Stephen Nowicki - Extended Biography

Stephen Nowicki grew up with a strong interest in music and originally wanted to be a classical musician. A biology course in college sparked his excitement for biology, leading him to major in both biology and music. Nowicki obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Tufts University. He received his doctorate in neurobiology and behavior from Cornell University in 1985.

Nowicki is now Dean of Undergraduate Education at Duke University as well as Bass Fellow and Professor in the departments of Biology, Psychology, and Neurobiology. He has taught at Duke since 1989, where he directed a complete redesign of the introductory biology program. Nowicki’s research interests center on animal behavior and how communication systems evolve. His work combines both field studies and laboratory experiments. He uses birdsong as a model system and studies topics such as the structure, function, and evolution of animal communication systems -- a topic recently presented in the New York Times. In the past, Nowicki and his students have studied behavior in a wide variety of organisms, including insects, lobsters, lizards, squirrels, and primates.

Nowicki’s research has been published in numerous articles in scientific journals, including Science, Nature, and Animal Behaviour. He also coauthored the book The Evoution of Animal Communication: Reliability and Deception in Signaling Systems. In addition, he is the author of a video lecture series based on the introductory biology course he taught at Duke. He serves regularly on proposal review panels for the National Science Foundation.

Outside of his professional interests, Nowicki enjoys music. He has played the trombone since the fourth grade, and played for two seasons with the Duke University Pep Band at basketball games. Juggling and cooking are other hobbies that Nowicki enjoys in his free time. Nowicki is married to Susan Peters, who also studies animal communication, and they have one son, Schuyler. Nowicki and his family live in Durham, North Carolina.