Martin Nowak | |
|---|---|
 Nowak at Harvard in 2014 | |
| Born | Martin Andreas Nowak April 7, 1965 Vienna, Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Known for | Evolution of cooperation, Evolutionary dynamics, Somatic evolution in cancer, Viral dynamics, Language evolution |
| Awards | Weldon Memorial Prize Albert Wander Prize Akira Okubo Prize |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematical biology |
| Institutions | Harvard University Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry University of Oxford Princeton University Institute for Advanced Study |
| Thesis | Stochastic strategies in the prisoner's dilemma (1989) |
| Doctoral advisor | Karl Sigmund |
| Doctoral students | David G. Rand Erez Lieberman Aiden[1] Marc Lipsitch Sebastian Bonhoeffer Franziska Michor |
| Website | www |
Martin Andreas Nowak (born April 7, 1965[2])[3] is an Austrian-born professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University. He is one of the leading researchers in evolutionary dynamics.[3] Nowak has made contributions to the fields of evolutionary theory, cooperation, viral dynamics, and cancer dynamics.
Nowak held professorships at Oxford University and at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, before being recruited by Harvard in 2003 when Jeffrey Epstein donated a large sum of money to support Nowak's work and set up a center for studying cooperation in evolution.[4] Nowak was the director of Harvard's resulting Program for Evolutionary Dynamics (PED) from 2003 until 2020, when he was disciplined by being suspended from supervising undergraduate research for two years and having his institute permanently closed down as a punishment for having provided an office, keycard, and passcode, and for allowing Epstein free and unlimited access to PED for over ten years after his conviction for sex crimes.[5][6][7]
Martin Nowak is famous for his extensive contributions to various scientific disciplines, including evolutionary game theory, virology, cancer dynamics, and the evolution of cooperation. Throughout his career, Nowak has collaborated with notable figures such as Robert May, Karl Sigmund, and John Maynard Smith. His work spans a wide range of topics, from the somatic evolution of cancer to the origins of language and prelife. Nowak has authored over 300 scientific publications, including many contributions to Nature and Science.
Aside from his scientific career, Nowak has also authored five books. His 2006 work Evolutionary Dynamics received praise for its unique perspective on theoretical biology and won the R.R. Hawkins Award. In 2011, he co-authored SuperCooperators, which argues for cooperation as a fundamental principle of evolution, garnering positive reviews. Additionally, Nowak has edited books, including Evolution, Games, and God, which examines the relationship between theology and evolutionary theory. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to science, including the Weldon Memorial Prize, the Albert Wander Prize, the Akira Okubo Prize, the David Starr Jordan Prize and the Henry Dale Prize. Nowak identifies as a Roman Catholic, advocating for the compatibility of science and religion in the pursuit of truth. His 2024 book, Beyond, is a poetic exploration of the connection between religion and science. In 2015, he received the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters from the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology at Berkeley.
- ^ Martin Nowak at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- ^ Nowak, Martin A.; Highfield, Roger (2012). SuperCooperators: altruism, evolution, and why we need each other to succeed (1. Free Press trade paperback ed.). New York, NY: Free Press. ISBN 978-1-4516-2663-6.
- ^ a b Wax, Heather (October 15, 2007). "Cooperation counts for math professor". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
Nowak, 42, a Harvard University mathematician and biologist, is at the forefront of a new field called evolutionary dynamics, in which Darwin's idea of natural selection is formulated in terms of math equations.
- ^ Marks, Stephen M.; Schuker, Lauren A. E. (February 7, 2003). "Magnate donates $30M to sciences". The Harvard Crimson.
- ^ Gibson, Lydialyle (March 25, 2021). "Martin Nowak sanctioned for Jeffrey Epstein involvement". Harvard Magazine.
- ^ Helmore, Edward (March 27, 2021). "Harvard closes evolution center after finding connections to Jeffrey Epstein". The Guardian.
- ^ Svrluga, Susan (May 1, 2020). "Jeffrey Epstein had his own office at Harvard University — after he was convicted as a sex offender". The Washington Post.