In Memoriam: Psychology professor emeritus Michael Kubovy

The Department of Psychology and the University of Virginia community is mourning the Aug. 21 death of professor emeritus Michael Kubovy, an influential scholar and generous colleague. He was 85. 

Kubovy set the stage for the rebirth of Gestalt Psychology in the late 20th century with Perceptual Organization, the 1981 volume he co-edited with James Pomerantz.  His research showed that Gestalt principles of grouping could be studied with a methodological and quantitative rigor that many people felt had been lacking in the work of earlier proponents of Gestalt Psychology. His 1986 book, The Psychology of Perspective and Renaissance Art, blended a detailed treatment of perspective geometry with the aesthetic pleasures that are evoked through its employment, connecting the science of perception with art history.

His research interests spanned a wide variety the fields including decision-making, visual and auditory perception, the psychology of art and the psychology of pleasure. Kubovy’s colleagues described him as displaying a unique combination of erudition and lack of pretension. His notable inventions included an auditory analogue to the random-dot stereogram that allowed a listener to hear a hidden melody with their “third ear” that was entirely undetectable by either ear alone.

“Michael was the closest I've seen to a true Renaissance Man; a conversation with him would bounce across a dozen academic fields in the space of five minutes. But he was also one the most informal, warmest people I've known” psychology professor Daniel Willingham wrote. “Because of the breadth of his scholarship, and especially his ingenuity in experimental design and data analysis, Michael was a very valuable colleague to all. And he was selfless with his knowledge; when you talked to Michael about something you were struggling with, you wouldn't just get a few good ideas on the spot; you'd later get an email with new ideas, because Michael had gone home and stewed about your problem.”

An Israeli American, Kubovy was born to Belgian parents in a convent in Bordeaux on June 14, 1940, the day the Nazis entered Paris. A refugee from birth, he survived the Holocaust, escaping Europe through Portugal thanks to the efforts of Consul Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who defied his government to save thousands of Jews during World War II by issuing visas and passports to them.

Kubovy earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Following a postdoc and visiting assistant professorship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1971-73), Kubovy was a faculty member at Yale University (1973-1979) and Rutgers University New Brunswick (1980-1987). In 1987, he moved to the University of Virginia, where he served as Professor of Psychology until his retirement in 2016. 

He earned numerous national and international awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, membership in the Society of Experimental Psychologists and the Paolo Bozzi Prize in Ontology. 

"Michael's breadth of interests, combined with his virtuosity in experimental design and quantitative analyses, brought him international fame and admiration," said Dennis Proffitt, Commonwealth Professor of Psychology Emeritus. “His generosity, goodwill and mirth made him a beloved colleague and mentor.” 

Kubovy is survived by his wife, Judith Shatin, an internationally renowned composer and UVA’s William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor Emerita of Music; his son, Itamar Kubovy; and two grandchildren, Betty and Theo.