Psych professor Salvatore Soraci passes away

Renowned Tufts psychology professor Salvatore Soraci passed away Aug. 8, 2003, as a result of complications from lymphoma treatment.

Professor Soraci was deeply involved in the psychology department, serving as co-director of the Engineering Psychology/Human Factors Program and conducting his own research in cognitive psychology.

Soraci received the prestigious Research Career Development Award for his work in cognitive psychology. He was also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

He was hired in 1993 to take over the Engineering Psychology program. The program was designed to take behavior into account when designing offices and work environments. Though this was not an area Soraci had worked in previously, Department Chair Joseph DeBold said he "took on the extra work and was very successful."

Soraci made an effort to go out into the community and make sure that graduates of the program would have job opportunities after they left Tufts.

One of his passions was researching ways to make learning easier for mentally challenged children. He did much of this work through the Schriver Center at the University of Massachusetts, where he involved many of his graduate students in the research.

Through his studies he came to firmly believe that people learn better when they are challenged. His findings have been incorporated in many study guides and teaching aids.

Soraci's death came as a shock to many of his students, advisees, and colleagues, as he was expected to be back this fall in an advising role, according to DeBold.

Senior Gati Dharani, who was an advisee of Soraci and took several of his classes, said Soraci will be greatly missed. "Students were always very comfortable speaking with Professor Soraci," she said. "They always felt that they could relate to him. The department lost a professor who was really passionate about what he taught. They also lost someone who was a good friend to his students, and that is really hard to replace."

Though he had been diagnosed several years ago, Soraci rarely mentioned his disease and continued to work. DeBold described him as "always bubbly and enthusiastic." Soraci received a "series of treatments that kept it at bay" and only once took a leave of absence when the chemotherapy became intense.

According to Dharani, students knew Soraci by his warm, light-hearted nature, and were rarely aware of his illness. "He always made people laugh," she said. "I would go back and tell my roommates and my friends his stories and jokes. He was just a very fun person. You couldn't really tell what he was going through from his demeanor in class. If you met him he was always so happy and joyful."

Soraci was active in his research through the summer, and he published his most recent article, titled "Generative Processing and False Memories: When There Is No Cost" in July.

Before he came to Tufts, Soraci worked at Vanderbilt University and the University of Arkansas. He earned his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt in 1982 and his B.A. from the University of Florida.

A memorial service will be held at Tufts for students and faculty in the coming weeks.