Professor Michael Archer AM, FAA, Dist FRSN (born 1945,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

) is an Australian

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

specialising in Australian

vertebrates Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with ...

. He is a professor at the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences,

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

. His previous appointments include Director of the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

1999–2004 and Dean of

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

at the

2004–2009.

Education and career

Archer was born in Sydney but raised in the United States and studied at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. From 1972 to 1978, he was the

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

at the

Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland, dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museum in South Brisbane with specialist m ...

. Since 1983, he has been involved with the exploration of the Riversleigh

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

site in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. He is opposed to

creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...

and regularly engages in active debates with creationists. During his time as director of the Australian Museum, he was the initiator of attempts to clone the '' Thylacinus cynocephalus'', the Tasmanian tiger, an animal extinct since 1936. Archer has stated that he is obsessed with bringing the

thylacine The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasma ...

back to life via cloning. He has said that his obsession is going to push the research further and further until he and his team will have their first living thylacine clone. In 2011, Archer published an article asserting that a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

diet causes more suffering and deaths of animals than an

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

diet based on sustainable husbandry. Archer is married to the paleontologist

Suzanne Hand Suzanne J. Hand (born 1955) is an associate professor at the University of New South Wales, a teacher of geology and biology, who has a special interest in vertebrate palaeontology and modern mammals. Her research has been published in over a hund ...

, with whom he has two daughters.

Honours

*1984: Clarke Medal,

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1 ...

*1987: Inaugural

Medal for Research *1989: Australian Heritage Award for Nature Conservation *1990: Inaugural

Eureka Prize The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organizations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion b ...

for the Promotion of Science *1990: Inaugural IBM Conservation Award for Research *1994: Von Mueller Medal, ANZAAS *1996: Verco Medal,

Royal Society of South Australia The Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) is a learned society whose interest is in science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia. The major aim of the society is the promotion and diffusion of scientific knowledge, particularly in rel ...

*1998: Australian Skeptic of the Year *2002: Fellow,

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soc ...

(FAA) *2008: Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

(AM) *2009: Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (FRSN) *2019:

Romer-Simpson Medal The Romer-Simpson Medal is the highest award issued by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology for "sustained and outstanding scholarly excellence and service to the discipline of vertebrate paleontology". The award is named in honor of Alfred S. R ...

of the

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) is a professional organization that was founded in the United States in 1940 to advance the science of vertebrate paleontology around the world. Mission and Activities SVP has about 2,300 members inte ...

(USA)Carroll, Lucy (15 Oct 2019
Society awards top honour to UNSW palaeontologist
''Newsroom''. University of New South Wales

Publications

* Archer, M. (Ed.) (1982). ''Carnivorous Marsupials''.

Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales The Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales (RZSNSW) was formed in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1879 as the New South Wales Zoological Society. A Royal Charter was granted in September, 1908, leading to a change to the current name ...

, 1982. (2 volumes) * Archer, M. and Clayton, C. (Eds.) (1984). ''Vertebrate Zoogeography & Evolution in Australasia: Animals in Space & Time''.

Hesperian Press Hesperian Press is a locally owned and operated book publisher located in Perth, Western Australia. Peter Bridge first published technical material in 1969. The business of Hesperian Press in its current format started in 1979. The Press republi ...

. * Archer, M. and Flannery, T.F. with Grigg, G.C. (1985) ''The Kangaroo''. Kevin Weldon Press. * Archer, M., Hand, S. and Godthelp, H. (1986). ''Uncovering Australia's Dreamtime''. Surrey Beatty & Sons * Archer, M. (Ed.) (1987). ''Possums and Opossums: Studies in Evolution''. Surrey Beatty & Sons in association with the

. * Cronin, L. (Ed.) (1987). ''Koala: Australia's Endearing Marsupial''. Reed Books Pty, Ltd. (text by Archer et al.) * Long, J.A., Archer, M., Flannery, T. and Hand, S. (2002). ''Prehistoric mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One hundred million years of evolution''. University of NSW Press. * Archer, M., Hand, S. and Godthelp, H. (2000). ''Australia's lost world: Prehistoric animals of Riversleigh''. Indiana University Press. *

References

External links

Professor Michael Archer
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences,

. Retrieved September 26, 2018 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Mike Living people 1945 births Critics of vegetarianism Scientists from Sydney Princeton University alumni Members of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales