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Bob was two years ahead of me in the graduate Econ program at Berkeley in the 1980s.

I will never forget a weekend of cross country skiing that a group of us took.  Bob was a good skier; I was not, and landed far too often on the icy snow.  While the others continued their fun, Bob accompanied me back to the condo and steered me to the spa, saving my ego and my bruised body.

When he finished at Berkeley, Bob "bequeathed" me his rent-controlled apartment -- as kind a thing as anyone could do for a student in that city.

Bob was, in the very best sense of the word, a gentleman.  I am gutted by his loss.

Kerry Odell

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Thanks for providing these treasurable reflections and memories. Bob was the first undergraduate student I taught at Harvey Mudd who advanced into political science from that engineering and science background. I always treasured the example he set and used him to encourage others who approached that decision. I am only now seeing this announcement and extend condolences to family and friends.

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I was shocked to read of Bob Powell's death.  I served on P&T with him, one year when he was chair.  He was gracious, generous and fair. He reached out to colleagues with praise.  I am lucky to have known him.
Louise Fortmann

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Bob and I became friends on the Spieker pool deck in the mid-90s and
shared many laps, walks and meals together over the years. Though I
understood only the broad outlines of his work, Bob was an awesome
sounding board whenever I had a sticky decision to make or negotiation
to undertake ☺. Bob brought intense focus and passion to the things
that he loved, whether it was game theory, an impeccably prepared
meal, swimming, the ocean, or his cats.  In the last couple of years I
was moved by how bravely Bob brought the same kind of focus and
clarity to his illness as he did to the rest of his preoccupations.
Although we had less contact than in previous years due to the
pandemic and my own health issues, I had the opportunity to learn
about Bob’s early life through a series of oral history interviews I
conducted with him in 2021.  I’m grateful to have had this time to
deepen our friendship.
-Carla Koop

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I was Bob's TA for his game theory class my last year as a doctoral student at UC Berkeley in 1996. I had taken game theory before, but really learned game theory through my relationship with Bob. He was one of the most kind and gentle souls I had encountered among the faculty on the Berkeley campus, and always took an interest in his students, and me, as his TA. It was with great sadness that I learned today of his passing, and I will always remember him. I teach game theory at USF, and still use many of the fun and interesting examples that he presented in the class we had together. Wonderful human being.

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A real loss. Bob was unforgettable in his personal style and deep knowledge of how game theory could be applied in political science.  On all of the occasions that I met him, I learned something important by talking to him. His gentle, but engaging, manner made him a pleasure to interact with.
Tim Besley, LSE

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Robert (Bob) Powell, Rob, as he was known to me and my family was a fixture in our home for nearly as long as he was alive. We saw him through his twos, his growing, his loves, his triumphs, his very few failures—we saw those too.

As a teen he spent many weekend evenings at our house talking about politics and books with my father—there was often a gaggle of people.  My Messinese mother would ply him with Di Carlo cookies and pasta alle vongole (a recipe he tried to perfect later, with my help, to woo a Chinese femme fatale with). At that time, he was also reading Spengler and Nietzsche if I recall correctly and trying to absorb the nature of romanticism versus the power of money; and in school he was interested in mathematics, what appeared to many to be the antithesis of the former area of thought.

He felt, however, that mathematics could ultimately solve the problem of the nature of man and bridge this apparent divide and pursued it through a mastery of game theory.   I think he led his life as though that pursuit is exactly what really mattered to him. He dealt with the death of his mother and later his father with honor and dignity and memorialized them positively and lovingly.  He embraced death in the same fashion, with the “amor fati” of Nietzsche whom he knew all too well.  I know this because we had an email running account of his illness and prognosis and treatment and planned exit over the course of the last two years.

Nietzsche writes in Ecce Homo:  “My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not in the future, not in the past, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it—all idealism is falseness in the face of necessity-- but to love it.”

And love it he did. I shall miss his wit and insight.

Ron Randolph

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I have been working more than 15 years with Bob as an academic coordinator at the Center on Institutions and Governance (he was very proud of the name he had found and was surprised that no one else had thought of it before). We organized together the endogenous institutions conferences each year despite all the obstacles and conflicts we encountered. Which brings me to my second point. Bob was very critical of the politics of the university and his department but unlike me he could always deal with grace with the conflicts and find his way (he was perhaps inspired by his work on conflicts).
I also would like to mention our common love for pets and especially his love for cats (I want to mention here his cat Henry that was so important in his life). He enjoyed good food and we had some memorable dinners at his house and at ours.
I was always jealous of his athletic discipline and his tan.
Destiny is so random and unfair. I will miss his friendship and kindness.

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I did not know Bob well, but I admired him tremendously, and was deeply saddened to learn of his death. He and I interacted frequently in academic year 2015-16, a tumultuous period on campus when he was serving as Vice Chair of the Academic Senate while I chaired the Budget Committee. We ended up spending many hours together in meetings with other faculty and administrators. The agenda at most of them was the campus’s ongoing budget crisis, an issue that was at once highly complex and depressingly intractable.

