[updated October,
2019]
I’m
Professor Emeritus of Cell Biology, and one-time College Archivist (volunteer),
at
Stockton
University, Galloway Twp, New Jersey, 08205-9441, USA.
Office: E-224c; Office phone: 609-652-4355 (ext. 4355)
Office fax: 609-626-5515
Home phone:
609-965-4453
E-mail
address: dick.colby@stockton.edu
Variable
office hours: let’s say “by appointment”
Photograph-with
Madge Parrot.jpg
Contents (below,
in sequence):
(1) Life synopsis (written for my high-school classmates on
their 50th reunion, in 2007)
(2) Résumé (updated October, 2019)
Brief descriptions and syllabi for courses I have taught at Stockton, in the hope that others will pick up where I’ve left off:
(3) Intermediate Cell Biology (BIOL 3190; taught 8 times
between 1985 and 2002)
(4) Cell
Biology Laboratory Methods (BIOL 3110; taught 15 times between 1978 and
2003)
(5) Preparation
for Research (BIOL/ENVL/MARS 3600; taught almost every Spring,
1981 through 2005)
(6) Genetics (BIOL 2110, 2115 (Lab), a biology core course,
taught 9 times between 1976 and 2002)
(7) Justice in Western Civilization (GAH 1011, Freshman
seminar, taught Fall semesters, 1988-2004)
(8) Old Towns and New Towns (GIS 3113,
3114; taught 8 times between 1976 and 1999).
It included an optional post-spring-semester one-week trip to England
and France.
(9) Muckraking (GSS 2137; taught 3 times: Fall 1974, Fall
1975 and Fall 1979)
(10) Environmental Chemistry Methods (ENVL 4355; taught 10
times between 1973 and 1991)
(11) Marine
Pollution Workshop (ENVL 4756; taught – at the Bermuda Biological Station
during Spring Break - roughly 4 times between 1982 and 1993)
(12) Community Activities: Sierra Club,
Egg Harbor City Planning Board, Atlantic County Parks & Environment
Advisory Commission, Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association, Eyren Hafen Land
Preserve
******************************************************************
(1) Life synopsis: Attended nursery
school in Arlington VA, elementary school in Valley Stream NY, and high school
in Yonkers NY. Always a shy
minimalist, and self-diagnosed autistic and OCD, I managed to get through
MIT and the Univ. of Calif. Berkeley (PhD in Biophysics), post-docs in Augusta
GA, Nottingham, UK, and Tübingen, Germany, and a teaching life at a southern
New Jersey state college, where the pine trees whisper and the cedar-water
streams burble in flood, and where faculty are invited to demonstrate broadness
by teaching “General Studies” courses in whatever topics they feel are interesting
and important (see my “G” courses listed above). My “professional” subjects are genetics,
microscopy, tissue culture, cell biology, and some biochemistry. In about 1980 I latched into a research group
that works on the biology of adipose (fat) tissue, based at the Open
University, Milton Keynes, England, where I still spend summers and other spare
moments. Lots of public service: Sierra
Club, planning board, county parks commission, watershed association, land
trust. I’ve written song-music for about
45 of JRR Tolkien’s “hobbit” poems, that I sing to a guitar. About 10 miles of walking every weekend. Starting a retirement career as (volunteer)
library archivist at Stockton College, where I have been teaching for 35 years.
Convinced that global warming will end civilization within 200 years.
**************************************************************
(2) Résumé: Richard H. Colby Prof. Emeritus of Cell
Biology
(updated
October, 2019) Natural
Sciences and Mathematics (NAMS)
Stockton
University (originally Richard Stockton State College)
Galloway,
New Jersey 08205-9441, U.S.A.
Phone:
(609) 652-4355 (office)
(609)
626-5515 (fax)
(609)
965-4453 (home)
E-mail:
Dick.Colby@Stockton.Edu
Personal data:
born 7 Nov 1939 in Washington, DC.
Citizen of U.S.A.
Formal
retirement: 30 June 2005. For the three previous “transitional” years I
taught half-time. Since retirement I’ve
adjuncted lab sections of core biology courses each semester, and started a new
career as volunteer College Archivist.
