Background
Marcus Feldman was born and raised in Perth, Australia. His father Simon Feldman was an engineer, and this inspired him to take up mathematics.
Marcus Feldman was born and raised in Perth, Australia. His father Simon Feldman was an engineer, and this inspired him to take up mathematics.
He studied at the University of Western Australia from where he matriculated in 1959, and graduated (with majors in mathematics and statistics) in 1964. In 1966 he obtained Master of Science degree in mathematics from Monash University. He went abroad to United States to join a Doctor of Philosophy programme at Stanford University.
He is an Australian-born mathematician turned American theoretical biologist, best known for his mathematical evolutionary theory and computational studies in evolutionary biology. He earned his degree in 1969 under the supervision of Samuel Karlin in the Department of Mathematics. Karlin influenced him to pursue his research in population genetics using his computational know-how.
After a brief work at Stanford as a Research Assistant for Karlin, and as Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, Feldman returned to Australia to join at Louisiana Trobe University as a Lecturer of mathematics.
In 1971 he was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford, and went back to United States. With L.L. Cavalli-Sforza in 1973, he originated the quantitative theory of cultural evolution, initiating a research program in cultural transmission and gene-culture coevolution. His own research into human molecular evolution such as in China led him to international recognition.
He is the author of more than 500 scientific papers and several books on evolution, ecology, and mathematical biology. In addition, he is the founding editor of Theoretical Population Biology (1971-2013) and an associate editor of Genetics, Human Genetics, Annals of Human Genetics, Annals of Human Biology, and Complexity.
He was the editor of The American Naturalist from 1984 to 1990.
American Philosophical Society. National Academy of Sciences. American Academy of Arts and Sciences]
He was a Member of Board of Trustees at the Santa Fe Institute from 1984 to 2006.
Elected member of the The American Society of Human Genetics
Elected member of the American Philosophical Society in 2011
Elected member of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 2013.