Markus Aretz is a professor at Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier. He received his bachelor and master degree from Universities of Köln (Germany) and Liège (Belgium) in 1998, degree from University of the Free State in 2005, and PhD from Universität zu Köln in 2002. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. He worked as Assistant Professor at the University of Cologne between 2003 and 2008. He has been working at the University of Toulouse III since 2008 and has been a professor since 2022.

Prof. Markus Aretz’s research focused on Analyses of Carboniferous ecosystems, Carboniferous corals, Palaeozoic reefs, Stratigraphy of the late Devonian and Carboniferous, evolution of Late Palaeozoic sedimentary basins and Correlation of shelf and basin successions and Palaeozoic climate. He teaches courses of Palaeontology, Sedimentology, Palaeoenvironments, Historical and Regional Geology, General Geology and Field Geology (Field camps and mapping) at Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier. Prof. Markus has published more than 80 academic papers, 10 book chapters and 4 geological maps. He participated in 72 oral communications, including 5 keynote speeches and 51 posters in total: 97 at international conferences). His h-index is 26.