Daphne Lee


Daphne E. Lee is a New Zealand geologist, palaeontologist and emeritus professor at the University of Otago. She is best known for her work on Foulden Maar and her research into fossils discovered at that site.

Biography

Lee was brought up in Mataura in Southland. Lee was the first New Zealand woman to graduate with a PhD in geology. Her dissertation was titled The Cenozoic and recent rhynchonellide brachiopods of New Zealand, with an account of the Eocene and Paleocene brachiopod faunas. She joined the faculty of the university in 1988. Lee is an honorary associate professor at the geology department of the University of Otago, having retired in 2018. In 2024 she was awarded the title emeritus professor, "in recognition of her outstanding career as one of New Zealand’s most prominent, dedicated and passionate paleontologists". She is a coordinator of a research team that has focused on researching the fossil site Foulden Maar.

Foulden Maar

Lee has published both scholarly research as well as a book on the fossils of Foulden Maar. Lee was a vocal opponent of the proposed mining of Foulden Maar.

Awards

Lee was awarded the Geoscience Society of New Zealand McKay Hammer Award in 2017.

Selected publications

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