W. Tecumseh Fitch is interested in the evolution of cognition in vertebrates. Because communication is a convenient window on cognition, the evolution of communication (in animals) and speech, music and language (in humans) are the major focal points of his research. He is trained in biology, neuroscience and computer science, and his perspective on cognition and communication is strongly evolutionary and computational. In particular, he strongly believes that the comparative approach will play a key role in understanding the evolution and functioning of brain and mind. By using studies of many different species performing similar tasks, we can avail ourselves of the innumerable "experiments of nature" performed by evolution, and thus reap rich insights unavailable by other means.  From this comparative perspective, both the similarities and the differences between species are informative.

Current projects fall into three broad categories: vocal production in animals (functional morphology), perception of communication sounds by animals and humans (neuroethology), and the computational resources underlying the processing of complex sounds including speech, language and music (cognitive neuroscience).

Lehrveranstaltung des Leibniz-Professors im Wintersemester 2005/06

Vorlesung / Seminar:
The Evolution of Language
donnerstags: 17.00-19.00 Uhr
Beginn: 2. November 2005
Hörsaal des MPI für evolutionäre Antropologie

Die Antrittsvorlesung fand statt:
The Comparative Approach to the Biology and Evolution of Cognition
Donnerstag, 27. Oktober 2005
im Rahmen des Jahrestages des
Zentrums für Kognitionswissenschaften
Beginn: 14.00 Uhr
Wilhelm-Wundt-Raum im Max-Planck-Institut
für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften
Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig

Address

Prof. Dr. W. Tecumseh Fitch
University of St Andrews (Scotland)
Tel: +44 1334 46 2054
Homepage http://psy.st-andrews.ac.uk/people/lect/wtsf.shtml

Languages

• German (fluent speaking and reading knowledge)
• Spanish (good speaking and reading knowledge)
• French (good speaking and reading knowledge)

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard/MIT Speech & Hearing Science Program, (1996-1999)
• Ph. D., Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, Brown University, (1989-1994)
• B. A. with honors, Biology, Brown University, (1981 -1986)

Teaching/Professional Experience

• Lecturer, University of St. Andrews (2003 - present)
• Lecturer, Harvard University, Organismic & Evol. Biology & Dept. of Psychology (1999-2002)
• Teaching Assistant & Lecturer, Brown University (1989-1994)
• Computer Programmer/Consultant:  Boston, Providence, New York and Innsbruck. (1988-2001)
• Medical Translator (German to English):  Innsbruck, Austria.  1988.
• Research Assistant (Coral reef fish ethology) with Dr. D. Y. Shapiro: H. Steinitz Marine Lab, Eilat, Israel & Dept. Marine Science, Univ. of Puerto Rico, La Parguera, PR.  1986-1988

Research Awards and Academic Honors

• Recipient, John G. Pisano award, National Institutes of Health, (July 2003)
• Invited Fellow, European Advanced Studies Institute, Berlin, Germany (2002-2003)
• National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship, (1996 -1999)
• German-American Exchange Fellowship: "Evolution of Intelligence". May 1998-99
• Visiting Fellow, BC Advanced Systems Institute. Victoria, British Columbia January 1995
• Research Grant from Apple Computer "Sonification of Physiological Sounds". January 1993
• National Science Foundation Research Fellow (three years) September 1990
• Selected participant, McDonnell Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Dartmouth, July 1990
• National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Training Award.  June, 1990
• James F. Kidwell Prize in Population Biology, Brown University.  May 1986
• Elected to Sigma Xi. May 1986
• Explorer's Club Research Grant. July 1985
• Sigma Xi Grant In-Aid of Research. Dec 1984
• 1981 US National Merit Scholarship Finalist

Research Interests and Projects

Research Interests: The evolution and neural basis of cognition and communication. Bioacoustics, physiology and perception of vertebrate vocalization (including human speech).  The evolution of animal communication systems, including speech, language and music.  Theoretical biology. Auditory display of data.

Selected Research Projects

• 2001 - present: Functional imaging (fMRI & PET) of vocal imitation in humans and audition in monkeys (collaboration with Allen Braun and colleagues, National Institutes of Health)
• 1994 - present:  Perception of vocalizations by humans, monkeys, and birds (collaborations at Harvard, Max Planck Leipzig, U Potsdam & National Institutes of Health)
• 1998 - present: High-speed endoscopic visualization of phonation in primates (collaboration with Ole Larsen, Odense, and Uwe Jürgens, Göttingen)
• 1997 - present:  Biophysics and computer modeling of vertebrate vocal production (collaboration with Hanspeter Herzel, physicist, Institute of Theoretical Biology, Berlin)
• 1998 - present: Vocal production & evolution of communication in deer (w/ David Reby, Sussex)
• 1998 - 2003:  Interspecific comparison of syntactic abilities in primates and humans (collaboration with Marc Hauser, psychologist, Harvard University)
• 1998 - 2001:  Cineradiographic & electromyographic study of mammalian vocal production (collaboration with A. W. Crompton, functional morphologist, Harvard University)
• 1997 - 1999: MRI analysis of human vocal anatomy & development (w/ Jay Giedd, NIH)
• 1994 - 1999: Correlation between vocal anatomy, formants & body size in animals & humans.
• 1994 - 1997: Comparative and theoretical analysis of tracheal elongation in birds
• 1989 - 1994: PhD Thesis: vocal tract length and the evolution of human language.
• 1990 - 1994: Sonification: the use of sound to perceive data (w/ W. A Schloss, U. Victoria)
• 1985 - 1990: Social behavior in sex-changing coral reef fish (w/ Douglas Shapiro, U. Puerto Rico)

Professional Affiliations

Acoustical Society of America, American Institute of Physics, Sigma Xi, International Community for Auditory Display

Computer Programming

Experienced programmer in C, Matlab, Pascal, BASIC and Motorola 68K assembly language; Unix and Macintosh operating systems.  As a computer consultant, specialized in developing graphic interfaces and computer simulations for scientific applications (hydrogeology, asbestos management, tropical ecology).  Recent focus is on digital signal processing for acoustic analysis and synthesis of animal sounds and human speech, sound synthesis for auditory presentation of data, and physical modeling of acoustic systems.

*About the name

My parents named me after my great-great-great-grandfather, General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), who was in turn named after Tecumseh (1768-1813), the great Shawnee chief and general, who was a friend of Sherman's grandfather. Tecumseh (or Cump, but never William) has always been used as my first name, as for General Sherman himself.