Professional Achievements
While at the University of Cambridge, Briggs worked on the fossils of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia alongside British paleontologists Harry Blackmore Whittington and Simon Conway Morris on the exceptionally well-preserved Burgess Shale fauna. The Burgess Shale project subsequently became one of the most celebrated endeavors in the field of paleontology in the latter half of the 20th century. Briggs is currently Director of the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, Professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics and Curator in charge of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History. In July 2008 he took over as director of the museum. Briggs is a Fellow of the Royal Society and winner of the 2001 Boyle Medal.
Briggs's research is on the taphonomy, or preservation, and evolutionary significance of the exceptionally preserved fossil biotas known as Konservat-Lagerstätten - fossil formations that include evidence of faunal soft tissue. His work involves a range of approaches from experimental work on the factors controlling decay and fossilization, through studies of early diagenetic mineralization and organic preservation, to field work on a range of fossil occurrences.
Read more about this topic: Derek Briggs
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