Øyvind Hammer has an MSc in mathematical modeling and a PhD in palaeontology, and is currently Associate Professor in palaeontology at the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo. He has published a large number of scientific papers and two books on a wide range of subjects, including palaeontology, geology, zoology, botany, physics, and statistics, but his main focus is currently the fossil record of mainland and Arctic Norway. He is one of the most cited Norwegian scientists, not least because of his data analysis software "Past". Hammer is an active teacher and science communicator, with a widely read popular science blog and frequent public lectures and media appearances.