Bob was an unfailingly calm, incisive, and wise presence in these discussions, pushing back gently against the harebrained schemes that others were wont to propose, and encouraging us to think more pragmatically about the challenges. He was utterly clear-eyed about the institutional and financial constraints we were operating under, almost to the point of cynicism, but he combined that sardonic realism with a keen appreciation for the institution and a deep commitment to doing what he could to help it survive and flourish. He was also exceptionally kind and generous and funny. I felt grateful to get to know him through these interactions, and always enjoyed running into him on campus in subsequent years. The place won’t be the same without him.

R. Jay Wallace

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Rob Powell grew up across the street from me. Big Rob (from the time I was two or so, me being Little Rob), was, in many ways, like a brother to my father, Ron.
He spent so many Christmas Eves, Thanksgivings, and myriad other meals around the dining room table consuming well cooked calories and bottles of expensive looking wine with my grandparents, and later my at parents.

You could tell Rob was in the house, not from hearing him, but from the groans violently induced by wretchedly clever puns delivered with silver tongue and Cheshire grin, while calmly cradling one of the family cats. He would talk with my folks well past midnight about politics, the world, literature, art, etc.

He introduced me to game theory around the age of 8 or so with the Prisoner's Dilemma. I tried to read his book, Nuclear Deterrence Theory at 15, but found it a bit too difficult. Perhaps what got me started on the road towards game design as a hobby and then career.

The last time I saw him, he and I pun dueled all evening, much to the chagrin and delight of those present, about Presidential politics and the respective insanities of the US's donkey/elephant duality.

He came by the house for the last time in August; I'm told by my parents that a lovely meal and time was had by all.

Now he's pushed his board off into the great ocean. See you in the waves, Rob.

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I am a grad student in political science, but Bob had no way of knowing that. Being well outside his field, I never took a course with him, or sought out his advice. He could have known me only as someone he shared the hallways with. This was enough for him to approach me, to learn my name, and then to pause to chat with me for a few seconds, sometimes minutes, each time he saw me from then on.

Only later did I learn from friends what an eminent scholar and teacher he was. To me, he was someone who seemed to find pleasure in relations, big and small, and who literally went out of his way to make the department a warmer place. I see from the other tributes on this page that he was an excellent swimmer, cook, pet parent, and thinker. I will remember him as a person unusually open and kind even to strangers.

Jaeyoon Park

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Except during his tenure as Senate Chair, when there were campus crises to discuss, we just talked about the surf.  We both loved it and both dreamed of it when we weren't in it, though only Bob had Maui surf notifications open on his computer even when he wasn't going there for months.  I could never get him to embrace the cold surf of Marin beaches or swimming in our Bay, but he was interested in those of us who did.

The surf is how Bob and I reached across the enormous distance between his end of Political Science and mine.  He did this reaching with many, improbably knitting together worlds.

Wendy Brown

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I knew Bob in the context of his Academic Senate service, which included serving as a member and chair of the Committee on Privilege and Tenure, and then as vice chair and chair of the Berkeley Division. His term as division chair coincided with a challenging time for campus leadership. Bob was thoughtful and clear in his approach to representing the Senate during this time. I valued Bob’s willingness to consult not only Senate colleagues, but also staff so that his decision-making was both informed and knowledgeable, and in keeping with Senate practice and precedents. I also got to know Bob on a personal level through many conversations over lunch or coffee, or even a chance meeting in the Barrows breezeway. He was remarkably humble given his tremendous contributions to the Academic Senate and the campus.

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I took PS135 with Bob in 1996. I was in my third year at Berkeley and he changed my whole way of thinking about international relations and strategy. He was extremely generous and allowed me to take another of his courses. His models continued to influence me in grad school, in work, and others places afar. I saw him every few years when I'd come through Berkeley.

Since Berkeley, through a lot of places and through a lot of positions, I have come to think even more that Bob was one of the world's great thinkers on deterrence and international relations. In 2015, he came to Washington to speak with General Joseph Dunford, soon to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on deterrence. Bob was cogent, eloquent, and impressive.

I can tell you that Bob's scholarship and his advice had at least some influence on strategy at national level and helped with thinking through some tough moments. Strategy is influenced by hundreds of factors but I like to think Bob helped us set a responsible course.

As for myself, his models and the models he taught were in the back of my mind when bargaining in Iraq or Afghanistan, when designing strategy in the Pentagon, or when advising various leaders. Or for that matter whenever I buy a car.

I know his work will continue to guide us.

Carter Malkasian

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It is hard to express how sad I have felt this week.  Bob's generosity and kindness helped me through two critical junctures in my career.

The first was when I was in graduate school, having just returned from a round of immersive fieldwork.  I never felt formal theory was my comparative advantage, and I had no right to even expect him to read my work, but I got up my courage to ask him and he did.   His response to my efforts was not only generous comments, but a memorable coffee full of self-deprecating comments, and encouragements, enumerating the things *I* knew how to do.

The second involved a personal matter relating to the loss of my cat, Azriel.  His cat at the time was named Henry.  We continued to maintain a friendship based as much on asking about each other's cats as anything, and Bob wrote to me after Henry passed.  When I told my wife this week that Bob Powell had passed away, she said "Oh, cat man?  I'm so sorry, Jesse.  You loved him."  I did.

