Rate My Professor Daphne E Lee

Daphne E. Lee is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Otago. She completed her BSc and PhD at the University of Otago, earning her doctorate in 1981 after beginning her studies there in 1969. Lee joined the academic staff of the Department of Geology in 1988 and remained active in research and student supervision following her official retirement in 2018. In 2024, the University of Otago awarded her the title of Emeritus Professor in recognition of her career contributions as a palaeontologist. Her research specializations encompass Cenozoic paleobotany and paleoclimate, invertebrate paleontology with a focus on brachiopods, and Cenozoic stratigraphy. Lee has coordinated research at the Foulden Maar paleontological site in Otago since the 1980s, leading studies on this early Miocene maar lake deposit that preserves exceptionally diverse fossils from 23 million years ago, including plants, fungi, fish, insects, spiders, and hundreds of undescribed species.

Lee has authored or co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed papers from Foulden Maar research, including the book Fossil Treasures of Foulden Maar: A window into Miocene Zealandia and Fossil Treasures of the Geology Museum (2025). Notable recent publications include "A new tarpon-like fish (Elopomorpha, Megalopidae) with exceptional preservation" (2026, New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics), "Latest Oligocene–earliest Miocene Australasian freshwater sponges" (2025, Journal of Paleontology), and highly cited works such as "Testing the impact of calibration on molecular divergence times using a fossil-rich group: the case of Nothofagus" (2012, 456 citations) and "Earliest orchid macrofossils: Early Miocene Dendrobium and Earina" (2009, 152 citations). She received the McKay Hammer, the Geoscience Society of New Zealand's premier award, in 2017 for 29 peer-reviewed papers published during 2014-2016. Since 1995, Lee has supervised numerous postgraduate students, many advancing to distinguished careers in palaeontology. Her research has illuminated the geological, ecological, and evolutionary history of southern New Zealand and Zealandia over the past 50 million years, with implications for global palaeobiology.