b. 1965
Martin Nowak is a mathematical biologist and evolutionary theorist at Harvard University whose work bridges evolutionary dynamics, game theory, and the origins of cooperation. He has made foundational contributions to understanding how cooperation evolves among selfish agents, challenging the Darwinian assumption that natural selection favors pure defection. His mathematical models have reshaped debates in evolutionary biology, philosophy of biology, and even theology.
Developed influential mathematical models showing cooperation can emerge and stabilize under natural selection via mechanisms such as kin selection, direct reciprocity, and network reciprocity
Demonstrated that replicator dynamics need not converge to evolutionarily stable states, undermining a core assumption of classical evolutionary game theory
Co-authored foundational work on the five rules for the evolution of cooperation (kin, direct, indirect, network, group selection)
Applied evolutionary dynamics to cancer biology, modeling tumor progression as an evolutionary process
Authored SuperCooperators (2011), bringing evolutionary cooperation theory to broader scientific and philosophical audiences