Ryan D. Tweney, professor, book collector, husband, father, and mentor, died February 7 in Pahrump,
Nevada, aged 76.
Born in Detroit on Dec. 30, 1943, Ryan was raised by his mother Helene Tweney and grandmother Viola
Marciniak, and educated at Cass Technical High School, the University of Chicago, and Wayne State
University, where he earned a Ph.D. in psychology. He taught psychology at Bowling Green State
University for over 35 years, inspiring and educating generations of undergraduates and graduate
students, particularly with his history of psychology course, which has been described as “legendary.”
A lifelong lover of books, learning, and discovery, he was a scientist at heart, and devoted much of his
research in cognitive psychology to the study of other scientists, helping to shape the field of
psychology of science, and elaborating and exploring theories of confirmation bias, hypothesis
formation, scientific creativity, and more. Author and contributor to countless research papers and
several books, a large part of his studies focused on the work and diaries of the 19th-century
physicists Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell.
In later years his love of the American Southwest and geology led him to the great Mojave Desert, Death
Valley National Park, and eventually to retirement in nearby Beatty, Nevada. There he divided his time
between his ongoing academic pursuits, including occasional teaching, and his love for taking to the
backcountry in his 4×4 with his wife and friends to collect rocks; to explore the desert, the mountains,
and the trails running through them; to search out history and old, long-abandoned sites of human
habitation; and to marvel at the mind-numbing complexity and sheer beauty of the geology he saw
everywhere he looked.
He also supported the local fight to save the endangered Amargosa Toad and joined the board of the Beatty
Public Library, offering his organizational and writing skills to help with grant applications,
community meetings, and planning.
Always generous with his time and advice, Ryan was a beloved mentor to many students, colleagues, and
family members.
He is survived by his wife, Karin “Kit” Hubert; two sons, Dylan and Chris; a stepson, Seth; and three
grandchildren whom he adored: Clara, Curtis, and Vivienne.
The world is smaller for his passing.
A memorial will be held in Beatty, Nevada in late March.
