Iain Couzin

Iain Couzin is a British scientist and currently one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Department of Collective Behaviour and the chair of Biodiversity and Collective Behaviour at the University of Konstanz (Germany).

[1] He is known for his work on collective behaviour in animals that aims to understand the fundamental patterns responsible for evolution of such behaviour in taxa as diverse as insects, fish and primates.

Couzin then moved on to faculty positions at Princeton University and then the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, and subsequently the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz.

[1][4] Couzin's work is aimed at understanding how collective behaviour in animals emerges, using a combination of fieldwork, computer simulations, lab experiments, and mathematical models.

[5] His work with army ants showed how they move forming traffic lanes that optimizes their movement and avoids congestion.