Richard J. Davidson

William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry and Founder and Director of the Center for Healthy Minds, UW–Madison

Richard J. Davidson is the William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry and the founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at UW–Madison. He is also the founder and chief visionary for Healthy Minds Innovations, Inc. Davidson’s research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and methods to promote human flourishing. He is the author (with Sharon Begley) of The Emotional Life of Your Brain and coauthor (with Daniel Goleman) of Altered Traits. He was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine in 2006. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017 and appointed to the governing board of UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) in 2018.