Frans de Waal is Professor of Primate Behavior in the Department of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and Director of the Living Links center for the Advanced Study of Ape and Human Evolution

Born in the Netherlands in 1948, de Waal trained as a zoologist and ethologist at three Dutch universities and obtained a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Utrecht in 1977.

The author of several books, including Chimpanzee Politics, Peacemaking Among Primates and Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals, de Waal works with chimpanzees, bonobos, several macaque species, and capuchin monkeys.

De Waal's study-subjects are captive animals that live in groups and under naturalistic conditions, as found at major zoos and research institutions. de Waal collaborates with Zoo Atlanta, the University of Utrecht, Busch Gardens, the New Iberia Research Center as well as other primate facilities.

The author of numerous peer-reviewed work, de Waal is currently most interested in conflict resolution, the effect of crowding on the social behavior of macaques and chimpanzees, and reciprocity.