Deborah Gordon
Encyclopedia
Deborah M. Gordon is a biologist at Stanford University
.
behavior and ecology, with a particular focus on red harvester ant
s. She focuses on the developing behavior of colonies, even as individual ants change functions within their own lifetimes.
Gordon's fieldwork includes a long-term study of ant colonies in Arizona. She is the author of numerous articles and papers as well as the book Ants at Work for the general public, and she was profiled in the New York Times Magazine in 1999.
from Duke
in 1983, an MSc in Biology from Stanford
in 1977 and Bachelors from Oberlin College
, where she majored in French.
She was a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows
.
Northern California Association. In 2001 Gordon was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship
from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
. In 2003, Gordon was invited to speak at the exclusive Technology, Entertainment, and Design
conference. She is also an adviser to the Microbes Mind Forum.
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Major research
Gordon studies ant colonyAnt colony
An ant colony is an underground lair where ants live, eat and mate. Colonies consist of a series of underground chambers, connected to each other and the surface of the earth by small tunnels. There are rooms for nurseries, food storage, and mating...
behavior and ecology, with a particular focus on red harvester ant
Red harvester ant
The red harvester ant is a large ant common in the southwest United States.- Description :The main food source for red harvester ants usually consists of seeds, which they hoard in great numbers, hence their name.As with most ant species, their mating castes consist of winged alates that reside...
s. She focuses on the developing behavior of colonies, even as individual ants change functions within their own lifetimes.
Gordon's fieldwork includes a long-term study of ant colonies in Arizona. She is the author of numerous articles and papers as well as the book Ants at Work for the general public, and she was profiled in the New York Times Magazine in 1999.
Education
Gordon received a PhD in zoologyZoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
from Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in 1983, an MSc in Biology from Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1977 and Bachelors from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, where she majored in French.
She was a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows
Harvard Society of Fellows
The Harvard Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginning of their careers by Harvard University for extraordinary scholarly potential, upon whom distinctive academic and intellectual opportunities are bestowed in order to foster their individual growth and intellectual...
.
Awards and recognition
In 1993 Gordon was named a Stanford MacNamara Fellow. In 1995 Gordon received an award for teaching excellence from the Phi Beta KappaPhi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...
Northern California Association. In 2001 Gordon was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
. In 2003, Gordon was invited to speak at the exclusive Technology, Entertainment, and Design
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
conference. She is also an adviser to the Microbes Mind Forum.