University of Michigan
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

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Richard Alexander

Richard Alexander

  • Professor Emeritus and Curator Emeritus

Alexander webpage

Contact information

  • University of Michigan
    2095 Museums Building
    1109 Geddes Ave
    Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048
  • Phone: (734) 764-9520
  • Fax: (734) 763-4080
  • Email: rdalex@umich.edu

Fields of study

Animal and Human Behavior, Systematics, Behavior, and Life Histories of Orthoptera and Cicadidae

Research interests

Dr. Alexander studies the biology and systematics of crickets, katydids, and cicadas. He also formulates and tests hypotheses from evolutionary theory to help explain animal and human behavior. His insect studies have centered on acoustical communication, sexual behavior, speciation, and life history analysis. His human studies have been designed to test whether the most difficult questions that can be formulated are approachable from an evolutionary perspective. He has also studied the social behavior of naked mole rats and horses.

Academic background

Dr. Alexander received the Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in 1956 and was a Rockefeller Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize and the NAS Alfred Giraud Elliot Medal. In 1988 he was the U-M Russel Lecturer.

UM affiliation

  • Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Museum of Zoology
  • College of Literature, Science, and the Arts