Jesse Driscoll

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I am heartbroken to learn of Bob's death.  I had the privilege of getting to know Bob first as a member of different Senate committees he chaired, where his brilliance, compassion, gentleness, and sense of diplomacy left me in constant awe.  But my family and I all got to know him better during the pandemic, when we would cross paths, often several times a week, walking the fire trail.  We'd stop to look at and listen to the Great Horned owls, talk of politics, game theory, cats and dogs, and the beauty of the area.  I didn't realize he was ailing,  though in retrospect some of the signs were there. I now understand his desire to live his days in dignity and without pity.  I am grateful to his dear friends who helped him in his last days.  Though his life should have been much longer, there was so much beauty in it.  I'm glad to have crossed paths with him.
Chris Kutz

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Bob and I overlapped in the Government Department at Harvard in the 1980s, and our intellectual styles could not be more different. I remember that Bob's office at the CFIA, now Weatherhead Center, was spare, and I imagined him with a blank piece of paper, simply thinking. But we socialized and met around completely different issues, which was refreshing. My last encounter was sitting in a cafe in Berkeley for several hours persuading him to write the concluding essay for what became a special issue on the behavioral revolution in IR. Whether I should have I leave to you, because it was in some ways a masterful takedown of the whole enterprise . Nonetheless, that he was willing to engage in that way--and in spirited counterpoint to Janet Stein--was a testament to his generosity. Clearly among the most significant voices of his generation, with ideas we all still teach and taht will continue to be taught well after we, too, are gone.

Steph Haggard

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Professor Powell and I met back in 1992 when I was an undergrad enrolled in his PS3 class.  We soon after became friends, and that friendship has endured nearly three decades.  Bob was a genuine intellect, gentle, and a soft spoken person that embraced  his work, and more importantly his students.  Many before have stated how generous Bob was with his time.  This could not be more true then in his last few months.  He was steadfast about finishing his last two classes when last we met for dinner, even though his health and energy had considerably wained.  Indeed, Bob was in a class of his own in courage,  tenacity, professionalism and intellect.  Gentlepeople like Bob so rarely cross our paths in this life.  We through the years shared a love of life, travel, politics, european sports cars, fine cuisine, our pets, Game Theory and Political Science.  My life was forever changed by Bob's intellectual exchanges and presence.  He set the bar for kindness and devotion to higher education.  I will dearly miss his company, discourse and witty sense of humor.

Godspeed Professor Powell

Rest in peace,
Kenneth Olivencia
Class of 95

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Bob was a brilliant, disciplined, imaginative, and prolific scholar and a generous, wry, kind, caring, and humble human being.  Often a man of few words, he was an exceptional listener and had a giant heart.  I will miss him as a wonderful friend and colleague and cherish my many memories of him.
Laura Stoker

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Bob Powell & Barry Ickes, 1979, The Core!

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--Martha Olney

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Memories from Martha Olney, PhD classmate 

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Memories from Martha Olney, PhD classmate 

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When Bob was a 2nd year grad student in economics at Berkeley, his cohort started "The Little Big Game," a sports competition between econ grad students at Berkeley and Stanford, held in November. Bob and others designed the trophy, "The Core of the Debreu-Arrow Economy," awarded to the winning campus much the same way the Axe is awarded to the winning football team. Bob did the metal work and mounted the Edgeworth Box on the wooden frame. Classmate Barry Ickes ate the apple while a group, including Bob, gathered around to give advice on where to take the next bite. Bob mounted the bronzed apple core in the midst of the Edgeworth Box. The team from the first Little Big Game is shown here, with Coach Gerard Debreu in the middle, and Bob in the back row on the far right.

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Sending love and prayers, we will miss you greatly, Professor Powell. I'm in Professor Powell's game theory course this semester, and he just passed away before our final exam. He was still holding his office hour last week and giving us detail instructions on course material. This is an incredible heartbreaking news. Professor Powell shows his extreme warmth to students and contagious passion in game theory. He finished all the course materials without mentioning a single word about his illness. Professor Powell will be dearly missed.

Ruiyi Ji

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I began my first year at Berkeley completely clueless about what I had gotten into. I had done my Bachelors and a Masters in History - I'm not entirely sure why the political science department let me in to this day. And then I signed up for Bob's game theory class because I thought it sounded cool and I had no idea what game theory was. As I began the class it dawned on me I had done no math for eight years and I had to re-learn basic algebra (it was exciting rediscovering the distributive law...). I was not an excellent student in Bob's class. I loved the topics but struggled at first with the logic of game theory and with a historian's underlying "WTF? Why are we explaining people with math?" But I learned Arrow's theorem, the collective action problem, expected utility theory, signaling, repeated games, etc etc. And pretty much everything I learned in Bob's amazing lectures has stayed with me to today.

Fast forward a dozen years and I was asked to teach Formal Analysis on my arrival at Oxford, having taught some political economy (inspired by UCB's Gerard Roland) when at Minnesota. I decided I would structure my class exactly the way Bob had taught it to me. I expanded the number of sessions (somehow convincing the students to take twice as many classes) and did the best I could to convey Bob's excitement, the elegance of his arguments, and his patience with skeptical questions. I doubt I'm doing it one tenth as well. But I'll keep going and hope some of Bob's spirit lives on these classes.

