Dr. Robert Alden Howland Jr.

Dr. Robert Alden Howland, Jr. (“Bob”), 83, of South Bend passed away peacefully at StoryPoint Assisted Living in Granger, Indiana on September 17, 2026. Bob was born on April 7, 1943 in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Robert A. Howland Sr. and Winifred L. (Goodell) Howland, and was raised primarily in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was an only child and was proud of his New England heritage, often mentioning his ancestors John Alden (1599-1687) and John Howland (c. 1592-1673), who, in his words, “fell off the Mayflower.”

He attended Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Physics and Philosophy in 1965, followed by a Masters Degree in Astronomy in 1967. In 1974 he was graduated from North Carolina State University with a Ph.D. in Engineering Science and Mechanics with a minor in Mathematics. During his time in his Ph.D. program there were hints of things to come in his teaching career: he was a three-time winner of the Graduate Student Teacher Award for his teaching in Freshman Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus courses.

After obtaining his Ph.D., he stayed at N.C. State as an Instructor in the Departments of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He then moved to Indiana, where he would spend the rest of his life, first as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology from 1978 to 1981. Then, in 1981, he moved to South Bend and joined the faculty in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame where he would spend the rest of his career teaching thousands of engineers at Notre Dame, first as an Assistant Professor and subsequently as a tenured Associate Professor.

Bob’s teaching was honored with many Department, College and University teaching awards at Notre Dame. He kept night-owl hours and was willing to help students almost any hour of the day or night. Even in very large classes with hundreds of students, he insisted on returning exams to students individually so that he could provide detailed feedback and also get to know them as individuals. His witticisms in class were nearly legendary such as “let the math bail you out,” “coordinate systems are an invention of man, not of God,” “that great big coordinate system in the sky,” "it's like wallpaper - it's up to you," and “a quick mental calculation gives,” followed by a numerical answer that obviously required a calculator. His Intermediate Dynamics course was additionally enriched by the textbook he wrote in 2005, Intermediate Dynamics, A Linear Algebraic Approach. He had high standards for the students and high standards for himself as a teacher. Those high standards were supported by a foundation of care, respect, kindness, and love for all of his students, especially those who struggled the most despite a sincere and solid effort.

Bob was enthusiastically and unforgettably eccentric, adopting a Scottish accent when he deemed it appropriate (which to others was often seemingly randomly), owning only one car in his life which he rarely, if ever, drove yet of which he was intensely proud, enlivening just about any conversation of which he was part but also living a nearly reclusive life in a house that he designed himself that was strategically located between campus and the grocery store so he could walk to both. He enjoyed being a member of a bagpipe band, and, for nearly two decades, Bob was a percussionist in the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. He would not attend football games at Notre Dame but would be in his office on home football Saturdays listening to the game through the window. He particularly enjoyed watching the marching band march past his office window and referred to it as “his band.”

As an only child, Bob has no remaining members of his immediate family. He will be missed and fondly remembered by his former Notre Dame colleagues, symphony colleagues, numerous cousins, and friends.

Bob’s request was for a simple funeral near his parents' final resting place on Cape Cod, MA. Details are still pending but will be updated online at Kaniewski Funeral Home in South Bend, IN and Doane, Beal & Ames in Hyannis, MA. Please see their websites below:

https://www.kaniewski.com/

https://www.doanebealameshyannis.com/