Region: 31 countries | Summary: He has visited 31 countries worldwide (and also more than half of the states in the USA) in pursuit of research collaborations and field collections for biodiversity studies (ongoing). |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| Numerous. |
| Professional Appointments |
|---|
| He is the long-serving President of the UK Hardy Orchid Society. He has been President of the Systematics Association, Vice-President of the European Society for Evolutionary-Developmental Genetics, the Linnean Society of London and the Botanical Society of the British Isles, and has sat on the Executive Councils of the Biosciences Federation and the National Biodiversity Network. He has occupied the boards of several scientific journals, three of which he co-founded. |
| Awards / Recognition |
|---|
| He is the only person to have been awarded the under-40s medals of both the Geological Society (Earth Sciences) and the Linnean Society of London (Life Sciences) |
| Medical / Professional |
|---|
| He is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Reading and Visiting Researcher at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; he previously played a similar role at the University of Edinburgh |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| He has edited two scientific books, published approximately 170 peer-reviewed papers and 200 popular works, given 135 conference talks (many of them invited) and 95 institutional seminars |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| He has presented both written and oral evidence to UK parliamentary select committees on topics such as systematic biology and biofuels |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| He has extensive experience of lecturing to graduate and especially postgraduate students in biodiversity-related topics, evolution, speciation, orchidology and palaeobotany |
| Other Relevant Experience |
|---|
| He has proved effective as an independent and objective reviewer of science and collections-related organisations, at scales ranging from single projects to entire institutions; he has also frequently defended institutions that are facing such reviews |