Martin Nowak

Martin Andreas Nowak (born April 7, 1965 ) is an Austrian-born professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University.

He is one of the leading researchers in evolutionary dynamics.

Nowak has made contributions to the fields of evolutionary theory, cooperation, viral dynamics, and cancer dynamics.

He studied at Albertus Magnus Gymnasium and the University of Vienna, earning a doctorate in biochemistry and mathematics in 1989.

He worked with Peter Schuster on quasi-species theory and with Karl Sigmund on evolution of cooperation.

Nowak received the highest Austrian honors (Sub auspiciis Praesidentis) when awarded his degree.

From 1989 to 1998, Nowak worked at the University of Oxford with Robert May.

First, he was an Erwin Schrödinger postdoctoral Scholar, then a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, then a Junior Research Fellow at Keble College.

In 1990, Nowak and Robert May proposed a mathematical model which explained the puzzling delay between HIV infection and AIDS in terms of the evolution of different strains of the virus during individual infections, to the point where the genetic diversity of the virus reaches a threshold whereby the immune system can no longer control it.

This detailed quantitative approach depended on assumptions about the biology of HIV which were subsequently confirmed by experiment.

At Harvard, Nowak continued his work on virus dynamics, cancer dynamics, and evolutionary game theory.

From 1992, he was a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow.

In 1993, he received his "Habilitation" at the Institute of Mathematics at the University of Vienna.

From 1997 to 1998, Nowak was a professor of mathematical biology.

In 1998, Martin Nowak was recruited by the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

He was Head of the Institutes first Initiative in Theoretical Biology from 1998 until 2003.

In 2001, he was elected into the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Nowak held professorships at Oxford University and at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, before being recruited by Harvard in 2003.

He was the director of Harvard's program for evolutionary dynamics from 2003 until 2020.

Nowak was born in Vienna, Austria.

In 2003, Nowak was recruited to Harvard University as Professor of Mathematics and Biology.

Nowak was co-director with Sarah Coakley of the Evolution and Theology of Cooperation project at Harvard University, sponsored by the Templeton Foundation.

where he was also a member of their Board of Advisers.

Nowak has authored books and scientific papers on topics in evolutionary game theory, cancer, viruses, infectious disease, the evolution of language, and the evolution of cooperation.

At Oxford, he helped to establish the fields of virus dynamics and spatial games (which later became evolutionary graph theory).

He continued his collaboration with Karl Sigmund in game theory, proposing generous tit-for-tat and win-stay, lose-shift, inventing adaptive dynamics, alternating games and indirect reciprocity.

He collaborated with John Maynard Smith on genetic redundancy, with Baruch Blumberg on hepatitis B virus, with George Shaw and Andrew McMichael on HIV.

He worked with Robert May on evolution of virulence.

In 2004, he established evolutionary game dynamics in finite populations.

In 2005 and 2006 he wrote key papers establishing evolutionary graph theory.

In 2006, he suggested that cooperation was a third fundamental principle of evolution beside mutation and selection.

In a paper in Science in 2006, Nowak enunciated and unified the mathematical rules for the five understood bases of the evolution of cooperation (kin selection, direct reciprocity, indirect reciprocity, network reciprocity, and group selection).

Nowak suggests that evolution is constructive because of cooperation, and that we might add “natural cooperation” as a third fundamental principle of evolution beside mutation and natural selection.

In 2007, he proposed prelife - a theory for the origin of life.

In a paper featured on the front cover of Nature in 2007, Nowak and colleagues demonstrated that the transition of irregular verbs to regular verbs in English over time obeys a simple inverse-square law, thus providing one of the first quantitative laws in the evolution of language.

In 2008 and 2009 he suggested that positive interaction, but not punishment, promotes evolution of cooperation.

In 2010 a paper by Nowak, E. O. Wilson, and Corina Tarnita, in Nature, argued that standard natural selection theory represents a simpler and superior approach to kin selection theory in the evolution of eusociality.

This work has led to many comments including strong criticism from proponents of inclusive fitness theory.

Nowak maintains that the findings of the paper are conclusive and that the field of social evolution should move beyond inclusive fitness theory.

He has over 300 scientific publications, of which 40 are in Nature and 15 in Science.