Susan Turner

Sue Turner is a geologist of 50 years-experience, a Senior Fellow of the Geological Society and a Fellow of the Linnean Society. She trained at Reading University (1964–67) with a BSc in Geology specialising in Vertebrate Palaeontology. She was Research Curator in the RU’s Geology Department (1967–71) while she carried out PhD studies on mid Palaeozoic biostratigraphy under L. Beverly Halstead. She became museum geologist at the Hancock Museum, University of Newcastle upon Tyne and curated the important collection with noted Carboniferous fossils (1971–80). There she trained in media and museum work gaining the UK Museums Diploma in 1979. From 1973 to 1980 she was a member of the BBC NE ‘Looks Natural’ team and she has appeared on radio and TV in Australia, Canada, China, Iran and the UK.

Re-education as a “Gondwanan” began in 1979 when she decided to emigrate to Australia. She joined the Queensland Museum and was made an Honorary Research Fellow in 1980 later becoming an Australian citizen (1998). She has now spent more than half her working life in Queensland conducting scientific and historical research on soft money. Since 2001 she has been a self-employed Geoscience Consultant, Editor and Researcher.

With over 600 publications and articles to her name, including the thelodont volume of the Handbook on Paleoichthyology, she is regarded as one of the world’s leading researchers on early vertebrates. Since 1982 she has been uncovering the history of women in science and in 2018 was awarded the Tom Vallance Medal for her research on Australian geoscience women. Her new book written with Prof. Annalisa Berta of California deals with women in vertebrate palaeontology; both are emeritus members of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.