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Robert Capranica

Robert Capranica, a professor emeritus in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, died in his home in Tucson, Ariz., May 11. He was 81.

Capranica, born in 1931 in southern California, received his B.S. in electrical engineering in 1958 from the University of California--Berkeley. While earning his master's from New York University in 1960 and his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1965, both in electrical engineering, he also worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories, starting in 1958. Following his education, he returned to Bell Labs, where he worked as a technical staff member doing auditory research.

Capranica joined the Cornell faculty in 1969 as an associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. He made a name for himself with his 1965 seminal book, "The Evoked Response of the Bullfrog: A Study of the Communication by Sound," based on his doctoral work, which has had a lasting impact on the field of bioacoustics research and behavioral neuroscience.

Though trained as an engineer, he was regarded as an outstanding field naturalist and an expert in animal sound communication. He, along with his colleagues at MIT and Bell labs, were among the first electrical engineers to enter what was then the fledgling field of modern neuroscience. His groundbreaking studies included work on the neural basis of auditory communication in frogs and toads, and vertebrates in general.

Students and colleagues also regarded Capranica as first-rate teacher who taught neurophysiological techniques, among other subjects.

He also served as acting chairman of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior (1972-73); was an editor for the Journal of Comparative Physiology; and was president of the International Society for Neuroethology in 1985. The society now sponsors the Robert Capranica Prize, an annual award that honors the most outstanding doctoral dissertation in neuroethology -- a branch of science that seeks to understand the neural basis of natural animal behavior.

Cornell's Department of Neurobiology and Behavior created a Robert Capranica Endowment at the time of his retirement in 1993. This month, the department also announced the appointment of the first Robert R. Capranica Fellow, Jesse Goldberg, a new assistant professor of neurobiology and behavior who will start in September.

His colleagues recall Capranica as a man of great vitality, wit and kindness.

Capranica is survived by his wife, Pat. There will be no memorial service.