I am sharing a request for the support of the continuation of my field research and my academic and community outreach that includes participating in conferences and organizing public events. Most fundamentally I have been pursuing the significance of animal societies to the survival of species ranging from elephants, lions and wolves to certain fish, lizards and birds that live in similarly stable groups, with likely ramifications concerning the stability of human societies. The John Templeton Foundation funded my project from 2023 through 2025, but unfortunately that organization does not allow renewals beyond three years.
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My studies indicate that societies across species shift in ways we need to better understand to reduce social tensions during times of transition. I've been addressing this topic with sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, and anthropologists, most recently by organizing a multidisciplinary think tank hosted by the Department of Psychology at Yale. In addition I wish to carry on with my efforts at bringing together leading scientists, writers, and artists to communicate across their disciplines and with the public, among them Pulitzer, MacArthur, Oscar, Tony, and Emmy winners and Nobel Laureates from every category.
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.Support can be sent by way of my project host and fiscal sponsor, the Independent Media Institute, by simply providing my name in the description line:
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Account number: 592976008
Routing number: 021000021
Bank Name: JP Morgan Chase Bank
Address: 270 Park Avenue, 43rd floor New York, NY 10017
Here are some recent interviews to give you some idea of the work I've accomplished lately:
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For the biology journal, American Entomologist, proclaiming me a “Legend in Entomology:" on their website; PDF.
Thank you for considering this request. Please write me at moffettmw@si.edu if you have an questions.
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Mark
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Mark W Moffett, PhD
Research Associate, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian
Visiting Scholar, Department of Human Evolution, Harvard University
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Mark in a Ba'Aka hunter-gatherer retreat while studying forest elephants in the Central African Republic, 2025.