Bob was amazing. I went to grad school on a whim. Thought I would be a comparative historian. Became a political economist. All because of Bob's class. He was a true giant of the field. But he was also a truly wonderful human.

Ben Ansell, University of Oxford

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Bob's work was a clear inspiration for me in studying international relations. I read his book as an undergraduate and thought, wow, I won't to be like this person. Clearly that never happened. But throughout I appreciated his clarity of thinking, and his ability to analytical parse out what matters versus what did not. I sadly had relatively little time with him in person, though in those occasions the humble, quiet, helpfulness shined at all times. And I know countless graduate students that sang his praises. Quite a loss, and I wish him well on the next wave. Dustin Tingley

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Bob was one of the first people I met when I joined the Department and moved into my office.  He was unfailingly kind and made me feel right at home in this strange new land of California.  Our offices were on the opposite ends of the hallway on the 7th floor, so we'd run into each other frequently.

This fall, Bob and I both taught during the Tuesday/Thursday morning time slot, so I saw him pretty regularly, carrying his camera into 749 to livestream his game theory lectures.  During this return to campus after the COVID lockdown, colleagues limited their time on campus, so it was a rare treat to see people in person.  Bob was the one colleague I interacted with regularly, and even very recently, in person.  I am utterly devastated to learn of his passing.

I am thankful to have known Bob and will miss him greatly.

Lux perpetua luceat ei.

Dan Lee

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Somebody else on here already mentioned it, but it's important:  I too did not know Bob well - I didn't even take his class, though I of course read  his work, enough to appreciate the mind. But we always said hello to each other and sometimes small-talked. He was a reassuring presence for being kind and unassuming and so smart. That's no mean feat. Also, I believe that on his door  hung, typed out, insight for gradschool  and ever after: 'in practice, the theory is different'.  I always enjoyed thinking that he put it there, between game theory and surfing. 

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Somebody else on here already mentioned it, but it's important:  I too did not know Bob well - I didn't even take his class, though I of course read  his work, enough to appreciate the mind. But we always said hello to each other and sometimes small-talked. He was a reassuring presence for being kind and unassuming and so smart. That's no mean feat. Also, I believe that on his door  hung, typed out, insight for gradschool  and ever after: 'in practice, the theory is different'.  I always enjoyed thinking that he put it there, between game theory and surfing. 

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Anna Schmidt

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Bob taught me how to think, and where to swim. I was terrible at arithmetic but good at "puzzles"; he took pity on me, and we tried to solve them together. When he went to Harvard for a spell in 2008/9, I followed him (and cat Henry) across the country to keep working with him. Bob had a very soft-spoken and kind way of telling you very definitively that you were wrong--and he was always right. When I decided to pursue a career outside academia he was incredibly gracious and supportive, and we maintained our friendship through the years, meeting for infrequent but now-precious coffees in New York or Berkeley. He was a genius and a mensch. May his memory be a blessing.
-Mark Rosenberg

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I took Bob Powell’s excellent game theory course during my Ph.D. studies at Berkeley. He was an engaging, tough teacher who assigned only research that asked important questions and developed interesting answers. Bob’s questions at job talks cut through and/or clarified candidates’ research so impressively that a main reason some students attended talks was to hear what he had to say. He also was kind, patient, and a good listener. I was most fortunate to have known and learned from him. My condolences to his friends and family.

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Bob has been teaching Game Theory for the Social Sciences (Econ 110 / Political Science 135) for many years, including this semester. He did all lectures but couldn’t make it to the final exam, which was a day after he passed away. I attach below what I wrote to the class. Students brought a Cal t-shirt to be signed for Bob after the exam.

Dear all,

I’ve been planning to inform you only after the final exam, but since the word is out, it is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I share with you the news that Professor Bob Powell passed away yesterday. I know this news comes as a shock as you have interacted with Bob recently. Early last week we have scheduled dinner together for this Mon…

Bob received his PhD in Economics from Berkeley in 1985. He was an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan (1985-87) and Assistant and Associate Professor at Harvard (1987-90) before returning to Berkeley Political Science. Bob has been teaching Game Theory for the Social Sciences for many years to thousands of Berkeley students.

I have had occasion to judge the character of many people in academia and Bob well exceeded the highest bar. His awareness and consideration of other people, both colleagues and students, were exceptional. I take great pride in my friendship with Bob, whom I have always looked up to and cherished tremendously.

In his last days, Bob acted with infinite courage, grace, and dignity. His close friends surrounded him, but he strengthened us. My heart is broken but we all need to gather our strengths, finish the final exam, and get Bob’s last course across the finish line.

I will miss Bob so much,
Shachar

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Roger Craine, Professor of Economics emeritus

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Roger Craine, Professor of Economics emeritus

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I was Bob Powell’s PhD advisor in economics—yes economics. Bob started  and finished a PhD in economics. But toward the end of graduate school he decided political science better fit his interests on strategic deterrence.

Bob was smart, intellectually and personally courageous. He taught me a lot. And he was my friend for 40 years. I miss him.

