Archer, Michael (1945 - )

Summary

Michael Archer is one of Australia's foremost vertebrate palaeontologists. In his roles as Professor of Biological Science at the University of New South Wales since 1989 and Director of the Australian Museum (1999 - 2003) he has been in the forefront of a wide range of collaborative research projects across disciplines and institutions. A major focus has been research on fossil deposits in the Riversleigh World Heritage and Murgon areas in Queensland, involving more than 100 international collaborators, which has revolutionised what is understood about Australia's terrestrial Tertiary mammals. Other research includes threatened ecosystems, biofuels and genome recovery projects, particularly that to clone the extinct Thylacine. Archer has received many awards for his research and publications, and has attracted significant grants for his research projects.

Details

Chronology

1967

Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), Princeton University, New Jersey, U.S.A.

1967 - 1968

Career position - Fulbright Scholar, Western Australian Museum

1968 - 1971

Career position - ARC Researcher, Western Australian Museum

1972 - 1978

Career position - Curator of Mammals, Queensland Museum

1976

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Western Australia

1978 - 1980

Career position - Lecturer, School of zoology, University of New South Wales

1978 - 2007

Career position - Research Associate, Australian Muse

1980 - 1985

Career position - Senior Lecturer, School of Zoology, University of New South Wales

1982 - 1985

Career position - Editor, Australian Mammalogy

1982 - 1985

Career position - Vice-President, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales

1984

Award - Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales

1985 - 1986

Career position - President, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales

1985 - 1989

Career position - Associate Professor, School of Zoology, University of New South Wales

1986 -

Career position - Honorary Associate, Queensland Museum

1986 -

Career position - Senior Scientist Riversleigh Society Inc

1986 - 1988

Career position - Member, Editorial Committee, Australian Zoologist

1987

Award - Inaugural Queensland Museum Medal

1988 -

Award - Fellow, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales

1989 -

Career position - Professor, School of Biological Science, University of New South Wales

1989

Award - Australian Heritage Award for Nature Conservation

1990

Award - Inaugural Eureka Prize for the Promotion of Science, Australian Museum

1990

Award - Inaugural IBM Conservation Award for Research

1990 - 1995

Career position - Member of Council, National Museum of Austr

1991 - 1995

Career position - Member, Editorial Committee, Mammalian evolution

1994

Award - Mueller Medal, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

1995 -

Career position - Director, Australian Tropical Research Found

1995 - 2003

Career position - Member, IUCN Advisory Committee for the ‘Evolution of Australian Mammals Riversleigh and Naracoorte” World Heritage Property

1996

Award - Sir Joseph Verco Medal, Royal Society of South Australia

1997 -

Career position - Director, Riversleigh Fossil Interpretive Centre

1998

Career position - Member, National Committee for the Environment, Australian Academy of Science

1998

Career position - Australian Skeptic of the Year, New South Wales Skeptics Association

1999 - 2003

Career position - Member, Lizard Island Research Foundation

1999 - 2003

Career position - Director, Australian Museum

1999 - 2003

Career position - Member, Council of Australian Museum Directors

2000 - 2003

Career position - Member, External Environmental Advisory Group, Minerals Council of Australia

2001

Award - Centenary Medal for service to Australian society in museum management and biology

2001 - 2003

Career position - Director, - Coral Reef and Marine Science, U.S.A.

2001 - 2003

Career position - Director, Australian Museum Reuben Griffiths Trust for the Thylacine Project

2002 -

Career position - Editor Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics

2002 -

Career position - Reader, Australian Research Council

2002

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

2002

Award - Dr Alice Whitley Award for Science Education, Australian College of Educators

2002 - 2004

Career position - Chairman, Board of Management, Australian M

2004 -

Career position - Head, Lazarus Project

2004

Award - T. H. Huxley Award, Australian Museum

2004 - 2009

Career position - Dean, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales

2005 -

Career position - Research Associate, American Museum of Natural History

2005 -

Career position - Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Cosmos Magazine

2006

Award - Medal of the Riversleigh Society

2006 - 2009

Career position - Co-Director, Sydney Institute of Marine Research

2007 -

Career position - Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Zoological Science

2008 -

Award - Honorary Member, Australian Institute of Biology

2008

Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) - for service to science as a palaeontologist, to the promotion of sustainable management of wildlife, to scientific education and research, and through mentoring and administrative roles

2009 -

Career position - Adjunct Professor

2009 -

Career position - Member, Sydney Institute of Marine Science Foundation

2009 -

Award - Distinguished Fellow, Royal Society of New South Wales

2011 -

Career position - Member, Editorial Board Geosciences

2011 - 2016

Career position - Adjunct Professor, University of Sydney

2013 -

Career position - Member, Fellowship Committee, Royal Society of New South Wales

2016

Award - Honorary Bragg Member, Royal Institution of Australia

2016

Award - Prize for Excellence in Biological Sciences (Ecology, Environmental, Agricultural and Organismal), New South Wales Premier's Prizes in Science

Related entries

Archival resources

Western Australian Museum

• Michael Archer - Records, 1967 - 1969; Western Australian Museum. Details

Published resources

Books

• Archer, Michael, Hand, Suzanne J. and Godthelp, Henk, Riversleigh: the story of animals in ancient rainforests of inland Australia (Sydney: Reed Books, 1991), 264 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Archer, M., 'The Australian marsupial radiation' in Vertebrate zoogeography and evolution in Australasia, Archer, m. and Clayton, G., eds (Perth: Hesperian Press, 1984), pp. 585-631. Details
• Archer, M., Hand, S. and Godthelp, H., 'Back to the future: thecontribution of palaeontology to the conservation of Australian for-est faunas' in Conservation of Australia’s forest fauna, Lunney, D., ed. (Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 1991), pp. 67-80. Details

Journal Articles

• Beck, Robin, Louys, Julien, Nguyen, Jacqueline, Travouillon, Kenny J. and Wilson, Laura A. B., 'Australian time traveller: papers in honour of Mike Archer', Alcheringa, 47 (4) (2023), 367-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2023.2195912. Details
• Matzke-Karasz, Renate, Neil, John V., Smith, Robin J., Godhelp, Henk, Archer, Mike and Hand, Suzanne J., 'Ostracods (Crustaceae) with soft part preservation from Miocene cave deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, NW Queensland', Journal of systematic palaeontology, 11 (7) (2013), 789-819. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2012.760007. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q957612. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/35146635430341981061. Details
• 'Michael Archer - Citation at year of election, 2002', Fellows of the Academy, Australian Academy of Science, 2019, https://www.science.org.au/profile/michael-archer. Details
• 'Archer, Michael (1945-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-631688. Details