Born 1953 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania/USA. Study of biology and mathematics at the University of Rochester/New York, BA Biology & Mathematics (1975), PhD biological sciences, Stanford University (1980), Assistant, Associate and Full Professor at Clemson University/South Carolina (1980-1999), Fulbright Fellow, Canberra/Australia (1996-1997), Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne/Australia (1999-2003), Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (since 2003 - 2021), Honorary Professor Friedrich Schiller University Jena (since 2006). David Heckel has been emeritus since 1.3.2021.