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A lovely and brilliant colleague; a huge loss for us all

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A Beloved Colleague Who Will Be Sorely Missed

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A Beloved Colleague Who Will Be Sorely Missed

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I first encountered Bob when he was Chair of the Academic Senate's Committee on Privilege and Tenure and I had the privilege to serve as a committee member. I was immediately impressed with his clear intellect, articulating difficult cases, and his steady hand in moving the committee through its work. I was not surprised that he would be the person the faculty would turn to help lead the campus through the difficult transition of 2016-2017. He was part of my volunteer cabinet, offering me sage advice in my role as Vice Chancellor for Research. I knew he was an avid swimmer, and I admired his fortitude in skipping lunch in order to swim. I was unaware of his condition, and I was truly sorry to hear of his passing. His lose will be deeply felt among those who knew him, his students, his colleagues, the campus community and of course his family and many friends.

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Bob was truly my favorite professor when I was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley. His game theory class is literally the reason I decided to go into political science when I was only 20 years old. I never told him this, because I wanted him to see me as a colleague rather than someone so junior. I really regret my decision to not tell him now. Bob was a truly brilliant and inspiring teacher of game theory and an even more brilliant and inspiring researcher. He made the world clearer, and for that reason, I returned to his work often. There is hardly a publication of mine that does not rely on, and cite, his work. I will miss him.

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Though in comparison to so many others who have posted on this forum I feel I hardly knew Bob, his loss still looms so large.   He was so beloved—an irreplaceable mind in the discipline and member of the Berkeley community.

I feel fortunate to have had several meetings with him during my time in graduate school.  I remember his insightful comments, of course, but what really remains in my memory—and what makes this loss feel so profound—is his kindness.  For a time in graduate school, I felt somewhat alienated and he was always warm and sincere in his warmth.

During our last meeting, we discussed the politics and strategic dilemmas involved in Reconstruction.  It was one of the most pleasant academic conversations I’ve had in my career.

I had an unfinished email draft to Bob, thanking him, wishing him well, telling him what his kindness meant to me, that I never sent.  I hope he knows how many lives he touched and how deeply his loss is felt.

- from a former Berkeley graduate student

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Thank you, Prof. Powell.

Even though the delivery of this course was virtual, your lectures were so inspiring and enjoyable. I learned so much about game theory, learning the different models of interaction among players with applicable real-life examples.

I am so grateful and so honored to have had the opportunity to take this class with you and it was a highlight of my Berkeley career.

Rest in Peace Prof. Powell.

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Thank you, Dr.Powell.

Knowing the news and reading through my last email interaction with you, I can see your strength. Thank you for the time, thank you for the knowledge.

Until our paths cross again professor, so that I can ask you a question or two on Perfect Baysan Equilibrium.

Best,
-AR

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Like many, I knew of Bob's work before I knew him in person. My graduate training was heavily influenced by his work, and I now teach Theories of International Relations to Berkeley PhD students the way I learned it, not organized around the "isms," but with his co-edited Strategic Choice in International Relations as the guiding structure. Since I joined the faculty here in 2016, Bob has gone out of his way to be a friend and a colleague.  We shared many coffees and walks around campus, memories of which I treasure.

When it became clear that I would be chair Bob was, I now see, careful to make sure that I was prepared for this day. In addition to his brilliance, he was so very strong, so very kind, and so very thoughtful. I am grateful and lucky to have known him and admire how he lived, up until the very end.

Last week, knowing that his health was declining quickly, he gave me an excuse to visit him at his home on Friday. He was in good spirits, making jokes, and retelling the story of his cat, Callie-Sid-Bosco, giving us all a reason to laugh.

I live near him, in the hills, and we share a similar view of the bay (though his is much better).  After my visit with him on Friday, after which it seemed clear he wouldn't be with us for much longer, I felt like the sunsets over the weekend were particularly good for him to see. At the risk of being a little cheesy in a way he probably would have made fun of me about, I took this photo of one of them.

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Bob had shared his diagnosis with me several years ago. I knew of this but, true to Bob's sense of privacy, dignity, and his desire to avoid being the object of sympathy, we never spoke of this.

Instead, we spoke of swimming, Maui and occasionally of world affairs.

Just four weeks ago I saw him at RSF with his trainer doing extremely rigorous exercises with weights and a balance ball. He was an extremely good athlete.

I always called Bob the smartest person in our department by sheer IQ and that was said in full knowledge that there are only high IQs here. Our offices were two doors apart and that is where we discussed departmental and campus matters.

Bob did have strong opinions about the right course of the discipline and the department but he never pushed his views at the expense of listening to others and he accepted outcomes that hid disapproved with grace. Bob was chair of the Academic Senate at a difficult time of transition--the final moments of the Dirks chancellorship.

He was instrumental in moving the campus to a relatively smooth handover of power, avoiding what would surely have been a difficult debate over a motion of no-confidence. His service to the campus included a stint as Chair of the Academic Freedom Committee and there too presided over difficult cases in a way that reinforced support for fundamental academic rights.

