Peter Mawhorter ’08

Student

I remember taking Prof. Keller’s neural networks class, in which I was a fairly mediocre student. But nevertheless I had some positive interactions with him at colloquia and the like, and years later when I was in graduate school, I ended up running into him at the International Conference on Computational Creativity, which I learned he attends regularly. Despite the intervening years, he remembered me and was happy to chat a bit about Mudd and my new research directions, which was fun. And despite my performance in his class, I still use neural networks in parts of my research today, and Prof. Keller’s influence also indirectly introduced me to logic programming which I also use, so I owe a lot to his teaching.

Anna Jordanous

Research colleague and friend

So sad to hear that Bob Keller passed away last Sunday. One of two hugely influential B. Kellers in my academic life. I met Bob while doing my PhD, and during my PhD corrections he helped me through the really difficult discovery that I had mis-analysed the work of his system Impro-Visor in a fundamental part of my experiments. His input was hugely helpful and he gave so willingly of his time.

I used to see him pretty much every year at conferences and always made a beeline for him to hear what he’d been up to and to have the pleasure of his intelligent and entertaining company. Even recently we were involved in the steering committee of a conference together for this October, and he thought of me during my maternity leave, to tell me about this fascinating meeting of two computational improvisers https://youtu.be/fxcy97HfGcE

The world will be a poorer place without him.

I hope that his website on Impro-Visor can be preserved; his research was world-leading and is of huge importance.

Roger Dannenberg

Friend and colleague

I only wish I I could have spent more time with Bob. We had some great discussions especially years ago when I visited him at Harvey Mudd. I’ve always admired and followed his work. What a great guy. We’ll all miss him.

Katherine Breeden

Colleague

I’ll never forget the unexpected joy I felt the first time I heard Bob playing trumpet. It was late at night my first year as a prof, and I was frazzled about something or another when I was stopped in my tracks in the stairwell. I listened at the door for a long time. I wish I could thank him now for how generously he always shared his gifts (musical and intellectual) with others.

My heart goes out to Bob’s family in this difficult time.

Ran Libeskind-Hadas

Colleague and friend

I feel very grateful to have spent more than two decades as Bob’s colleague. Bob was always encouraging and supportive. Among the many things that he taught me is that a healthy give-and-take within the workplace can be done with mutual respect. Bob taught this by example. He was an incredibly good person and cared deeply about his students and colleagues.

Adrian Sampson ’09

Student

I remember Bob as a research mentor who encouraged me to explore off-the-beaten-track ideas far beyond what we learned in his machine learning class. Bob helped me understand the transformative potential of thinking about research that I still pursue today. In my current life of research & teaching, it happens surprisingly often that I stumble across some old, foundational work that has Bob’s name on it—his mark on CS is broader and deeper than I knew when I was at Mudd. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to learn from him.

Weiqing Gu

Colleague

We miss you, Prof. Keller!

As if it were yesterday, we were chatting on the way to the Hoch-Shanahan Dining Commons regarding your Neural Networks course and my Mathematics of Big Data course…tears in my eyes…I still could not believe that you have had left us…You are always so humble, wise, and friendly with a big smile…You will live in our hearts forever!

James Benham ’00

Student

I was lucky enough to interact with Prof Keller throughout my time at Mudd. I had several class from him, graded CS60 for him, worked on clinic with him, and we shared our love of music in the Jazz band.

No matter what the activity, I always saw him as a wise and kind mentor. I also loved that he’d stop by for a brief hello at the career fair when I would return, even long after I’d graduated.

I will miss him greatly.

Bill Alves

Colleague

Bob understood that the nuances of musical interaction could transform notes and chords into something that transcends the individual and could bring a special kind of light into the lives of our students. His generous spirit will continue to shine through their lives.

One Hwang ’04

Student

When I worked under Professor Keller, he was always kind and helpful. I enjoyed learning rex. I remember seeing him and Noel in the Platt dining hall, and they were constantly smiling.