Stephen Ernest Harding (born 2 August 1955) is a British biochemist specialising in biomolecular hydrodynamics.
[1] Harding studied at Pembroke College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.
His doctoral thesis was completed in 1980 and was titled "Modelling biological macromolecules in solution: The general tri-axial ellipsoid".
[2] Besides developing and applying hydrodynamic methodology to biomolecules, Harding's notable work includes finding remarkable protein-like behaviour of carbohydrates and the discovery of high levels of Scandinavian genes in the ancestral population of coastal North West England.
He is now part of the Saving Oseberg research team[5] - finding natural polymer consolidants to replace the decayed cellulose and lignin in all the perilously fragile artefacts of the Oseberg Viking ship and in August 2017 appointed an adjunct Professor of the University of Oslo.