Dr. Stuart Sutherland  was born in Stockport, South Manchester and completed his bachelors degree in geology at the University of Plymouth. He received a PhD in Geology and Paleontology from the University of Leicester and continued his research into Earth’s ancient past at the Natural History Museum in London, England.

His research was focused on the changing patterns of plankton over 420 million years ago and how that might be related to changes in the climatic and oceanic conditions in those distant times. The particular “beasties” he was interested in are Chitinozoa, an enigmatic group of fossils who’s biological affinities are still unknown.

In 1998 Stuart decided it was time to tread the rocks of another continent and emigrated to Calgary, Canada. After working in the oil patch for a while he accepted an academic posting at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in beautiful Vancouver in January 2000.

Stuart is particularly interested in the history of life on Earth and how major events like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and impacts of meteors have seriously affected life’s story including the development of human civilization over time. Stuart is also passionate about enabling people to ‘read the story in the rocks’ so that the general public can interpret the landscape and peel back the pages of Earth’s story for themselves.

During his time at the University of British Columbia he has received 5 university teaching awards and been recognized by Maclean's magazine for his teaching. He was selected by The Great Courses LLC (The Teaching Company)  to develop and host the DVD series “A New History of Life,” consisting of 36 x 30 minute lectures in Earth Science and Earth History. He has recently completed another series “Introduction to Paleontology” in association with the Smithsonian Institution that was released in 2017.

Dr. Sutherland has delivered lectures on cruise ships in SE Asia, Hawaii, the Western Pacific, Central & South America, on trans-Atlantic crossings and in the Mediterranean.