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From Bahar Leventoglu - My Tribute to Bob (also posted on Facebook)

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From Bahar Leventoglu - My Tribute to Bob (also posted on Facebook)

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I needed a day to digest the very sad news that Bob has passed away.

I was a third or fourth year Assistant Professor when I first met Bob at one of the big conferences. Knowing that academia was full of big egos and that Bob was a giant in our field, I didn't know what to expect. And I was pleasantly surprised to find out what a down-to-earth and soft-spoken person Bob was. As soon as we met, just after I introduced myself, he told me that he already knew my work, thought that I was very under placed (Stony Brook was a very good program for political psychology but not for international relations) and that he would be very happy to write a letter for me if I considered going on the market. I am sure that his letter was influential in getting me the job at Duke. And I will be eternally grateful for his support and mentorship.

I vividly remember an evening at a small workshop at Yale where we sat together during dinner. That evening we discovered the love we shared for swimming. Bob talked about Hawaii, I talked about my beloved Mediterranean. Water is where I am at my happiest. I think this was also true for Bob.

The world did not only lose a brilliant scholar but also a very kind man. Rest in Peace, Bob. You will be missed.

Bahar Leventoglu

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While I wasn’t the best student in his class, the fact that Prof. Powell took his limited time in this world, to do one last semester at UC Berkeley was remarkable. Although, it happened remotely, it was nonetheless a class that many are still eager to take here at UC Berkeley. It is sad to hear that he is no longer with us, but he will remain a golden bear forever. May you Rest In Peace  Prof. Powell.

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I am saddened tremendously. I will share with you just one memory: during one of my visits to Berkeley a few years ago he helped me to learn my way to the gym and to the rowing machines in particular, he helped me logistically on many things even while talking about research at same time, and he even came with me for a long walk along the shore describing to me the San Francisco bay, the colors, the life… there are very few things that remain in the memory of a blind person more than beautiful descriptions of nature… and if a beautiful mind remains in my memory also for the beauty of his poetic descriptions of nature this is a sign  (one more) of the dimension of our collective loss.

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Bob was cynical about a lot of things, though he fortunately combined this with a sense of humor which made him a pleasure to be around. One thing he wasn't cynical about was the ability for our research to improve our understanding of important questions, and through his work and teaching he proved that this is possible.

Many of us view Bob's work as emblematic of what we aspire to. He had a rare ability to combine clean abstractions while also being attentive to real-world details. And, of course, he wrote with a clarity which aimed not to make his models hard/impressive, but to make the reader feel smart for understanding them. In the end he succeed at both!

I was lucky to get to know Bob in our time together at Berkeley, with many enjoyable dinners for the PE seminar, coffees to discuss what we were working on, and just running into him in the hall. Reading remembrances from others who knew him longer just reinforced a feeling of huge loss that we didn't get more time together. But I'll cherish what I learned from him, and aim to pass it on to the next generation.

Andrew Little

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I’m numb and so sad about the passing of my friend and mentor Bob Powell. It feels like the rug got pulled out from under us. Jack and I just Zoomed with him a few weeks ago. He had planned his favorite vacation to Maui next year. I wish we had more time.

Bob first inspired me when I was in college and I learned game theory from him. I became obsessively interested in it, and his class was one of the reasons I applied to grad school. He wrote me a recommendation letter and when I was agonizing over whether to stay at Berkeley, he told me that he was proud of me, wherever I went.

Bob taught me how to be the sharpest thinker. He usually tore my argument to shreds, but also knew when I just needed help. Once when I was really hating my dissertation, I burst into his office, disheveled and carrying a huge stack of crumpled papers. I was like HELP BOB. He very calmly took out a pencil, pulled out the chair next to him, and was like Okay.

Whenever he taught his game theory class, it was always so important to him that the students had an interesting and compelling story behind the math problem. One time he needed to rewrite a midterm exam in a hurry bc someone had pulled the fire alarm. We were like “Bob just write some math problems, don’t stay up all night constructing elaborate stories for the problems.” But of course he did haha

One more memory that always makes me laugh: Bob was a huge stickler about remembering all the little details (respect). This one time me and Jack wrote this memo for him and we forgot to put page numbers on it. He wouldn’t let it go and was like “I don’t know what page you’re referring to!” And we were like "Bob… this memo is 2 pages" :)

I love how much he loved to swim and go to the beach. He was always longingly checking the weather in Maui. We always bumped into each other at the gym and he was so happy at the pool.

I hope people remember him. I’m going to miss him.

Anne Meng
University of Virginia

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Bob Powell was my friend and Ph.D. adviser. He was an amazing mentor. The main thing I learned from him was to always focus first on the question, then on the model. Early in grad school, I would tell him about the setup of some game. He would always refocus me: what’s the important question? Bob didn’t like models with “stuff.” He was relentless about making models focus on actual things. How can we interpret assumption X? Doesn’t mean an empirical example per se, but what’s the story for why that’s an interesting way to think about the problem? Something few people know—while completing his econ Ph.D., he considered switching to study qualitative IR because of his intense interest in IR. Kreps and Wilson's work “saved” his early career by showing him how he could apply FT (and insights from Schelling) to IR. My favorite article of his is “The Inefficient Use of Power: Costly Conflict with Complete Information” (APSR, 2004). This showcases his clarity of thought. No bells and whistles. Instead, thinking very hard about a particular mechanism and how to express it in a coherent way. I do my best to pass along to my students the advice he gave me. Even through tenure, I always approached my talks with him as learning the keys to the kingdom (when not talking about cats, of course), as evidenced by my folder with various “NOTES FROM BOB” documents from 2020 and 2021 as we zoomed frequently during the pandemic. A huge loss both personally and intellectually.