Since Stockton College was founded in 1971, I’ve maintained a database
on graduates of the Biology Program, and compiled data for Program
self-studies. This continues.
Education:
PhD, 1968: Univ. of California, Berkeley. Biophysics.
Dissertation: Synthesis of Myosin in Cell Culture (Prof. R.C. Strohman).
SB,
1961: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Humanities and Science (Philosophy and Physics). Dissertation: Influence of Imanuel Kant on
Physiology (Prof. G. DeSantillana).
other:
courses in invertebrate zoology and in physiology at the MBL (Woods Hole, MA);
one year of predoctoral research at Dartmouth Medical School, using polarized
light microscopy (Prof. A.G. Szent
Gyorgyi); one postdoctoral year in England learning to teach tutorials (see
below); one postdoctoral year at the Univ. of Tuebingen, Germany (1970-71),
studying ameboid movement (Prof. Karl G. Grell); various summer workshops:
tissue culture, trace element analysis, gas chromatography, marine pollution
chemistry methods, recombinant DNA techniques, immunology; two summers'
research on chromosomal movement at the Bermuda Biological Station.
Teaching:
1968-9:
Paine College, Augusta GA: Asst. Prof. of Biology:
courses in biology and physics.
1969-70:
Univ. of Nottingham, UK: Leverhulme Fellow, Dept. of
Zoology (Prof. E.J.W. Barrington):
various tutorials, lectures and demonstrations.
1971-onwards:
Stockton University (founding faculty!): courses in
biology, environmental studies, mathematics, physics, chemistry and General
Studies, including: genetics, biochemistry, cell biology laboratory methods
(microscopy, cell culture, PAGE, radiotracer techniques, cell fractionation,
autoradiography, recombinant DNA techniques), intermediate cell biology, core
biology, and cell biology tutorials.
Environmental courses have included environmental issues, environmental
chemistry methods, marine pollution workshop (at the Bermuda Biological
Station), water quality, and pollution seminar.
A specialty teaching niche is library research techniques in biology,
environmental studies, and marine science.
General Studies courses: nutritional analysis (GNM), muckraking (GSS),
old towns and new towns (GIS), Justice in Western Civilization (GAH-Freshman
Seminar-W2-V). Since retirement in 2005 I’ve
continued to each a section of Genetics Laboratory – each Fall semester, as an
adjunct faculty member.
College archiving:
From 2005 to 2012 I organized the
Minutes of the Board of Trustees – for binding, and similarly those of the Faculty
Assembly/Senate and its committees. Also
those of many Divisions (Schools) and degree Programs. I also maintained the map collection, and
indexed materials in various College internal periodicals. I still compile internal e-mail chat fora,
including memorial tributes, hoping that making such archives public will
someday be allowable under copyright regulations.
Research
interests: biochemistry of adipose tissue; cellular
mechanisms of motility (especially in mitosis, using cell cultures,
fluorescence and polarized light microscopy, micromanipulation and
biochemistry); vitamin C research; other nutritional research (especially that
involving lipid biochemistry); differentiation of cells in culture; mechanisms
of sexual recognition and expression in Tetrahymena; fate of chlorinated
hydrocarbons in a sewage sprayfield, indoor air pollutants, psychology of environmental
responsibility.
From 1979 to
2007 I spent my summers (and other spare moments) as a guest in the laboratory
of Prof. Caroline Pond, Dept. of Biology, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK,
profiling triacylglycerol fatty acids in the adipose tissue depots of a wide
variety of mammals, especially arctic mammals.
We've discovered significant site-specific cellular and biochemical
properties of the various depots. I
helped her with a book that was published in Fall, 1998, by Cambridge Univ.
Press: The Fats of Life. Also two of her
textbooks. Since then I’ve reviewed
manuscripts of her research articles and grant applications.
