Robert Raymond Provine

Dr. Provine was my first psychology mentor in undergraduate and then graduate school. His belief in me profoundly shaped my future, and I have always felt lucky to have him in my life. I will miss talking with him about everything from Marianne Faithfull's rendition of The Threepenny Opera to neuroscience's influences on reductionism. My love to Helen and family, whom I never had the chance to meet but whom Dr. P often talked about with pride and delight.

We have all lost a good friend and an intellectual colleague. I will deeply miss our occasional but highly enlightening conversations about his current and future projects. He was my friend as well as a coworker.

Robert made a significant contribution to illuminating the human condition. I will miss his friendship and support and encouragement. For many years, he served on the Professional Advisory Committee of World Laughter Tour https://www.worldlaughtertour.com/about/professional-advisory-committee/ Thousands of our students got to know him through his books. We shared similar ideas about human values, science, and humor. The halls of Heaven ring with the laughter of the saints.

He will be fondly remembered. He had a gifted mind, a good sense of humor, and a kind spirit.

Robert was a dedicated teacher, outstanding researcher, and generous colleague. He will be sorely missed. Whenever I think of laughter, hiccups, and such everyday occurrences, I think of Robert. He understood the importance of studying such behaviors using the lens of science. Moreover, he often made me laugh. My sincere condolences to Helen and his family.

I was greatly saddened to hear of Rob's passing. He was my next-door-neighbor in the Psychology Dept. at UMBC, and we had many great conversations about the importance of observation as the gateway toward the development of research questions and, ultimately, theory. He was a scholar of the first rank, taking note of and providing insight and meaning to aspects of human behavior that most of us take for granted. He was also an extremely kind and funny human being, and he made me laugh more...

I remember running into Bob at a George Clinton show and thinking, "wow! That is one hep cat professor!" As I learned more about his work, I went on to value him as one of our most interesting professors at UMBC. He shaped a generation of scientists and helped us all to remember that, "Everybody's got a little light under the sun!"

Howard Astronomical League mourns the loss of our friend and fellow stargazer. He will be sorely missed.

Robert was one of those rare, unforgettable people who becomes a friend because he was first a cousin. My brother, Ed, and I spent lots of summer days sharpening our wits with Robert. Word games, puns, just horsing around...and then, many years later I discovered that Robert and I shared a startling gift for memory. His life was a treat, a gift. I am so glad I knew him. He was a bright spark.