Robert Sommer
Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emeritus, University of California, Davis
Address: 626 Georgetown Place, Davis CA 95616-1822
Phone (530) 756-7553
e-mail: rosommer@ucdavis.edu
| Ph.D. | 1956, University of Kansas |
| 1953-56 | Research Assistant, Menninger Foundation |
| 1956 (Summer) | Teacher, Institute for Social Research, Mullsjo, Sweden |
| 1957 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Southeast Louisiana Hospital |
| 1957 | Research Psychologist, Larned State Hospital, Larned KS |
| 1957-61 | Research Psychologist, Saskatchewan Hospital, Canada |
| 1962-63 | Asst. Prof. of Psych. & Director, Psychological Clinic, University of Alberta |
| 1962 (Summer) | Acting Assoc. Dir. of Research, Alcoholism Foundation of Alberta |
| 1963 - present | Assoc. Prof. to Prof. of Psych., Univ. of CA, Davis |
| 1964 (Fall) | Assessment Officer, Peace Corps |
| 1964 (Summer) | Psychologist, Mendocino State Hospital |
| 1966-72 | Chair, Psychology Department, Univ. of CA, Davis |
| 1969-70 | Visiting Prof., Dept. of Architecture, Univ. of CA, Berkeley |
| 1970 | Visiting Prof., Dept. of Architecture, Univ. of WA |
| 1977 (Summer) | Visiting Prof., Dept. of Design, Univ. of NV, Reno |
| 1978-92 | Director, Center for Consumer Res., Univ. of CA, Davis |
| 1989 | Lecturer, Tallinn Pedagogical Institute, Estonia, USSR |
| 1991 (Spring) | Acting Director, Public Service Research and Dissemination Program, Univ. of CA, Davis |
| 1991-94 | Chair, Dept. of Environmental Design, Univ. of CA, Davis |
| 1994-95 | Chair, Dept. of Rhetoric & Communication, Univ. of CA, Davis |
| 1997-2000 | Chair, Dept. of Art, Univ. of CA, Davis |
| 2001 | (Fall) Research Fellow, Tokyo Institute of Technology |
| 2003 | Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emeritus |
Author of: Expertland (Doubleday, 1963), Personal Space (Prentice-Hall, 1969), Design Awareness (Rinehart, 1972), Tight Spaces (Prentice-Hall, 1974), Street Art (Links Books, 1975), Sidewalk Fossils (Walker, 1975, The End of Imprisonment (Oxford, 1976), The Mind's Eye (Delta, 1978), A Practical Guide to Behavioral Research (with Barbara A. Sommer), Oxford, 1980, (1st Ed.), 1986 (2nd Ed.), 1991 (3rd Ed.), 1997 (4th Ed.), 2002 (5th Ed.), Farmers' Markets of America (Capra, 1980), and Social Design (Prentice-Hall, 1983). An Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources (Revised) with Norcross, Santrock et al. (Guilford, 2000, 2003).
Consultation: Design of bicycle paths, residence halls, geriatric housing, airports, offices, prisons, farmers markets, and other types of facilities.
Awards: City-University Research Award, City of Davis; Research Award, California Alliance for the Mentally Ill; Career Research Award; Environmental Design Research Association; Kurt Lewin Award, Division 9 APA; Fulbright Award to Estonia, USSR.
President-Elect 1998-9, President 1999-2000, APA Div. 34
Doctorem Honoris Causa, Tallinn Pedagogical University.