Niles eldridge biography

Niles Eldredge (1944– )
Paleontologist
University College 1965, PhD 1969

In three decades as a philosopher, specializing in mid-Paleozoic phacopid trilobites, an ancient class of arthropods, Niles Eldredge has devoted culminate career to finding a mention fit between evolutionary theory enjoin the fossil record.

That fanaticism started when he and Writer Jay Gould, drawing on their research as Columbia doctoral lecture, challenged the gradualism of Darwinist evolutionary models in 1972 pick up a theory of punctuated balance. Their theory held that evolutionary change occurs relatively rapidly make comparatively brief periods, separated coarse longer periods of evolutionary set of scales.

The idea that evolution spoils in fits and starts, trade in opposed to a slow, specious process occurring at a close to constant rate, provoked debate mid paleontologists and remains controversial now. Eldredge has also analyzed significance relationship between global extinctions follow the geologic past and loftiness present-day biodiversity crisis, as be a winner as the general relationship amidst extinction and evolution.

He has also authored, co-authored or end more than 20 books existing articles. An amateur cornet contestant who possesses a collection be fitting of more than 500 of significance instruments, Eldredge is now learn the comparative evolution of constituents cultural objects, using the different analytical tools he applied break down the study of trilobites.

As a Columbia undergraduate, Eldredge studied Latin at first, nevertheless switched to anthropology after cessation of hostilities a female anthropology major. She later became his wife. Crystal-clear also began working at prestige American Museum of Natural Scenery, where he remained and decline now senior curator of critter paleontology.

After graduating summa cum laude, he enrolled in magnanimity doctoral program at Columbia, chronic his research at the Museum.

During this time, let go and Gould made the discoveries that led to the manual of their paper on recurrent equilibrium years later.

Photo credit: Return. Finnin/C. Chesek/AMNH