Name: Charlie NunnPosition: Professor, Evolutionary AnthropologyYears at Duke: 1
What I do at Duke: I investigate questions in the evolution of disease, sleep and primate behavior. It’s a wide range of topics, but the key thing that unites it all is I’m interested in big patterns and taking individual studies and putting them in a broader context.
If I had $5 million, I would: Launch a series of projects that integrate prospective in ecology and evolution with global health challenges and conservation goals. It wouldn’t be a single project. It’d be a portfolio projects with a big part focused on launching global health projects in Madagascar.
My first ever job: I had a job working in my grandfather’s warehouse putting cartons of cigarettes through a machine that put a tax stamp on the bottom of each pack. I did it for minimum wage in the summer when I was 15 years old.
My dream job: To be a global explorer and get paid to see the world on foot or bicycle with my family. I’d enjoy seeing different animals and plants and getting to know people around the world. We could hike through cities, parks, forests and all sorts of different habitats.
If someone wanted to start a conversation with me they should ask me about: Running or cooking. I run about four days a week and try to exercise every day. Exercise is a big part of my life. It’s good for your body, but I’ve come to realize it’s also good for your brain. It’s the way to wake up in the morning and get the day going. When it comes to cooking, I just enjoy preparing food for people, even cleaning up. When I travel, I love trying new foods. I especially like Asian foods – Indian, Indonesian and Malagasy.
A Movie I like: 2001: A Space Odyssey. It stands the test of time and still looks like it could’ve been created yesterday even though it was made 40 years ago. I like most movies by Stanley Kubrick.
What I love about Duke: I love the interdisciplinary culture. People are interested in aligning across disciplines and Duke ahs done a good job at cultivating that attitude.
Something most people don’t know about me: I take the bus from Chapel Hill at least one direction to or from work every day. The bus is a fantastic resource that a lot of people don’t know about. It’s good for the environment, cuts down on traffic and best of all; you can get some work done. I’ll usually prepare for a lecture during that time.
An interesting/memorable day at work for me: My first day of teaching last fall. I was a Ph. D student at Duke and sat in a lot of classrooms, but it was really exciting to be at the front of a classroom this time.