De Waal To Give Inaugural Gadlin Lecture
Dr. Frans B.M. de Waal will be the inaugural guest speaker of the Gadlin Lecture Series, an annual cultural event. He will address “Animal Emotions and Empathy” on Thursday, May 10 at 2 p.m. in Lipsett Amphitheater, Bldg. 10.
De Waal, a Dutch/American biologist and primatologist known for his work on behavior and social intelligence of primates, will discuss early ideas about animal emotions and draw upon research on empathy and the perception of emotions in primates to make the point that the study of animal emotions is a necessary complement to the study of human behavior.
His first book, Chimpanzee Politics (1982) compared the schmoozing and scheming of chimpanzees involved in power struggles with that of human politicians. His scientific work has been published in hundreds of technical articles in journals such as Science, Nature and Scientific American. His popular books—translated into 20 languages—have made him one of the world’s most visible primatologists. His latest book is Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? (Norton, 2016).
De Waal is the C.H. Candler professor in the psychology department of Emory University and director of the Living Links Center at Yerkes National Primate Center, Atlanta. He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007, he was selected by Time magazine as one of the World’s 100 Most Influential People Today.
The Gadlin Lecture Series was created in honor of the many contributions made to the NIH community by Dr. Howard Gadlin, former director of the NIH Office of the Ombudsman, Center for Cooperative Resolution. He retired in December 2015, after 17 years as director of the center. Gadlin is well known for his proactive, big-picture approach to ombudsman work. He encouraged all at NIH to become more aware of the value of negotiation for resolving a wide array of individual and systemic conflicts that threaten scientific discovery. Gadlin Lecture speakers and topics will embody his ongoing commitment to scholarship, intellectual curiosity, creative problem-solving and values of fairness and respect.
Sign language interpreters will be provided. Individuals who need reasonable accommodation to participate should call the NIH Office of the Ombudsman at (301) 594-7231 at least 7 business days before the event.