Raghavendra Gadagkar

Professor Gadagkar teaches and conducts research at the Center for Ecological Sciences in the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Gadagkar's work centers on the evolution of eusociality. The specific focus of his research is the wasp species Ropalidia marginata, about which he has made a succession of riveting discoveries. It is part of the remarkable wonder of Gadagkar's work that he has managed to conduct research at the very forefront of his field and at the same time to convey the significance of this work to a broader public. He wrote a particularly challenging paper on King Lear, centered on what the wasp species can teach us about the problem that so fascinated and disturbed Shakespeare.