Robert K. Josephson (1934-2016).

Professor Robert K. Josephson died at his home in Laguna Beach, California, on 6 February 2016 following a 3 month fight with lymphoma. Over a career spanning more than half a century, and numerous venues world-wide, he became widely known and venerated as a mentor, teacher, colleague, physiologist and friend. His path to distinction began as an undergraduate at Tufts University (1952–1956). It was at Tufts that he was influenced by K. D. Roeder and became interested in pursuing graduate work in behavioral physiology. In the sixties and seventies there was considerable interest amongst researchers in a variety of invertebrate animals as many displayed rather stereotypical motor behaviors driven by neural pathways with few components, and neurons that were large and amenable to electrophysiological studies. The stated goal of many was to understand the complete behavior of an organism based on the underlying neuromuscular systems. Bullock and Horridge’s (1965a,b) two-volume series, The Structure and Function of the Nervous Systems of Invertebrates, well attests to the thrust of research during that period. Not surprisingly, Bob went to Ted Bullock’s laboratory at UCLA to pursue graduate studies (1956–1960). Dissertation research in Bullock’s laboratory set Bob on the first of two career pathways, both of which identify him as an innovative, creative and trend-setting leader in behavioral physiology. The first pathway was the behavioral physiology of ‘simply’ organized metazoan animals – namely of the Coelenterata ( jellyfish, corals, hydroids); the second pathway was the physiology and design constraints of skeletal muscle. The two pathways overlap considerably over his research career.