Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honors excellence and convenes leaders from every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together. The members have helped set the direction of research and analysis in science and technology policy, global security and international affairs, social policy, education, and the humanities.

Professor Agustín Fuentes is interested in both the big questions and the small details of what makes humans and our close relations tick. Earning his BA/BS in Anthropology and Zoology and his MA and PhD in Anthropology from UC Berkeley, he has conducted research across four continents, multiple species, and two-million years of human history. His current foci include exploring cooperation, creativity, and belief in human evolution, multispecies anthropologies, evolutionary theory and processes, and engaging race and racism. Fuentes is an active public scientist, a well-known blogger, lecturer, tweeter, and an explorer for National Geographic. Fuentes’ books include “Race, Monogamy, and other lies they told you: busting myths about human nature” (U of California), “The Creative Spark: how imagination made humans exceptional" (Dutton), and “Why We Believe: evolution and the human way of being” (Yale). Professor Fuentes was recently awarded the Inaugural Communication & Outreach Award from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and the President’s Award from the American Anthropological Association.

Agustín Fuentes will be joining the faculty in the fall as Professor of Anthropology.