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Emeritus Professor David Cohen is based in the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences. He was President of the UNSW Academic Board and member of Council from 2017 to 2023, having been Deputy President from 2010 to 2016 and an elected member since 2004. He was a member of the University's academic governance committees, including Academic Quality, Academic Programs, Program Review, Research and the Higher Degree Research Committees, as well as the University Promotions Committees.

David was a member of the UNSW staff from completing his PhD in the former department of Applied Geology in the Faculty of Applied Science in 1990, until July 2023. He has made a significant contribution to the academic governance at UNSW, including serving on a number of Faculty and University academic committees and leading the review of several academic programs.

David was Head of the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES) in the UNSW Faculty of Science from 2008 to 2016. Under his leadership BEES grew to be one of the most research-productive schools at UNSW with a doubling in the number of higher degree research students and significant increases in research funding, publications and the number of research fellows.

David is recognised internationally for his scholarship in exploration and environmental geochemistry. He has led projects in Australia, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America. He has published over 100 papers, book chapters and major reports, including the Geochemical Atlas of Cyprus. He has secured over $5M in research grants for his team and $11M in LEIF grants. He is the UNSW representative on the $200M MinEx CRC. He is associate editor of the Journal of Geochemical Exploration. He is currently a consultant to the mineral exploration industry and the higher education sector.

David is a former President and silver medal recipient of the (International) Association of Applied Geochemists and a former President of the Australian Geoscience Council. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Geosciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales. He has been the Australasian Institute for Mining and Metallurgy visiting lecturer to New Zealand and a keynote speaker at major conferences, including Goldschmidt and the PDAC Decennial series. He is Chair of the Moore Theological College Academic Board and the UNSW nominee on the New College Board.