Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Andrew Knoll directs the historical geobiology laboratory at Harvard. Members of the Knoll lab are broadly interested in the evolution of life, the evolution of Earth surface environments, and the relationships between the two. Of particular interest are Archean and Proterozoic paleontology and biogeochemistry; however, both past and current projects include investigations of selected problems in Phanerozoic Earth history and Mars exploration. Motivating evolutionary issues include the diversification of prokaryotic metabolisms on the Precambrian Earth, the initial radiation of eukaryotic life, and the rise of large complex algae and animals near the end of the Proterozoic Eon. Besides other projects, the research group is interested in research on evolutionary interactions among organisms that participate in the marine silica cycle. In addition to numerous publications in scientific journals, Prof. Knoll has published several books for a broader public readership, most notably Life on a Young Planet (2003).