Biography
Sussex University: Psychology Home Page
I dropped out of school without qualifications, aged 16 years, in 1977, and pursued a variety of occupations, with experience in the restaurant service trade, the U.S. military, the biomedical and electronic manufacturing fields, and some short stints as a motorcyle courier and delivery van driver, before starting full-time university study in 1987. After earning my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in anthropology, I switched to psychology, in 1994, for my PhD, to learn how to apply experimental methods to the study of animal communication, which remains my primary research interest.
I started at the University of Sussex in January, 2000.
Education:
1978-1979 Infantry Training, United States Marine Corps, San Diego, CA, USA
1979-1979 Avionics Technician Course, USMC, Millington Naval Air Base, TN, USA
1987-1990 BSc Anthropology (with honors, Phi Beta Kappa), University of California at Riverside, USA
1990-1993 MA Anthropology, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, USA
1994-2001 PhD Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Non-academic Posts Held:
1978-1984 Sergeant, Air Traffic Control Technician, United States Marine Corps, USA
1984-1987 Production Supervisor, Applied Cardiac Systems, Lake Forest, CA, USA
1988-1988 Emergency Services Dispatcher, Santa Ana, CA, USA
1989-1991 Archaeological Field Technician, various private and public firms, CA, USA
1991-1991 Consultant, Quality Control, Commercial and Industrial Design, Irvine, CA, USA
Academic Posts Held:
1991-1994 Morris Doctoral Fellow, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, USA
1994-1999 Research Assistant, Yerkes National Primate Research Center
1998-1999 Part-time Lecturer, University of Georgia
2000-2002 Junior Lecturer, University of Sussex
2002-2005 Lecturer, University of Sussex
2005-2019 Senior Lecturer, University of Sussex
2019-Present Reader in Comparative Psychology
Role
Editorial Board: Interdisciplinary Evolution Research, Springer-Nature, 2019-
Editorial Board: Animal Cognition, 2014-
Visiting and Exchange Student Academic Advisor (Psychology), 2013-
Equality and Diversity Committee Member (Admissions & Recruitment), 2015-
Exam Board (Psychology), 2018-
Colloquium Series, 2008-2012
Undergraduate Honours Project Convenor (Psychology), 2001-2005
Undergraduate Admissions (Psychology), 2001-2004