
Love and War: What Can We Learn from Chimpanzees
FEBRUARY 28, 2025
Dr. Aaron Sandel
Associate Professor
Isabelle Clark
Graduate Student
What is the talk about?
What can the social lives of chimps teach us about our own? In the next Hot Science - Cool Talks, primatologists Dr. Aaron Sandel and Isabelle Clark share their first hand accounts of living amongst a chimpanzee social group. Discover how our closest ape relatives navigate social bonds, manage violence, and build connections.
This is a featured event in the 2025 Texas Science Festival. Environmental Science Institute is a proud partner of the Festival, organized by The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Natural Sciences.
About our presenters

Dr. Aaron Sandel
Aaron Sandel is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at UT Austin whose research explores the social bonds and emotions of our closest ape relatives. He is a co-director of the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project and has studied chimpanzees in Uganda since 2012. He also runs the Primate Ethology and Endocrinology Lab at UT Austin.

Isabelle Clark
Isabelle Clark is a Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology at UT Austin and an emerging primatologist who researches chimpanzee behavior. Her focus is on how in-group/out-group identities emerge during the lives of young chimpanzees, and she analyzes social behavior and physiology to track social and group dynamics of the Ngogo chimpanzees.
Schedule & Location
Time | Event | Location |
---|---|---|
5:30-6:40 PM | Cool Activities | Grand Hallway, Welch Hall (WEL), UT Campus |
7:00-8:15 PM | Talk | 2.224, Welch Hall (WEL), UT Campus |
Parking & Directions
Welch Hall (WEL), UT Campus
Welch Hall (WEL) is located at 105 E. 24th St, on the corner of Speedway and 24th Streets. Enter the Welch Hall building from the Speedway side.
Discount event parking will be available soon at https://utparking.clickandpark.com/ until midnight Thursday before the talk! From the "Venue Selection" page, select Welch Hall. You will see the Hot Science - Cool Talks, select the date of this event. Select Find Parking. Select the parking passes you need and click Add to Cart. (The cost of parking is determined by UT Parking and Transportation) Select Continue Checkout. Add your Billing Info and Complete Purchase. You will be sent a pdf attachment with a QR code. Please check the PDF has your code. Otherwise, contact ClickandPark at 866-330-7275 for billing issues.