Dr. Martin Nowak stands as a preeminent mathematical biologist whose groundbreaking work has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of evolutionary processes. He currently serves as Professor of Mathematics and Biology at Harvard University, holding joint appointments in both the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Born in Vienna in 1965, Nowak received his PhD in Biochemistry and Mathematics from the University of Vienna in 1989, graduating with the highest distinction. He subsequently pursued postdoctoral research at Oxford University under the mentorship of Robert May, where he became Professor of Mathematical Biology at the remarkably young age of 32. His distinguished career trajectory continued with his recruitment to the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in 1998 to establish its first program in theoretical biology before joining Harvard University in 2003.
Nowak's pioneering research has yielded transformative insights across multiple domains of evolutionary biology, particularly in the mathematical modeling of virus dynamics, cancer progression, and the evolution of cooperation. His seminal contributions include the invention of spatial reciprocity and stochastic game dynamics for finite populations, as well as the development of influential concepts such as Generous Tit-for-tat and indirect reciprocity in collaboration with Karl Sigmund. With over 200 publications to his name and more than 166,000 citations, his work has established foundational frameworks that have become standard in the field of evolutionary dynamics. Nowak's technical monograph Virus Dynamics, co-authored with Robert May, revolutionized the mathematical analysis of viral infections and immunology, while his book SuperCooperators brought his theories on cooperation to a broader audience.
Beyond his specific research contributions, Nowak has significantly shaped the field through his leadership as Director of Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics from 2003 to 2020, where he fostered interdisciplinary research at the intersection of mathematics and biology. Despite controversy surrounding funding from Jeffrey Epstein, which led to temporary sanctions that Harvard lifted in 2023, Nowak's scholarly impact remains profound and enduring. He continues to advance mathematical approaches for studying evolutionary phenomena, including the evolution of human language, culturomics, and the origins of evolution itself. Nowak's work exemplifies the power of mathematical rigor to illuminate fundamental biological processes, cementing his legacy as one of the most influential theoretical biologists of his generation.
