Irene Maxine Pepperberg was born on April 1,1949 and is an American scientist noted for her studies in animal cognition, particularly in relation to parrots.
15 Facts About Irene Pepperberg
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Irene Pepperberg 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, by extension to a bird species.
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Irene Pepperberg is active in wildlife conservation, especially in relation to parrots.
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Irene Pepperberg's father, Robert Platzblatt, was a biochemist and middle school teacher.
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Irene Pepperberg earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969, and brought one of her budgies there with her.
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Irene Pepperberg subsequently earned a master's degree in Chemistry in 1971 at Harvard University, followed by a doctorate in Chemical Physics in 1976 at Harvard.
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Irene Pepperberg has been a researcher, lecturer and adjunct or visiting professor at multiple universities.
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Irene Pepperberg was a research associate and lecturer at Purdue University and Harvard University.
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Irene Pepperberg has been a Bunting Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and an adjunct associate professor at Brandeis University, where its bird laboratory was named for her.
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Irene Pepperberg worked intensively with a single grey parrot, Alex, and reported that he acquired a large vocabulary and used it in a sophisticated way, which is often described as similar to that of a four-year-old child.
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Some researchers believe that the training method that Irene Pepperberg used with Alex, holds promise for teaching autistic and other learning-disabled children who have difficulty learning language and communication skills, numerical concepts and empathy.
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When some autistic children were taught using the same methods Irene Pepperberg devised to teach parrots, their response exceeded expectations.
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Irene Pepperberg countered critics' claims that Alex had been taught a script by explaining that the controls and tests she used made it impossible for him simply to recite words when she asked questions.
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Irene Pepperberg is president of The Alex Foundation, a not-for-profit 501 organization, which she started.
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Irene Pepperberg was married for more than 20 years to David Irene Pepperberg, a neuroscientist.