Karl Haushalter
Colleague
I fondly remember Bob as a colleague with keen insight, incredible breadth of interests, and a real love for the work that he did with our students. Whenever we had a chance to eat lunch together or serve on a committee together, I greatly enjoyed talking with him because I always felt that I left our conversation having learned something. He will be deeply missed.
Bob Cave
Colleague
Bob and I shared a love of jazz and saw several concerts together. He knew much more than I did but was a patient tutor and a wonderful companion.
When I was Associate Dean I had to organize advising groups around topics of interest for students and faculty. Bob was always the first person to step up and volunteer with a jazz-themed group. First-year students loved it and it was a spectacular opportunity for them.
Bob was humble, smart, funny and wise. This is a difficult loss for the community, and for me personally.
Sarah Jacobson '98
Student
One of my strongest memories from my undergraduate years was that Professor Keller invited me into his home for Thanksgiving dinner, as I was stuck on campus over the holiday. That kindness made me very grateful and has stayed with me over the years.
Mimee Xu '15
Student
Professor Robert Keller was my undergrad advisor in computer science. He also taught me Logic and Computability (&42). He was very proud of his academic lineage (~twice removed from Church). Very few people know this but he made slides down to every half minute for his lectures, lest he forgot what was to follow. Unfortunately, his prepared jokes were often lost on the class, so he chuckled to them himself. While I was not the easiest kid to deal with, he showed the utmost patience when I needed obscure (nevertheless always urgent) paperwork done for immigration.
In 2015, a few months after my graduation, I saw on LinkedIn that Prof. Keller had endorsed me for “Python”.
Geoff Kuenning
Departmental colleague
Bob was still department chair when I joined Mudd in 1998, and served as a mentor and role model for me until the day he died. He was a true Renaissance man; he taught foundational courses like CS 60, theoretical ones like CS 81, advanced electives such as Neural Networks (a branch of AI), and even systems courses such as Parallel and Real-Time Programming. As if that weren’t enough, he also taught one of his first loves, jazz, as a voluntary overload.
Bob was always available for guidance when anyone had a knotty problem–whether it was a CS challenge or a career question. I knew I could count on him to consider all sides of an issue and offer sage advice. In department meetings he always spoke in a quiet voice that we all listened to carefully because we knew his broad experience and keen insight would bring out an important aspect of an issue that we hadn’t thought about.
I deeply miss Bob; the CS Department has lost one of its most essential members.