Joseph Vaughan

Colleague

Bob was the first Dean of Faculty that I worked with at Mudd and, as Isabel said, he was a mensch. He showed deep kindness and understanding all the time, even when things were hard in his own life.

Once outside Sprague he came up behind me and said “Joseph! and you’re wearing the correct jeans, the only kind I ever buy” and went on to talk in detail about what he liked about the style, fit and cut of those particular jeans.

I miss and mourn him almost daily.

Matthew Plunkett ’92

Student

Prof. Cave was a newly-minted Assistant Professor and I a new frosh back in August 1988. I fondly remember his warmth and enthusiasm for teaching, for students, and for life.

I remember working on a capstone project for his Physical Organic class… he never discouraged me from a project that was probably too ambitious. Instead, we worked together to push the limits of what could be done computationally at that time. It was a delight to work though difficult challenges with him.

He met my mom at graduation in 1992, where they spoke for a bit – to this day she remembers their discussion and the warmth of his personality.

We all miss you, Prof. Cave.

Maureen Ruiz-Sundstrom ’10

Student

In his role as Dean of Academic Affairs, Prof. Cave was instrumental in helping me find an academic path for myself at HMC after my interests moved away from the 9 majors offered at the time.
He was such a grounding and encouraging professor, and a strong collaborator and partner during my time as a staff member. He is missed.

Izzy Lee ’16

Student

One of favorite things about Prof Cave was the joy of life and enthusiasm for chemistry that he carried with him. I can still picture his smile and hear his laughter. He never made me feel intimidated about asking me for help or foolish for not knowing a concept. A piece of advice we got for giving thesis presentations and other such presentations towards the department was that if you’re feeling nervous, look at Prof Cave, because he will have a smile on his face and be nodding along to everything you say. I never ended up doing so in the moment of presenting, but just knowing he was in crowd bolstered my confidence. The Mudd community as a whole has lost a dear mentor and colleague but I hope that we can all embody the passion he had as we carry on without him.

Hans Purkey ’96

Thesis Student

Bob is one of the of the primary reasons I’m a chemist. He and Bill Daub taught me 1st Semester Frosh Chem and I was hooked. They had such great rapport, making jokes at each others’ expense both in lecture, HW and tests. Bob’s love and passion for chemistry was infectious. He was my academic advisor throughout Mudd and I had the privilege of doing my senior thesis with him, marking my first venture into computational/theoretical chemistry research. Every time I’ve returned for alumni weekend, I’ve always managed to track him down and we’d catch up with what had happened in each of our lives over the previous 5 years. He was always genuinely interested in what I was doing, showing the bottomless generosity and care for people that he possessed. I still remember the first meeting with him after I had started at compchemistry position at a biotech company. He asked, almost incredulously, “They PAY you to do compchem in industry?!?!?!” He then let out his bellowing laugh that shook the room. Bob, you’ve touched so many people’s lives over your life and career, and in an amazingly positive way. Many other departments at Mudd were amazed by you, and I heard several (wishful) statements about incoming faculty: “This could be our Bob Cave”. Count me as one (of the many) who have pursued a lifetime of chemistry thanks to your early influence.

Rudolph Marcus

Research advisor at Caltech

Bob Cave was an outstanding researcher in my group at Caltech. His natural enthusiasm and research talent were contagious and brought much joy to all of us. It is clear that he was also a born and dedicated teacher who loved interacting with students. I was delighted when he later joined Harvey Mudd, known for its excellent students and education. He will indeed be sorely missed.

Wendy Menefee-Libey

We were young parents together. And then colleagues. And then he was my boss. I was so lucky!

Bob was my friend for 30 years. His genuine warmth and his inclination always to do the right, if hard thing are what stick in my mind. Well, also our disagreement about the listenable-ness of the Allman brothers. He thought they were the height of great music. I didn’t get the endless guitar solos. I just finished listening to “Stormy Monday” on the Live at Fillmore East Album. He was right. I miss him so.

Whitney Duim ’05

Student and colleague

Bob was a teacher and a mentor to me when I was a student and when I returned as a visiting faculty member in chemistry. I will remember his positive attitude, his thoughtful responses to questions about chemistry and life, and his empathy. He touched so many lives, and I hope he knew how appreciated and loved he was. We miss you, Bob.

Maddi Hartley ’16

Thesis Student, TA and Research Assistant

Prof. Cave was, without a doubt, the kindest person I have ever met. His enthusiasm was so contagious you couldn’t help but be excited to be in a lecture – even if said lecture was thermodynamics on a Monday morning…I have so many wonderful memories of Prof. Cave but the one that stands out the most was from my time as his TA during Frosh Chem Lab – whenever a student would discover something new or finally reach an understanding of a concept we had been working on, he would light up with joy and excitement for them. His happiness at our understanding and enjoyment of chemistry made everything so much more fun and engaging. The room just felt so much brighter and lighter when he was around and I know that his presence is sorely missed throughout campus and beyond. I can still hear his laugh down the corridors of Jacobs and I hope I’ll remember that sound for years to come. We love you Prof. Cave and we miss you immensely.

James Rudd ’92

Frosh/undergraduate advisee, student in his classes, and his lab TA for frosh chem when I was a senior

I will always remember Professor Cave and his kindness, infectious enthusiasm, and love of RC Cola. He had to explain the importance of the RC brand to me, since I was a new frosh advisee and unfamiliar with his first name, and I left his office thinking he was awesome. Being a first-generation college student, I was lost a lot of the time and couldn’t afford to go home for Thanksgiving (dorms were open, and room & board were paid for) … and Professor Cave invited me and a few other frosh to have Thanksgiving at his home! We ate plenty, played some games, and had a great time, and again, I left his house thinking he was awesome. Fast forward to senior year, and I was fortunate to be his TA for frosh chem lab and try to model his patience and kindness as an instructor. Thirty years later, I am a chemistry professor trying to pass along kindness and enthusiasm to my students in the same spirit as Professor Cave. I’m sure I learned a lot of chemistry from him – Group Theory was riveting (really!) – but what I really remember the most is simply him, his smile, and his care for his students. Professor Cave was awesome.