Walter R. Tschinkel

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Walter R. Tschinkel is an American myrmecologist, entomologist and Distinguished Research Professor of Biological Science and R.O. Lawton Distinguished Professor emeritus at Florida State University. He is the author of the Pulitzer Prize nominated book The Fire Ants (Harvard University/Belknap Press 2006), the book Ant Architecture: The Wonder, Beauty, and Science of Underground Nests (Princeton University Press 2021), and more than 150 original research papers on the natural history, ecology, nest architecture and organization of ant societies; chemical communication in beetles; and the mysterious fairy circles of the Namib desert. His casts of ant nests and botanical drawings appear in numerous museums of art and natural history, from Hong Kong to Paris.

Tschinkel is known for his thorough and inventive experimental design, often involving the construction of special contraptions (stimulatorium,^[1] trash can kiln,^[2] ice nests^[3]) and re-purposing methods from other fields of inquiry. In 1991, he coined the term "insect sociometry" to describe an under-emphasized method, involving the detailed physical and numerical description of social insect colonies;^[4] which he views as superorganisms. He is an advocate of scientific natural history and the "bottom-up" approach to biological research, noting that, "...empirical evidence is the horse that pulls the cart of theory through testing, and the three move along the road to understanding."^[5] He suggests that novel and meaningful research questions are best derived from extensive observation, familiarity and careful experimentation.

Tschinkel has written extensively on education.^[6] He also served as a major professor and mentor to 22 Masters and PhD students, and more than 71 undergraduate researchers. In 2013, Tschinkel retired from teaching. Today he remains active in research, with field sites in Florida's Apalachicola National Forest and Namibia. In addition to numerous professional honors and accolades, Walter Tschinkel is a fellow of the Entomological Society of America, co-founder of the environmental advocacy group, Friends of The Apalachicola National Forest, and a committee member for The Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest.