Dr. Gary Alpert is an environmental biologist on staff in the Environmental Health & Safety Department at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. He collaborates with scientists around the world to catalogue the world’s ants and has traveled to Africa, Indonesia, parts of Asia, and the Americas. Gary and several other Harvard experts recently completed a World Ants collection, available soon on CD. He also hosts international students and researchers during their visits to the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Career Path: Dr. Alpert earned a doctorate in biology from Harvard University. The study of the world’s ants is his second career. He began as a specialist in the use of nontoxic methods to control insects, known as integrated pest management. After years of studying ants to limit their numbers, Gary now learns about them for a different reason: to better understand why these tiny animals have become so successful.