Orit Peleg

Orit Peleg is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Department of Computer Science, BioFrontiers Institute, and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She is also an External Faculty member at the Santa Fe Institute. Her interdisciplinary lab investigates biological communication signals using insect swarms as model systems, focusing on fireflies and honeybees.

Research Interests: The lab explores universal principles of biological communication across modalities (chemical, sound, light), emphasizing spatiotemporal integration, signal optimization, and collective decision-making. Current projects include firefly flash synchronization, honeybee aggregation dynamics, honeycomb construction mechanics, and deep-sea temporal structures.

Scientific Awards:

• Cottrell Scholar Award
• Sloan Fellow in Physics
• National Geographic Explorer

Collaborations: Partners include Prof. G.J. Stephens (Okinawa Institute of Technology/Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Prof. K. Jayaram (CU Boulder), Prof. F. López Jiménez (CU Boulder), Prof. L. Mahadevan (Harvard), and Prof. M. Dacke (Lund University).