Dr. Frans de Waal

In 2011 Frans de Waal was our Guest of Honour, famous for his work as a primatologist and ethologist and numerous books, including Chimpanzee Politics and Our Inner Ape. His research centres on primate social behaviour, including conflict resolution, cooperation and food sharing.

He is director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta. In 2007 TIME placed him on the list of the 100 most influential people. An important study by De Waal and others found the roots of human gestures that accompany speech in similar signalling by bonobos.