Jack Paine

University of Rochester

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These past few days had been so heartbreaking. Both Bob Jervis and Bob Powell passed away (I did know Bob Jervis was ill, but Bob Powell never let know that he was ill too).From Bob Powell, I learned two critical things: 1) Be rigorous; 2) Question assumptions.  These two have taught me much what I know about IR and social sciences in general (my only formal training in social sciences has been a M.A. under Bob Powell). Both have been extremely supportive for what I do, and I cannot put the incredible loss felt in words..... Shiping Tang at Fudan University, Shanghai, China

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These past few days had been so heartbreaking. Both Bob Jervis and Bob Powell passed away (I did know Bob Jervis was ill, but Bob Powell never let know that he was ill too).From Bob Powell, I learned two critical things: 1) Be rigorous; 2) Question assumptions.  These two have taught me much what I know about IR and social sciences in general (my only formal training in social sciences has been a M.A. under Bob Powell). Both have been extremely supportive for what I do, and I cannot put the incredible loss felt in words..... Shiping Tang at Fudan University, Shanghai, China

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When I first came to Berkeley Bob kindly invited me to his house for dinner. I still remember how good the seared broccoli was. Since that time we had many conversations, often about his cats (particularly his beloved Henry) and my dogs.  I respect Bob for his commitment to students and willingness to stand up for principles even when it ruffled feathers.  The department, university, and discipline are much the poorer with his passing.

Jason Wittenberg

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I am still in shock over this news. Bob and I were at Harvard's Olin Institute together and in addition to developing a warm friendship he had a profound influence over my career, becoming a true mentor. Over the years, whenever I got stuck on a problem, I knew that I could count on Bob for warm and insightful guidance. Bob was one of those people who you feel very lucky to have known. He is sorely missed.
Ethan B. Kapstein

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I didn’t know Bob well, and his work speaks for itself, but I wanted to share a little memory of him that I think of often.

When I was a first-year grad student, I had early class. Bob seemed to be a morning person, so as I was walking into campus he was often going for a stroll or heading to the gym. We had only met briefly at department events, but every time I saw him walking deep in thought, he would look up and nod at me and smile silently so that I would know he recognized me and wouldn’t feel ignored. It was such a kind gesture and so meaningful to me as I was struggling to get the hang of grad school.

As a professor now I try to smile at students as we walk around (even with masks!) so that they feel seen. Every time I do I will think of Bob. He and his friends and family are in my thoughts.

Rachel Bernhard

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As an up-and-coming graduate student, it’s easy to feel intimidated by the geniuses in the field. Bob had the signal skill of being surpassingly brilliant without making you feel like a lesser intellect. We met when I was in grad school, and although I was not a Berkeley student, he was extremely generous with his time. Always willing to look at a paper, eerily good at pointing out the weaknesses in your models, and unfailingly kind in doing so, Bob was the kind of senior colleague we should all aspire to be.

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In a fundamental sense I owe much of my career to Bob Powell, who was exceedingly generous with his time, and was there for me when he had no real obligation to do so.

Bob was obscenely smart. A coauthor and I once noted that Bob gave us the most useful feedback we had received on a paper (which had received plenty of feedback) — even though he had never actually read the piece, and merely heard us summarize it in 15 seconds. He was simply that good.

The last time we corresponded was last year. I had a super bright student in my class who was a mathematician who had become interested in politics. I convinced him to do an independent study with me on game theory in IR (which he agreed to do, despite the woeful deficiencies of his instructor).

When I met with the student to discuss the long list of reading I had assigned him, I asked him what his favorite readings were. He told me it was Bob Powell's 2004 article in AJPS, which he found much more mathematically elegant than anything else he had read in political science. I believe his exact phrase was "Powell - now that's some good math." I passed this along to Bob, who (trained as a math major at Harvey Mudd) said it made his day and more.

The discipline is richer for his presence, and poorer without him.

Joshua D. Kertzer

Harvard University

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I cherish every argument I ever lost to Bob. He was so smart, always driven by principle, and brought a sense of humor even to difficult situations. What a loss. I miss him.

Sharon Inkelas

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Bob Powell was the kind of scholar who has kept UC Berkeley the great institution that it is: an award-winning scholar, a first-rate teacher of game theory to many hundreds of students, and a terrific leader of the Academic Senate.  I always admired the sincerity, self-deprecating humor, and high intelligence with which he led the Senate in turbulent times.  He will be sorely missed by all of us.

