Dr. Fernando Montealegre-Z. is Professor of Sensory Biology at the University of Lincoln, where he leads research on the biomechanics, neurobiology, and evolution of hearing and acoustic communication in animals. His work uses insects as model systems to investigate how sensory systems evolve and function, combining biophysics, bioacoustics, laser vibrometry, micro-CT imaging, numerical modelling, and evolutionary biology.

He obtained his PhD in Zoology from the University of Toronto and subsequently held research positions at the University of Toronto and the University of Bristol before joining the University of Lincoln in 2012. His research has attracted major funding, including a €2 million European Research Council Consolidator Grant, awards from the Leverhulme Trust, NERC-NSF, the Royal Society, and National Geographic.

Professor Montealegre-Z. has published more than 90 peer-reviewed papers, including articles in Science, PNAS, Current Biology, and the Proceedings of the Royal Society, and is internationally recognised for pioneering work on insect hearing, biomechanical evolution, and the reconstruction of ancient soundscapes. Currently he serves as President of the Orthopterists’ Society.