Travis I. Thompson (1937-2023)

Travis I. Thompson was born on July 20, 1937, in Minneapolis to William and Loretta Thompson. Travis completed his BA (1958), MA (1961), and PhD (1961) degrees all at the University of Minnesota in Psychology, with postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland with Joseph V. Brady and at Cambridge University (United Kingdom) with Robert Hinde. Travis began his academic career at the University of Minnesota in 1963 rising to the rank of professor of Psychiatry and Neurology and Psychology and Pharmacology in 1969. A prolific writer, Travis, published more than 200 articles and chapters and 30 books including four on the translation of research on autism for parents, teachers, and professionals. He had a knack for motivating people to believe in their ability to grow and develop as researchers and work collaboratively on complex issues related to intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Travis was part of the intellectual force founding the area now known as behavioral pharmacology. Throughout his career, Travis remained deeply curious about how basic principles could be used to understand how things worked-his approach was to identify the functional pieces, take them apart, and put them back together. He wanted that activity to matter. It did. He is survived by his wife, Anneke, four children, and seven grandchildren. He died in Roseville, Minnesota, on August 2, 2023, at the age of 85. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).