Born on April 6 1940 in Magné (Vienne, France).
A specialist in the evolution of mammals, Michel Brunet is responsible for major archaeological discoveries, including the first known Australopithecus west of the Great African Rift, known as Abel, dated 3.5 million years ago, and the oldest Hominid known to date, Toumaï, dated 7 million years ago.
A long-time professor at the University of Poitiers, Michel Brunet has carried out numerous geological surveys and paleontological excavations in Asia and Africa. Appointed Professor of Human Paleontology at the Collège de France in 2007, he is currently pursuing his field research in Chad, Libya and Egypt, a geographical zone between West and East, to elucidate the complex relationships that existed between hominid populations in these large African geographical domains.
Education and professional career
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- 1958 : Lycée Hoche (Versailles), baccalauréat in elementary mathematics
- 1963 : Licence ès sciences naturelles, University of Paris
- 1964 : Licence ès sciences de doctorat, Université de Paris-Sorbonne
- 1966 : Doctorat de3e cycle en paléontologie, Université de Paris-Sorbonne
- 1975 : Doctorat d'État in natural sciences, University of Poitiers
- 1992- : Professeur de 1re classe, University of Poitiers
- 2000- : Professor (PRCE), University of Poitiers
- 2000-2007 : Director of UMR CNRS 6046 LGBPH (Geobiology, Biochronology and Human Paleontology) then IPHEP, University of Poitiers
- 2008-2011 : Professor at the Collège de France, Chair of Human Paleontology
Awards and distinctions
- Chevalier in the Order of the Legion of Honor
- Officer in the National Order of Merit
- Officer of the Order of Academic Palms
- Officer in the National Order of Chad
- Honorary citizen of the Communauté d'agglomération de Poitiers
- 1977 : Fontanes Prize, Académie des Sciences, Paris
- 1996 : Philip Morris Scientific Prize (Paleoanthropology)
- 2003 : Dan David Prize (Paleoanthropology)
- 2004 : Lamothe Prize, French Geological Society