Original: Alex ( 1976 - September 6 , 2007 ) was an African Grey Parrot and the subject of a thirty-year ( 1977-2007 ) experiment by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg , initially at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard and Brandeis University .
Simplified: Purpose He was part of a study under animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg since 1977 at two different universities : Brandeis University in Massachusetts and before that , University of Arizona .