Administration/College
service: Acting NAMS Dean (1973-74); BIOL Program
Coordinator (various terms, including 1995-97); College Radiation Safety
Officer (roughly 1971-90); Faculty Assembly Steering Committee (FASC; roughly
1985-1994); FA Parliamentarian (1997-2005); Library Users' Advisory Committee
(1971-2005, chair most years); I've also served on R&PD, Minority
Recruitment, and Faculty Review Committees.
From about 1997 to 2005 I was on the Review Committee for Distinguished
Faculty Grants.
Laboratory
skills: light microscopy, especially with
polarized light; biochemistry, lipidology, gas chromatography, animal cell
culture, radiotracer methodology, PAGE and agarose gel electrophoresis, AA
spectrophotometry, basic computer skills.
I worked for two summers during my undergraduate years recording
electrophysiological signals from animal tissues with glass microelectrodes.
Professional
societies: Amer. Soc. for Cell Biology - emeritus,
Soc. for In Vitro Biology (formerly Tissue Culture Association) - emeritus, New
Jersey Acad. of Science - Life Member, American Planning Association (roughly
1990-2005).
Sabbaticals,
leaves and exchanges:
Fall
1978: I exchanged jobs with Prof. EH Mercer, Hilo College, Univ. of Hawaii,
teaching cell biology and biochemistry.
1982-83:
Full-year sabbatical with Prof. Jason Wolfe, Wesleyan Univ. (studied mating
factors in the ciliate Tetrahymena).
Also travel in India, Nepal, Hong Kong, China and Sri Lanka, useful in
my General Studies courses.
Fall
1990: Leave of Absence (unpaid) to work in the UK: 4 papers and 1 poster
accomplished (see next line).
Fall
1991: Sabbatical: used to write up the work accomplished in the previous year.
1997-98:
Two courses release granted for library research on motivating environmental
responsibility. (Instead, I taught
courses for colleagues who experienced family emergencies.)
Fall
2001: Sabbatical: Site-specific Receptors on Adipocytes. Unfortunately, it took most of the semester
(nine weeks) to obtain permission from each of three committees to dissect a
mouse. So, instead, I edited manuscripts
for my British colleagues.
Professional
meetings attended: Amer. Soc. for Cell Biology most
years; NJ Acad. of Science some years; NJ Amer. Planning Assn. some years; NJ
Water Environment Assn. most years; Bermuda Biological Station Corporation
meetings some years; one international conference on land use: London, 1986.
International
class trips led: Britain and France (Old Towns and
New Towns, GIS) about 10 times; Bermuda (Marine Pollution Workshop, MARS/ENVL)
about 5 times.
Community
service: Planning Board Chairman (Egg Harbor
City, most years from 1986 through 2017); Atlantic County Parks and Environment
Advisory Commission (since the mid-1980's; Chair roughly 2005-2010); Trustee:
Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association (since about 1992; I'm currently the
treasurer, elected representative to the River Council, and the River Council’s
treasurer); Sierra Club (since 1973; New Jersey Chapter Chair 1997-98;
currently newsletter editor); Trustee: Eyren Hafen Land Preserve (1998-present;
treasurer since about 2010); MIT Educational Council (interviewer, 1978-97);
Corporation Board member, Bermuda Biological Station (about 1976 to about 2005);
active in Egg Harbor City Historical Society, NJ Assn of Railroad Passengers,
Mainland Great Books Discussion Group (occasional leader). Informal Street-tree
Commissioner for Egg Harbor City (since about 2008). (I maintain an inventory
of the roughly 2000 street trees, and attend annual meetings of the NJ Shade
Tree Federation.) Member of Sustainable
Egg Harbor City (since about 2015).
Publications and
presentations:
Synthesis of Myosin in Cell Culture. (RH
Colby, PhD Thesis, 1968)
Intrinsic Birefringence of Glycerinated
Myofibrils. (RH Colby, J Cell Biol 51: 763-71, 1971)
Effect of Cytochalasin B on Amoeba proteus. (RH Colby & N
Lanners, Abstract, Biophysical Society, 1971)
Chapter on Atlantic County's Surface Water
(supply and quality): for Atlantic County 208 Plan (Federal Clean Water
Act). about 1975.
