Irene Pepperberg, SB, MA, PhD

After receiving her SB (MIT), MA, PhD (Harvard) in theoretical chemistry, Pepperberg began studying Grey parrots. She was the first to establish two-way referential communication with an avian subject and to use that system to investigate avian cognition. Having held positions at Northwestern University, the University of Arizona, the MIT Media Lab, and a Radcliffe Fellowship, she is now a Research Associate and instructor at Harvard. She has published >65 peer reviewed journal articles and > 85 book chapters and review papers, The Alex Studies and Alex and Me. She received John Simon Guggenheim and Selby Fellowships, is a Fellow of AAAS, APA, APS, the Animal Behavior Society, American Ornithologists’ Union, and the Midwest and Eastern Psychological Associations. Previously an associate editor of the Journal of Comparative Psychology, she still serves on several editorial boards. Honors include the Christopher Clavius S.J, Frank A. Beach, and Comparative Cognition Society Awards and the Christopher Medal.

Email: impepper@media.mit.edu