Sue Savage-Rumbaugh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
|
|
|---|---|
Savage-Rumbaugh at the 2011 Time 100 gala
|
|
| Born | August 16, 1946 |
| Occupation | Primatologist, psychologist, educator |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Duane Rumbaugh (ex-husband) |
Emily Sue Savage-Rumbaugh (born August 16, 1946) is an American psychologist and primatologist. A psychologist studies how people think and behave. A primatologist studies primates, like monkeys and apes.
She is famous for her work with two special bonobos named Kanzi and Panbanisha. She studied how these bonobos could learn to communicate. They used lexigrams, which are symbols on a keyboard, to "talk."
Her research helped us understand how smart apes are. It also showed how they might learn language. She worked at the Language Research Center at Georgia State University. Later, she worked at the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh was born on August 16, 1946. She studied psychology in college. She earned her first degree from Missouri State University in 1970.
She then continued her studies at the University of Oklahoma. There, she earned her master's degree and her Ph.D. in psychology in 1975. She often worked with her former husband, Duane M. Rumbaugh. He was also a famous scientist who studied ape language.
Her Career Journey
Savage-Rumbaugh worked as a professor and researcher for many years. She spent 12 years at Emory University's Yerkes Primate Center in Atlanta. After that, she worked for 25 years at Georgia State University. She was closely involved with their Language Research Center.
In 2005, she moved to Iowa. She became a professor at Simpson College and the University of Iowa. She also helped start the Great Ape Trust. This place is now called the Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative. She brought Kanzi, one of the bonobos, to Iowa that same year. She left the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary in 2013.
Amazing Research with Apes
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh was the first scientist to study language with bonobos. She used new tools to help apes communicate. One tool was a keyboard that could speak English words. This let the apes "talk" using sounds.
She also used a special computer with a joystick. This allowed the apes to do different tasks on the computer. Her work showed that apes can learn symbols and understand spoken words. They could also understand simple sentences. This research changed how people think about other primates.
Her work with Kanzi was very important. Kanzi was the first ape to learn words like human children do. This means he learned them naturally, without special training. Her book about Kanzi's language skills was very famous. It was even named one of the top 100 works in brain science.
Some scientists, like Steven Pinker, do not agree with her ideas. They believe that apes cannot truly learn human language. They say that what apes learn is not the same as how humans use language.
However, Savage-Rumbaugh used a different approach. She raised the apes from birth. She made sure they lived in a "linguistic world." This meant they were always surrounded by language. She and her ex-husband lived near the research center. This allowed them to be available for the apes all the time.
Awards and Recognition
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh has received many honors. In 2000, she won the Leighton A. Wilkie Award. This award is for work in anthropology, the study of human societies.
In 2011, Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. She has also received honorary Ph.D. degrees. These special degrees were from the University of Chicago in 1997 and Missouri State University in 2008.
Personal Life
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh has lived in different states. These include Missouri, Georgia, Iowa, and New Jersey. She was married to Dr. Duane Rumbaugh from 1976 to 2000. He was also a primate research scientist. She has one son named Shane.
See also
In Spanish: Sue Savage-Rumbaugh para niños
