Charles L. Harper, Jr., D.Phil., is Executive Director and Senior Vice President of the John Templeton Foundation. Before this appointment, he was a research scientist at Harvard University in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and was made an associate of the Harvard College Observatory in 1995. Dr. Harper obtained his doctorate at Oxford University in cosmology and planetary science. His work as a planetary scientist is well known for pioneering applications of high-precision measurements of isotopes to develop new research tools for revealing insights into the origins of planetary systems. He has contributed more than 50 research articles in scientific publications, including Nature, Science, The Astrophysical Journal, The Journal of Physics, and many others. The topics have spanned Big Bang nucleosynthesis; the age and chemical evolution of the galaxy; the origin of the solar system; and the early geological history of the Earth and its core, crust, oceans, and atmosphere. Dr. Harper was awarded a Squire-Marriot scholarship at Oxford to study theology and was granted the Diploma in Theology in 1988. He was awarded a Certificate of Special Studies in Management and Administration from Harvard University in 1997.