Words cannot do justice to expressing mine (and Jaya's) thoughts about Bob. I joined his lab as a post-doc in the year 2004 and spent close to 14 years working with him. I found my life partner (Jaya) in his lab and when we had our first child, Bob wanted to name him RubisCO. He finally settled for the name "Frosty" because his arrival coincided with the first snow in the year 2007. As aptly pointed out by many others, he was great scientist, mentor and human being who believed in letting his students/post-docs independently lead their own projects and consequently defining their own careers. Both Jaya and I had gone through many lean patches while pursuing our projects and Bob had always provided unconditional support and guidance when needed. At a time when funds had dried up, he had used his personal "stash" of funds to keep me going in the lab. Bob has played a significant role in shaping both my personal and professional lives, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity I have had to work with him for as long as I did.

I am very sad to learn today that Dr. Tabita has passed away two years ago. I was a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Tabita's lab from 1989 to 1992 at Ohio State, I believe Dr. Tabita was 46 years old when I joined his lab. He offered me the position when I was still in China, looking for opportunities to advance my career after finishing my Ph.D.. He basically changed my life forever and for better. I have kept contact with Dr. Tabita when I moved to St. Louis joining Monsanto then Pfizer. The most recent exchange was 3-4 years ago about some emails on a business proposal that he wanted me to provide some inputs because he knew that I founded a company, Array Bridge, in St. Louis. Dr. Tabita is one of the best scientist and person that I have met in my life, he will live forever in my heart. May peace and happiness be with you, Dear Dr. Tabita!

Bob!!!
Thank you for your great work you have done in life.

Ki-Seok Yoon

The first time I met Bob Tabita was as a brand new graduate student in 1996, when the faculty were rotating through our graduate seminar to introduce us to their work. I had planned to go into another lab, but after Bob's "pitch" I was hooked. That set the course for a mentorship and eventually a friendship that has brought nothing but benefit to both myself and my husband Jon-David, who worked in the lab for a couple of years. 

Favorite Bob Quote:
Milestones are important, but go where the science takes you.

I was a graduate student with Bob from 2008-2012. He was a good mentor and a fun person when he was off-mentoring. He pushed independence and critical thinking, the reason I was able to survive and flourish in the most competitive environment after graduating from OSU. He once said I wish to take my last breath in my office, still active and working. This is the goal I have been chasing since. He set milestones!

Such sad news - a great scientitst and a great guy. 

Bob was a good guy. He was tough on the outside, but had a heart of gold. I worked for him for over 10 years. When grant money started getting tight, he helped find a new position for me. He really looked out for the people in his lab. He was a fair-minded person. And he will be missed.

I worked in Bob's lab for 14.5 years at OSU. I picked up the habit from Bob of coming into lab hours earlier than anyone else in the morning, which was a big advantage because you could get much uninterrupted work done.

I also have "borrowed" two great quotes from Bob:
1) Bob would asked me if i was "beating back the frontiers of ignorance" which is one of my favorite lines.
2) Bob would say about research, "don't contaminate clean thoughts with dirty experiments".