Rupert Sheldrake

Biologist and Author

Expertise : Author, Biologist
Languages : english
Website : https://www.sheldrake.org/

RUPERT SHELDRAKE is a biologist and author of 9 books and the co-author of 6 books. He is widely renowned for his hypothesis of morphic resonance. His books have been translated into 28 languages. In 2013, Duttweiler Institute, Zurich, Switzerland’s leading think tank, recognized him to be one of the top 100 Global Thought Leaders. Rupert was born in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. His father earned a degree in pharmacy from the University of Nottingham and served as an amateur naturalist and microscopist. Rupert’s father encouraged him to pursue his interest in animal, plants and gardens.

Rupert gained higher education in the field of natural sciences at Cambridge University where he was a Scholar of Clare College. He earned a double first-class honours degree and was granted “the University Botany Prize” in 1962. Afterwards, he studied philosophy and history of science at Harvard University. He completed his PhD in biochemistry and cell biology at Cambridge University. From 1970 to 1973, he has been a fellow of the royal society. During this time, he researched the development of plants and the ageing of cells in the Department of Biochemistry at Cambridge University. He discovered with the help of Philip Rebery the mechanism of polar auxin transport, which is the process by which the plant hormone auxin is carried from the shoots towards the roots.

In 1960, Rupert won Major Open Scholarship in Natural Sciences at Clare College Cambridge, and soon after, he was awarded the Cambridge University Frank Smart Prize for Botany, and in 1963 the Clare College Greene Cup for General Learning. He also received “ The Book of the Year Award” from The Institute for Social Inventions for his book Seven. Paul won “Bridgebuilder Award” in 2014 and first “Lucia Torri Cianci” prize for innovative thinking in Italy in 2015.

Rupert also studied rain forest plants as a fellow of Royal Society Leverhulme Scholar, from 1968 to 1969. In 1974, he got chance to serve as Principal Plant Physiologist and Consultant Physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India. When he was serving in India, Paul lived for a year and a half at the ashram of Fr Bede Griffiths in Tamil Nadu and wrote his first book. His research has been focused on developmental and cell biology since 1981. He also studied on the unexplained aspects of animal behaviour. All the researches that he had done have been summarized in his amazing books.

After completing his research, he started teaching at Schumacher College where has been part of the faculty for the MSc in Holistic Science programme. In 2000, he was Scholar in Residence at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. From 2003 to 2011, he worked as a visiting professor and academic director of the Holistic Thinking Program at the Graduate Institute.

Rupert resides in New York with his wife Jill Purce and two sons.