Trihalomethane Production in Stockton
College's Chlorine-treated Sewage Effluent.
Presented at a conference and prepared for a Pinelands publication
edited by Claude Epstein. about 1978.
A Method for the Immobilization of Tetrahymena. (JS Wolfe & RH Colby, Exp
Cell Research 134: 313-7, 1981)
Forested Ecosystems: A System for
Monitoring the Effects of Acid Deposition.
Final Report. (George L. Zimmermann, Raymond G. Mueller, Richard H.
Colby and Claude M. Epstein). Submitted under contract to the Div. of Parks and
Forestry, NJDEP, August 1986.
Site-specific Differences in the Responses
of Guinea Pig Adipocytes to Changes in Dietary Fatty Acid Composition. (RH
Colby & CM Pond, poster, ASCB, 1990)
The Anatomy, Chemical Composition and Metabolism of Adipose Tissues in Wild Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus). (CM Pond, CA Mattacks, MA Ramsay & RH Colby, Can J Zool 70: 326-41, 1992)
The Anatomy, Chemical Composition and
Maximum Glycolytic Capacity of Adipose Tissue in Wild Svalbard Reindeer
(Rangifer platyrhynchus) in Winter. (CM Pond, CA Mattacks, RH Colby & NJC
Tyler, J Zool London 229: 17-40, 1993)
The Gross Anatomy, Cellular Structure, and
Fatty Acid Composition of Adipose Tissue in Captive Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus). (RH Colby, CA Mattacks
& CM Pond, Zoo Biology 12: 267-75, 1993)
Site-specific Differences in the Responses
of Guinea Pig Adipocytes to Changes in the Lipid Composition of the Diet. (RH
Colby & CM Pond, Nutrition Research 13: 1203-12, 1993)
Introducing Students to Library Research
Techniques in Cell Biology. (RH Colby, poster, ASCB, 1994)
Book Review: "Cytokinesis in Animal
Cells" (R Rappaport) in Quart Rev Biol 70: 348-9, 1998 (w/ R
Herlands)
Edited,
unofficially: "The Fats of Life" by Caroline M. Pond. Cambridge Univ.
Press, 1998.
Translated
(from the German, helped by Google Translate): Riesen im Moor (Giants in the Moor): the story of early transatlantic
telegraphy, including of the station in nearby Tuckerton NJ. 2017
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(3) Intermediate
Cell Biology: Cell ultrastructure; function and morphology of organelles;
enzyme function and regulation; cell movement; differentiation; protein
synthesis; gene structure, function and control, transcription and
replication. Now taught by David
Burleigh, Roz Herlands and Ron Hutchison.
Syllabus-Intermediate
Cell Biology.doc
*************************************************
(4) Cell Biology Laboratory Methods –
co-taught with Roz Herlands: Genetics prerequisite. Theory and practice of a variety of
techniques used by developmental, cell and molecular biologists: tissue fixation
and preparation of paraffin sections; microscopy using absorption, phase
contrast, dark-field, fluorescence, polarization and Nomarski optics;
polyacrylamide and agarose gel electrophoresis of proteins and nucleic acids;
autoradiography and other uses of radioisotopes; animal cell culture; cell
fractionation. Offered in alternate
Spring semesters.
Syllabus and
Handouts-Cell Biology Lab Methods.doc
**********************************************************
(5) Preparation for Research: Use of
library resources to find books, review articles and research papers on a
specific topic in biology, environmental studies or marine science. “Journal-club” tutorial session with a
faculty sponsor. Résumé-writing. Career options are sometimes discussed by
returning graduates. A diagnostic exam
on numeracy and literacy is administered.
Offered each Spring semester; required of all Biology majors. Carried on by Tim Haresign, Kathy Sedia,
Linda Smith and other faculty.
Syllabus-Handouts-Preparation
for Research.doc
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(6) Genetics (including Laboratory):
Also taught by about half of the Biology Program faculty. Mendelian and modern genetics: structure,
function and inheritance of genes.
