Dr. H. Dieter Steklis and Dr Netzin Steklis

Dr. H. Dieter Steklis is a Professor in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona. He previously served as Professor of Primatology at Rutgers University (1974-2004) and held leadership roles at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International 1991-2005). He and his wife, Dr. Netzin Steklis, were honored with the Explorers Club “Champions of Wildlife Award” (2002) and the David E. Cox Teaching Award (2021). Dieter has also served as editor of the American Journal of Primatology (1988-1991) and has authored seven books, 30 book chapters, and 75 peer-reviewed articles. His early research focused on the neurobiology and hormonal bases of social behavior in primates. Currently, much of his work, in collaboration with his wife Netzin, centers on the ecology and social behavior of wild mountain gorillas, the evolutionary psychology of human-animal relationships, and exploring the evolution and function of emotions and awareness in both humans and animals.

Dr. Netzin Steklis received a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago, an MA in Ecology & Evolutionarily Biology from Princeton University, a Ph.D. in Ethology & Evolutionary Psychology from University of Arizona, and currently serves an Associate Professor in Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona. She is an ethologist who has studied a variety of nonhuman primates in captive and wild settings, especially the ecology, personality, social behavior, and conservation of wild mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Netzin and her husband/colleague (Dr. H. Dieter Steklis) were co-recipients of the Explorers Club “Champions of Wildlife Award” (2002) in recognition of their gorilla conservation work with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. More recently, she has expanded her research and teaching to include the history and consequences of animal domestication, the biopsychology of human-animal interrelationships, and animal welfare science. In recognition of Netzin and Dieter’s unique interactive co-teaching, they were the co-recipients of the David E. Cox Teaching Award (2021) from The University of Arizona.