Thomas Dyer Seeley
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Thomas Dyer Seeley | |
|---|---|
 Seeley with observation hive of honey bees, in hut that he designed and constructed. Cranberry Lake Biological Station, New York, c. 1992. | |
| Born | June 17, 1952 |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College, Harvard University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Honey bee behavior |
| Institutions | Cornell University |
| Doctoral advisor | Bert Hölldobler and E. O. Wilson |
Thomas Dyer Seeley is the Horace White Professor in Biology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University. He is the author of several books on honeybee behavior, including Honeybee Democracy (2010) and The Wisdom of the Hive (1995)[1] He was the recipient of the Humboldt Prize in Biology in 2001. He primarily studies swarm intelligence by investigating how bees collectively make decisions.[2]
Seeley was born on June 17, 1952. He grew up in Ellis Hollow, New York, and went to elementary, middle and high schools in Ithaca, New York. As a high school student he held summer jobs with Royse P. Murphy, a plant geneticist at Cornell University, and Roger Morse, at the Dyce Laboratory for Honey Bee Studies at Cornell.[3] Seeley married Robin Hadlock and the couple had two children.
Education
Seeley enrolled at Dartmouth College in 1970, intending to follow the premedical curriculum, but changed his focus after reading E. O. Wilson’s book The Insect Societies.[3] Seeley received his A.B. (summa cum laude) in Chemistry from Dartmouth College in 1974 and, four years later, his Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University. His Ph.D. advisors were Bert Hölldobler and E. O. Wilson.[4]
Appointments
Seeley held the following academic appointments:[1]
| Year | Appointment |
|---|---|
| 1978-1980 | Junior Fellow, Society of Fellows, Harvard University |
| 1980-1986 | Assistant and associate professor, Yale University |
| 1986-1992 | Assistant and associate professor, Cornell University |
| 1992–present | Professor of Biology, Cornell University |
| 1993-1994 | Visiting Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin |
| 2001-2004 | Visiting professor, University of Würzburg |
| 2005–08, 13-14 | chairman, Cornell University, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior |
| 2013- | Horace White Professor in Biology, Cornell University |