Includes the chemistry and structure of chromatin and chromosomes,
patterns of transmission from one generation to another, the nature and causes
of mutations, and the mechanisms by which genes regulate the activities of
cells and organisms. Offered each
semester. Laboratory exercises include
crosses of fruit flies and ascomycete fungi, five exercises based on the
transformation of bacteria by a plasmid containing the gene for
green-fluorescent-protein, collection and analysis of family pedigree data, and
population-genetics problem-solving.
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(7) Justice in Western Civilization:
"Western Civilization" is a theme that was popular in American
Liberal Arts colleges in the 1930's‑1970's, when students were
required to read many of the classic works of Western philosophy, history,
literature and science. In order to trim
the sequence of courses to a single semester, I've picked the single topic of
JUSTICE: we'll read a Greek play (Sophocles' ANTIGONE), a condensation of
Plato's REPUBLIC, bits of the BIBLE, More's UTOPIA, selections from some
Enlightenment philosophers, and end with fragments of Karl Marx and John Rawls.
There are four
ways in which we conceptualize JUSTICE; we'll deal with all of them: (1) The
Ancient Greeks were interested in the balance of individual vs. governmental
prerogatives (e.g. setting the boundaries of free speech), a concept we now
call civil liberty. (2) They were
also interested in describing the "JUST" life, the subject of
Plato's REPUBLIC. (We'll follow that up
with a reading of ECOTOPIA by Ernest Callenbach.) (3) Today, most of us would probably think of
justice as something that applies to criminal punishment. Both the Old and New Testaments propose
"just" forms of retribution, and we'll also debate the appropriateness
of the death penalty. (4) Finally, an
important theme since the Middle Ages has been ENTITLEMENT or DISTRIBUTIVE
JUSTICE: what does "society" owe us in the form of welfare,
health care, entertainment, and affirmative action, and what should we be expected
to provide in return?
In addition to
the historical sources, we'll read contemporary debates with respect to three
of these four themes, and present the arguments in class. These additional
topics will include the abortion question, gun ownership, school prayer,
prostitution, pornography, euthanasia, animal rights, environmental
"taking," inheritance rights, procreation rights, and whatever else
we decide is appropriate.
A final
component of the course, that will actually come in the first two weeks, is an
introduction to the "college experience": we'll read what some
graduates of yesteryear have had to say about college, and discuss the film
"Educating Rita."
Grading will be
based on roughly five essays, class presentations and participation, and
miscellaneous extra assignments such as library research on our debate
topics. I'm available for questioning by
phone: before 27 July, in England; remember it's five hours later there:
011-44-908-679768;
after 27 July:
609-965-4453
Syllabus and
Assignments-Justice in Western Civilization.doc
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(8) Old Towns
and New Towns; Trip: Residential density, zoning, transportation, other
amenities, architecture, family structures, and a host of other factors, and
their influence on “quality of life” in communities in America and Europe. Includes weekend bus trips to old and new
“towns” in New Jersey and nearby states.
Students are invited to supplement this course with a one-week visit to
England and France, in the week following the end of semester: based at a
London youth hostel, day-trips will include sections of London (Barbican, the
East End, Bayswater), Salisbury or Canterbury or Oxford, Welwyn and Letchworth,
Milton Keynes or Stevenage, and Boulogne in France. Exposure to street markets, recreation centers,
excellent public transportation, political institutions. Cost [1992] of about $700 plus tuition.
Syllabus-Old
Towns and New Towns-99S.doc
*****************************************************
(9) Muckraking: Readings and discussions on political
corruption at the local, state and national levels. Compares the 1900-1910 style of muckraking in
articles by Lincoln Steffens, RS Baker, Ida Tarbell and others with current
muckraking as exemplified by Ralph Nader and others. Special attention to the New Jersey scene,
including panel discussions with local journalists and politicians, in an
attempt to understand why politicians are so easily corrupted in the American
power structure.
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(10) Environmental Chemistry Methods: Theory and practice of standard methods used
to evaluate air, water and soil samples.
Sample collection and storage.
