Mass extinctions and the future of life on Earth

Michael Benton is a paleontologist who has made fundamental contributions to understanding the history of life, particularly concerning how biodiversity changes through time. Ηis approach has revolutionised our understanding of major questions. A key theme is the Permo–Triassic mass extinction, the largest mass extinction of all time, which took place over 250 million years ago, where he investigates how life was able to recover from such a devastating event. He has written more than 50 books and he founded the MSc in Palaeobiology at Bristol in 1996, from which more than 320 students have graduated. He has supervised more than 65 PhD students. He is currently Head of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014.