Animal Language Saturday, November 17th 2:30 - 4:30PM Past Event Watch the video » The animal kingdom has evolved multiple adaptive strategies for the efficient transmission of information, one way of defining language. In this roundtable, led by experts in fields ranging from the communication in dolphins, monkeys, and whales to speech recognition technology, we will explore the phonics and sonics of animal communication. Sonic waves–undersea and above ground, received by structures as diverse as skin, bone, or stomach–provide tools for the generation of the languages comprehended by humans, from computer speech to the expressiveness of Beethoven. Come hear how animals talk to each other, and explore with us how these vocal and auditory qualities, connected to interpretive centers that govern response and behavior, become the ways we “speak to” each other. Free and open to the public. Participants: Christopher W. Clark Imogene P. Johnson Director of the Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell University Lab of Ornithology Christopher W. Clark is the Imogene P. Johnson Director of the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Senior Scientist in the Department of Neurobiology & Behavior at Cornell University. Dr. Clark has a long history of successfully working at the interface between science, applied engineering, industry, regulations and NGOs in order to… read more » Ray Dougherty Associate Professor of Linguistics, New York University Ray C. Dougherty, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at New York University. Professor Dougherty completed the MIT Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering studying the mathematical communication theories of Shannon, Turing, and von Neumann. He transferred to the Linguistics Department finishing a Ph.D. under Noam Chomsky on coordinate structures and recursion in language (1969). Digital Signal… read more » James L. Fuller Research Fellow, Columbia University James L. Fuller is a research fellow at Columbia University, where he recently completed his Ph.D. His doctoral research focused on the evolution and expansion of vocal signal repertoires, focusing primarily on the communication system of blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis). Dr. Fuller began working with wild primates in Kenya in 1995, and has since participated in… read more » James Higham Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, New York University James Higham is an Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology at New York University. His research interests lie in sexual selection and communication, and he explores primate signaling behavior from genetic, neuroendocrine, behavioral, and morphological perspectives. Dr. Higham has many on-going projects, ranging from fieldwork on communication systems in several species of macaques, guenons and baboons, to… read more » Diana Reiss Professor of Psychology, Hunter College; Professor of Biopsychology & Behavioral Neuroscience, The Graduate Center, CUNY Diana Reiss, Ph.D. is a cognitive psychologist and professor in the Department of Psychology at Hunter College and the Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience sub-program at the Graduate Center, CUNY. Dr. Reiss directs a dolphin cognitive research program at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and is a research associate at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C…. read more »
Christopher W. Clark Imogene P. Johnson Director of the Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell University Lab of Ornithology Christopher W. Clark is the Imogene P. Johnson Director of the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Senior Scientist in the Department of Neurobiology & Behavior at Cornell University. Dr. Clark has a long history of successfully working at the interface between science, applied engineering, industry, regulations and NGOs in order to… read more »
Ray Dougherty Associate Professor of Linguistics, New York University Ray C. Dougherty, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at New York University. Professor Dougherty completed the MIT Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering studying the mathematical communication theories of Shannon, Turing, and von Neumann. He transferred to the Linguistics Department finishing a Ph.D. under Noam Chomsky on coordinate structures and recursion in language (1969). Digital Signal… read more »
James L. Fuller Research Fellow, Columbia University James L. Fuller is a research fellow at Columbia University, where he recently completed his Ph.D. His doctoral research focused on the evolution and expansion of vocal signal repertoires, focusing primarily on the communication system of blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis). Dr. Fuller began working with wild primates in Kenya in 1995, and has since participated in… read more »
James Higham Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, New York University James Higham is an Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology at New York University. His research interests lie in sexual selection and communication, and he explores primate signaling behavior from genetic, neuroendocrine, behavioral, and morphological perspectives. Dr. Higham has many on-going projects, ranging from fieldwork on communication systems in several species of macaques, guenons and baboons, to… read more »
Diana Reiss Professor of Psychology, Hunter College; Professor of Biopsychology & Behavioral Neuroscience, The Graduate Center, CUNY Diana Reiss, Ph.D. is a cognitive psychologist and professor in the Department of Psychology at Hunter College and the Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience sub-program at the Graduate Center, CUNY. Dr. Reiss directs a dolphin cognitive research program at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and is a research associate at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C…. read more »