Lee Berger
Prof. Lee R. Berger is an award-winning researcher, explorer and author. His explorations into human origins on the African continent, Asia and Micronesia for the past two and a half decades have resulted in many new discoveries, including the discovery of two new species of early human relatives – Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi. As director of the Rising Star excavations, he led the team that uncovered the largest primitive hominin assemblage in history.
He is the recipient of the National Geographic Society’s first Prize for Research and Exploration and the South Africa Academy of Sciences Gold Medal. His work has brought him recognition as a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, the Royal Geographical Society, the Explorers Club and the South African Academy of Sciences.
Berger is presently the Phillip Tobias Chair in Human Evolution at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and an Explorer at Large for the National Geographic Society.