WILCZYNSKI, Walter

Walter Wilczynski passed away on June 9, 2019 in Atlanta, GA, at the age of 67, after a wellfought battle with cancer. He was a beloved husband, son, brother, uncle, and mentor, and a friend to many. He was born in Trenton, NJ, on

September 18, 1952, the first of five children, to Eugenia D.

Wilczynski and Alexander W.

Wilczynski. He graduated from

Steinert High School in

Trenton, completed undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and earned his doctorate in Neuroscience from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, working in the lab and under the advisorship of Dr. R. Glenn Northcutt. It was in Ann Arbor where Walter met Deborah Greene, his future wife. Walter completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, working in the lab of Dr. Robert Capranica. Walter moved to Austin, TX in 1983 to join the Psychology faculty at The University of Texas (UT) at Austin, where he excelled at teaching and research. Walter used a multidisciplinary research approach to understand the basic neuroscience underlying the expression of social behavior and vocal communication, and their regulation by neuropeptides and hormones. This work conducted in amphibians and reptiles, investigated how communication signals, behavioral responses, and hormonal state are monitored and controlled by neural systems, and how in turn these neural systems are modified by social experience and the hormonal changes such experience triggers. Among the substantial contributions of Walter’s research program has been the demonstration that the sensory systems coding and relaying communication signals are very plastic in response to the social environment and not simply static components of sensory, motor, and motivational systems. Over the years, more than 30 graduate students and postdoctoral trainees participated in his research program, which was funded by both the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. He was also instrumental in developing an inter-institutional project on the Prosocial Brain: Evolution of the Human Capacity for Empathy, Compassion and Cooperation funded by the Templeton Foundation. His research is published in prestigious journals ranging from Animal Behaviour and Ethology to Science, Nature and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Walter also served as the Editor-in-Chief of Brains, Behavior, and Evolution from 1999 to 2010.

Walter collaborated extensively in research and scholarly writing throughout his career with Dr. Michael J. Ryan, beginning when both were Assistant Professors at UT-Austin, including various trips to research sites in Panama sponsored by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and on their most recent book, An Introduction to Animal Behavior, An Integrative Approach. While on sabbatical in 1996, he served as a Program Director for Behavioral Neuroscience for the National Science Foundation in Arlington, VA. In 2005, Walter and Deborah moved to Atlanta, GA, when Walter joined the Psychology faculty and served as the Co-Director for Research for the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience at Georgia State University. Walter became the inaugural Director of the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State University in 2008, serving in that role for six years before stepping down to return to teaching and research. In 2016, Walter was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to work in Santiago, Chile in collaboration with Dr. Mario Penna at the Programa de Fisiologia y Biologia of the University of Chile.

This spring, Walter finalized a book that he edited with Dr. Sarah Brosnan, Cooperation and Conflict: The Interaction of Opposites in Shaping Social Behavior, to be published by Cambridge University Press. The edited volume focuses on how cooperation and conflict interact in establishing societies, and included perspectives from authors who study genes, insects, fish, birds, and mammals, including humans. In addition to his teaching, research, and scholarly writing, Walter mentored numerous graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows, along with influencing the careers of countless undergraduate and graduate students. Walter and his wife Deborah have been together since 1975, marrying in 2016. Over their nearly 45 years of partnership, they traveled to nearly 20 countries, and completed two marathons and over 100 5K and 10K running races. A skilled amateur chef, Walter delighted many of their friends and family with his gourmet cooking and his knowledge of wine and spirits. Among his other hobbies were attending live music and theater performances, taking still photographs of nature and people, viewing first-run movies on the Big Screen, and experiencing fine dining and local and regional casual cuisine. Walter became a cat person, and was adopted by two neighborhood cats in Austin, Kissa and Kitty Pie, who agreed to share his Austin home, and by an orphaned cat in Atlanta, Sammy, who provided great joy and amusement to Walter for nearly 15 years.

Walter is survived by his wife, Deborah Greene, his mother, Eugenia Wilczynski, siblings, Alec Wilczynski (Linda Mathews), Anthony Wilczynski, Michael Wilczynski (Catherine), and Gloria Wilczynski, nieces/nephews, Matthew Wilczynski (Tess), Nick Wilczynski, Sarah Wilczynski, Emma Wilczynski, Katelyn Wilczynski, and Alexandra Wilczynski, and numerous cousins. Due to Covid-19, details for celebrations of Walter’s life, to be held in Austin, TX and Atlanta, GA, will be provided when they become available.

In lieu of flowers, contributions to honor Walter may be made to the Emory Winship Cancer Center Director’s Fund (#24479001), the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Capital Area Food Bank (Austin, Texas), or a food bank in your community.