Waal

Thomas de Waal, a Caucasus specialist at Carnegie Europe, believes it’s a mistake to see any kind of close friendship with Russia.

The late primatologist Frans de Waal, an Emory emeritus professor of psychology, helped change this dynamic through his groundbreaking studies of animal cognition.

From de Waal's 1982 book "Chimpanzee Politics" to 2019's "Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and ������ they Tell Us about Ourselves," attitudes about whether animals might have thoughts worthy of scientific exploration changed dramatically.

She did a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Sarah Brosnan, an Emory PhD graduate and a student of de Waal when he served as director of the Living Links Center for the Advanced Study of Ape and Human Evolution at the Emory National Primate Research Center.

Benítez says that the legacy of de Waal was a main reason that drew her to join the faculty at Emory, where she feels that she is walking in his footsteps.