Irene Pepperberg
scientist noted for her studies in animal cognition
Irene Maxine Pepperberg (born April 1, 1949; née Irene Maxine Platzblatt) is an American scientist noted for her studies in animal cognition, particularly in relation to parrots. She has been a professor, researcher and lecturer at multiple universities, and she is currently an Adjunct Research Professor at Boston University. Pepperberg also serves on the Advisory Council of METI International (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence). She is well known for her comparative studies into the cognitive fundamentals of language and communication, and she was one of the first to work on language learning in animals other than primate species (exemplified by the Washoe project), by extension to a bird species. Pepperberg is also active in wildlife conservation, especially in relation to parrots.
Early life, family and education
Born in 1949 as Irene Platzblatt in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, she was an only child. Her father, Robert Platzblatt, was a biochemist and middle school teacher. Her parents were both first-generation American Jews. Her mother's parents were from Romania, and her father's from Lithuania. In the 1950s, the family resided in Brooklyn in an apartment above a store, and beginning at a very young age, Irene would own and train a series of budgies.
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This entry incorporates text from “Irene Pepperberg” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.