Michael Wilson

Background & Expertise

Together with domesticated crops, livestock, and pets, humans both dominate the planet and threaten the existence of many other species. Michael Wilson studies primates—particularly chimpanzees at Gombe National Park, Tanzania—to understand why the traits that make humans successful evolved, and to promote primate conservation. Wilson's work focuses on the evolution of aggression, territorial behavior and cooperation. To gain insights into similarities and differences between humans and chimpanzees, Wilson has expanded his research program to include vocal communication, stable isotope ecology, computer simulations, and studies of other primates, including olive baboons, gelada monkeys and bonobos. Wilson earned his PhD in anthropology at Harvard University following undergraduate work at the University of Chicago and Cambridge University. After completing his graduate studies, Wilson served as director of field research for the Jane Goodall Institute's Gombe Stream Research Centre, Tanzania, and associate director of the JGI Center for Primate Studies before starting a faculty position at University of Minnesota, with a joint appointment in anthropology and the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior in 2007, shifting to a primary appointment as a professor in EEB in 2022. Wilson has served as a visiting scholar at the University of Montpellier, France, and the Institute for Advanced Study, Toulouse, France.