David N. Thomas

David Thomas is based at the University of Helsinki where he is the Professor of Arctic Ecosystem Research in the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences.

Previously (1996 to 2020) he was at Bangor University where from 2006 he held the Chair of Marine Biology in the School of Ocean Sciences in Menai Bridge.

He studied and did his PhD in Liverpool University where he studied seaweed physiology, before spending 7 years in Germany working on oceanographic projects in the Antarctic, Arctic and Red Sea.

After returning to the UK in 1996 he established a groups working on sea ice biogeochemistry, land-ocean interactions, and the production of biofuels from algal bioreactors.

From 2009 to 2013 he held an Academy of Finland Distinguished Professorship at the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). In 2013 he also held a Chair in Arctic Marine Biology at Aarhus University, Denmark.

He takes pride in conveying his science to non-specialist audiences, both in talks but also writing textbooks and books for non-academic audiences. Over the years, he has become increasingly interested in the connections between observational biology and art and design.