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(Last updated 10/17/02)

Previous stories pertaining to Professor Boysen's research:

"Discovery Channel Special Watches OSU Chimps Learn To Read," 4/11/02.

"One Chimp Can Perceive States Of Awareness In Others," 8/29/97.

 

Psychology professor Sally Boysen was selected by Discover magazine as one of its "Top 50 Women Scientists." Boysen has been a leader in her field in the understanding of primate cognition for two decades. Above, she celebrates with one of the dozen chimps in the colony she runs at Ohio State University.

OHIO STATE PRIMATOLOGIST NAMED ONE OF DISCOVER MAGAZINE’S “TOP 50 WOMEN SCIENTISTS”

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An Ohio State University researcher who has studied how chimpanzees learn is one the most important women in science, according to Discover magazine.

Sarah Boysen, professor of psychology at Ohio State and head of the Comparative Cognition Project here, is named in the November issue of the magazine as one of the top 50 women in science.

According to the article written by Kathy A. Svitil, a Discover magazine associate editor, three years ago the magazine began to investigate how female researchers were regarded in the world of science. Svitil’s work resulted in the compilation of “50 of the most extraordinary women across all the sciences.”

“The 50 women who are recognized in Discover are not the tip of the iceberg,” Boysen said. “They are more like the snowflake on the tip of the iceberg when compared to the number of women who came before us who sacrificed, worked and made extraordinary advances. This recognition is good for the young women who are aspiring to do great work. It's great to showcase some role models for them to see that making accomplishments in the world of science is doable.”

Boysen was recognized for her work as one of only a handful of researchers in the country who exclusively studies the behavior of chimpanzees. In her work, Boysen has learned that chimpanzees can do simple arithmetic, have rambunctious behaviors similar to preschoolers, and share with humans the ability to perceive the knowledge state of a peer, and perhaps the intention to protect that peer.

“We attribute to the human mind the ability to put information together in novel and innovative ways,” Boysen told Discover.

But there are other minds on the planet that can spontaneously create new ways to process information and solve problems.”

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Contact: Sally Boysen, (614) 457-9259; Boysen.1@osu.edu
Written by Randy Dunham, (614) 292-8295; Dunham.44@osu.edu