Professor John Birks is an internationally acclaimed scientist, who has published more than 20 books and 400 papers, John is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology, University of Bergen. His research achievements are in the field of Quaternary science and environmental history. This includes quaternary palaeoecology, linking pollen analysis and vegetation history with modern ecology; and in quantitative palaeoecology, using numerical methods to analyse numerical palaeoecological data. In receipt of prestigious medals for his research from four countries, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award and Medal from the International Paleolimnology Association, John has editorial roles for nine scientific journals, and had a special issue of The Holocene dedicated to his lifetime work - entitled ‘At the frontiers of palaeoecology’. A Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, John is a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
