Manfred Maurus was a German scientist, an assistant professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, researcher, and head of the Department of Behavioral Physiology at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry. Maurus was a pioneer in neuroethology, commencing his work with Dr. Detlev Ploog. He specialized in investigating the neural basis of behavior in freely behaving squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus), using radio-controlled electrical brain stimulation. Among his coworkers were Helmut Pruscha, Birgit Kühlmorgen, Paul Müller-Preuss, and Uwe Jürgens.

He retired to Canada and died on January 15, 2008.^{[citation needed]}