Things were very different on campus when Professor Robert Moll began teaching in the 1970s. In the Campus Center, for example, instead of clusters of tables with laptops like are seen today, there were rows of pinball machines. It was at the "Fireball" pinball machine that alum Steve Willis ('78) spent time as a student on campus and met Moll. "I can't remember the machine Robbie liked; I just know he was there a lot, and he was very good," notes Willis. A friendship ensued, and Moll became Willis's academic advisor. Forty years later, they are still friends.
When Moll announced his retirement last fall, Willis stepped forward to create the "Robert Moll Scholarship in Computer Science." Of the scholarship, Willis remarked, "Robbie's advice while I was student ensured that I received a solid academic foundation in computer science, and he encouraged me to explore the diverse research opportunities that were going on. Through the decades, Robbie helped hundreds of students just like me. It's an honor to set this up, so that his legacy will continue and our appreciation is known to him."
The Robert Moll Scholarship in Computer Science will be awarded to Computer Science students who transfer to UMass Amherst from a community college. If you would like to contribute, please visit www.cics.umass.edu/donate or contact Julie Stubbs at stubbs@cics.umass.edu or 413-545-1220.