Gerald E. McClearn

Gerald (Jerry) McClearn (July 28, 1927 – January 5, 2017) was an American behavior geneticist and professor emeritus of health and human development and biobehavioral health at the Pennsylvania State University.[1]

Gerald E. McClearn
Receiving honorary degree in 2002
Born
Gerald Eugene McClearn

(1927-07-28)July 28, 1927
Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania
DiedJanuary 5, 2017(2017-01-05) (aged 89)
State College, Pennsylvania
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin
Allegheny College
Known forCognitive aging, behavioral genetics, gerontology
AwardsDobzhansky Award (1989), Robert W. Kleemeier Award from the Gerontological Society of America (2009), Fondation IPSEN Longevity Prize
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
Behavioral genetics
Gerontological genetics
InstitutionsPennsylvania State University
University of Colorado at Boulder
ThesisAn analysis of differentiation learning by monkeys (1954)
Doctoral advisorHarry Harlow
Notable studentsNancy Pedersen
InfluencedRobert Plomin
Websitebbh.hhdev.psu.edu/faculty-staff/mcclearn

Education

McClearn received his undergraduate degree from Allegheny College and took his Ph.D. in psychology at University of Wisconsin. After two year-long spells as instructor at Yale University, and then assistant professor of psychology at Allegheny College, he took up postdoctoral positions at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and University College London.[2]

Career

McClearn was on staff at the Department of Psychology at University of California, Berkeley from 1956 to 1965. He then joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology at University of Colorado Boulder, as an associate professor. Promoted to full professor, he remained at Boulder until 1981.

Early on at Colorado, McClearn planned to form a research institute dedicated to research and teaching in behavioral genetics; he subsequently founded the Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1966, and was an early member of the Behavior Genetics Association, becoming one of its first presidents in 1974.[3][4]

Gerald (Jerry) McClearn, John DeFries and Nancy McClearn already planning expansion of the Institute for Behavior Genetics (IBG), Fall 1967

He was the recipient of the Dobzhansky Award in 1989, the Robert W. Kleemeier Award from the Gerontological Society of America (2009) "in recognition for outstanding research in the field of gerontology”,[5] and the Fondation Ipsen's Longevity Prize.[6]

Selected works

Books
  • Gerald E. McClearn; John C. DeFries (1973). Introduction to Behavioral Genetics. San Francisco, CA: W. H. Freeman and Company.
  • Robert Plomin; John C. DeFries; Gerald E. McClearn (1980). Behavioral Genetics: A Primer. San Francisco, CA: W. H. Freeman and Company.
  • Robert Plomin; Gerald E. McClearn, eds. (1993). Nature, Nurture, and Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

References
  1. "Gerald McClearn to Retire After 30 Years in HHD". news.psu.edu. The Pennsylvania State University. October 24, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  2. "Gerald E. McClearn 1927–2017: A Founding Father of Behavioral Genetics". Behavior Genetics. 47 (3): 263–264. 2017-05-01. doi:10.1007/s10519-017-9846-2. ISSN 0001-8244. PMID 28352972.
  3. Vogler, George P. (2010). "Gerald E. McClearn: Complexity in Behavior Genetics". Behavior Genetics. 40 (6): 735–736. doi:10.1007/s10519-010-9411-8. ISSN 0001-8244. PMID 21046217.
  4. "Historical table of BGA Meetings". bga.org. Behavior Genetics Association. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  5. "McClearn wins GSA's 2009 Robert W. Kleemeier Award". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  6. "Longévité". Fondation Ipsen. Retrieved 1 February 2017.


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