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When I first arrived at Berkeley as a new immigrant, the theorists were on leave or busy, and it was Bob who most welcomed me to this strange new land. Every lunch Bob would knock on my door and we’d go to Spieker together. He was a much better swimmer, so he’d finish his daily mile before me; but he’d then wait around so that we could walk back to Barrows together, with him still listening, explaining, and advising. Bob also extended his friendship to Laura and our children, inviting us to his lovely home and in the summer joining us at Strawberry Canyon. Thereafter - for over twenty years - Bob and I would stop and chat a couple of times a week at the pool or in the gym. I will greatly miss his presence, intellectual sharpness, personal integrity, and robust good sense.

Mark Bevir

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RIP ROBERT L “BOB” POWELL.

It is with huge sadness and sorrow that I learned that my colleague and friend Bob Powell passed away yesterday December 13. Bob had been courageously facing skin cancer that had metastasized. Miraculous medical progress in cancer treatment had given him at least two more years, and I started (wrongly) to believe that he would continue to be around for a few more years.

Bob was the pillar of the political economy group at UC Berkeley that regrouped faculty and students from the political science department, the Haas Business school, the economics department and other units on campus. He was renowned as a world class scholar of the use of game theory to study armed conflict. He formalized and expanded on much of the pioneering work of Thomas Schelling (2005 economics Nobel prize) and was truly a giant in the field.

Having been at UC Berkeley since 1990 (after a few years at Michigan and Harvard), he supervised a large number of dissertations and many, if not most of his students were later hired by the best universities in the world. The reaction to his passing by his many former students and colleagues on social media is a testimony to how important he had been in their lives and how they valued his friendship.

Though Bob always managed to put time aside for his numerous research projects, his service to the university was outstanding. In particular, he had been Chair of the Academic Senate in 2014-2015 at a time of crisis when then Chancellor Nicholas Dirks was criticized by many faculty for his decisions and initiatives and received in 2018 the Berkeley Faculty Service Award. Always critical towards his alma mater, he nevertheless cared deeply for UC Berkeley and spent a lot of time in recent years in various committees, personalizing Berkeley’s ideal of shared governance.

Bob came from Southern California. He loved to spend time on beaches and swam nearly every day. I often saw him at the San Francisco airport in early January. Whereas I was flying to the East coast in the middle of the winter to attend the annual Congress of the American Economic Association, he took a winter break at Maui after a heavy semester of teaching and looked at me with both pity and amusement.

Given his illness, Ernesto Dal Bo and other colleagues organized this February an online conference on armed conflict with some of the best political economists and experts in the world, including several of his former students. I attach a zoom picture, courtesy of Anne Meng.

In my 21 years at UC Berkeley, I could always count on Bob’s friendship and support. He was very generous with his friends and had a wonderful personality. He loved to invite friends over for dinner and share wonderful meals and a great conversation. I can’t believe I will not be seeing him again. He will be sorely missed by his many friends, colleagues and students. If I believed in an afterlife, I would wish Bob to spend it on some celestial beach for eternity.

Gerard Roland

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Bob was smart, kind, funny and modest.  I have fond memories of having dinner at his house where everything was done and timed to perfection. I also appreciated our conversations as we waited for the elevator, and the crumpled index cards with humorous sayings on his office door.

I was really touched by a letter of recommendation he wrote for a student who received the Gardner Fellowship. It was well written of course, but it also showed how much he had mentored this student and how he encouraged her to do big things with her life. His intelligence was matched by his sincere caring for his students.

Bob, I hope you are bodysurfing on a big wave in the hereafter. You were a wonderful person. I will miss you.

-Terri Bimes

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I am very saddened to hear of his passing. I've known Bob for many years. He was down to earth, soft spoken, and witty. He had a quiet strength and presence. He loved cats. We shared that in common. He reached out to me earlier this year when I was trying to find a home for a cat and while be couldn't adopt, he offered encouragement.  There was such joy in his voice when he spoke about his 1/3 owned cat, Callie-Sid-Bosco.  I imagine his other two neighbours will watch over her. Rest easy, Bob. You will be very much missed.

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Announcement from the Department of Political Science

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Announcement from the Department of Political Science

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Robert L. “Bob” Powell passed away on December 13, 2021. He passed peacefully in his home, in the company of friends.

Bob was blessed with a powerful, extraordinarily clear intellect. He shared this gift with the world through many pioneering contributions to international relations, political economy, and game theory. His work on international relations theory, on commitment problems and the onset of war, and on deterrence theory remains foundational today.

Bob was an equally skilled teacher. In undergraduate lectures, graduate seminars, and Ph.D. mentoring, he reminded us that rigor and compassion are not contradictory. For generations of students, he personified game theory training at Berkeley.

Bob was a generous colleague. He unfailingly provided incisive, constructive feedback on colleagues’ research. He built institutions to bring colleagues together, through his stalwart presence in the Political Economy seminar and his prior service as Chair of the UC Berkeley Academic Senate.

To many of us, Bob was above all a dear and true friend. His warm, steady, and graceful presence enriched so many of our lives.

We remember Bob as a brilliant scholar, dedicated colleague, and loyal friend. Through his legacy, he will remain with us in the Political Science department, across the Berkeley campus, and in his scholarly disciplines. We will always be better for having known him.

We invite friends whose lives Bob touched to leave a note of tribute or remembrance here.