Identification of microfauna and microflora. Colorimetric, titrimetric, potentiometric,
gravimetric and microbiological assays for particulates (solids), inorganic
ions, dissolved oxygen (and BOD), pH, and coliform bacteria. Applications of atomic absorption
spectrophotometry, infrared spectrophotometry, and gas chromatography to
environmental analysis. Assays for alpha,
beta and gamma radiation. Introduces
field methods (using Hach kits). Algebra
is used extensively. Prepares students
for work in the laboratories of sewage treatment plants, water purveyors,
environmental agencies and industry.
Students will supply samples and submit weekly lab reports. One or two field trips to analytical
laboratories.
Syllabus-Environmental
Chemistry Methods.doc
*****************************************************************
(11) Marine
Pollution Workshop (ENVL 4630) – taught during Spring Break at the Bermuda
Biological Station. POI. Carries one unit of college credit.
A week of
intensive practical experience in ocean and inshore monitoring and laboratory
instrumental analysis at the Bermuda Biological Station, during Spring
Break. Intended for students currently
enrolled in ENVL 4355, Environmental Chemistry Methods. Students must contribute payment for
transportation, lodging and use of facilities.
Bermuda is
ideally situated for ocean monitoring.
The North Atlantic currents concentrate tar and other pollutants there,
and the islands enclose and are surrounded by an active coral reef, easily
accessible for study. The BBS offers
excellent teaching laboratories, chemical apparatus and stockroom, a superb
technical library, a fleet of both inshore and offshore vessels, and helpful staff. There will be student groups from other
colleges in residence, which we may sometimes join to save expenses on boats.
In some years
we’ve stayed in BBS dorms or cottages, sometimes taking meals in the dining
room, sometimes cooking for ourselves. In other years we’ve lodged at a B&B in
the nearby town of St George. We’ll see
what is available at least cost.
Schedule-Marine
Pollution Workshop.doc
***************************************************************
(12) Community
activities:
Sierra Club:
I’ve edited the quarterly issues of the New Jersey Chapter’s newsletter (“The
Jersey Sierran”) since 2001. They are
clickable from the Chapter’s web page: http://newjersey.sierraclub.org. Most issues have an editorial essay. Earlier issues (1997-1998) contain “Chair’s
Messages” written when I was Chapter Chair.
Great Egg Harbor
Watershed Association: In about 1975, the officers of
the Sierra Club’s South Jersey Group took on the project of obtaining federal
Wild and Scenic status for the Great Egg Harbor River, which included
“reconstituting itself” as the Watershed Association, a 501(c)(3) charitable
organization. In collaboration with
several other volunteers, petitions were obtained from governing bodies of the
12 municipalities bordering the River, convincing our federal legislators to
sponsor legislation that was signed by President Bush I in 1992. Since then, the National Park Service has
provided about $100,000 each year to employ two professionals, and has organized
a second deliberative body (the River Council) to provide formal liaison with
the 12 municipalities. I’m one of 5
still-active GEHWA trustees, meeting monthly to supervise the two staff, and to
consider activities that will protect the River from degradative uses. Web sites include www.gehwa.org , which will link to the NPS’s
sites.
Egg Harbor City
Planning Board: Our monthly meetings were at 7:15
pm on third Tuesdays, in the Council Chamber at 500 London Avenue. Since 1985 I’ve supervised three
re-examinations of the town’s Master Plan, and the Board has approved
now-almost-complete development of 22 lots in the town’s Industrial Park. Egg Harbor City’s web site is www.eggharborcity.org,
and the “Resource Directory” includes mention of the Planning Board. In about 2015 the Board was combined with the
Zoning Board of Adjustment to become the Land Use Board. For my promotion of
shade trees, I was not reappointed in 2018.
Atlantic County
Parks and Environment Advisory Commission: An
agency of county government, advisory to the Board of Freeholders, maintaining
oversight of the County Park System, and the County Office of Environmental
Health. Seven members are appointed by
the Freeholders at the County Executive’s nomination. We meet first Mondays at 7pm in the Canale
Training Center, English Creek Road, except in July, August and December. A web site is www.aclink.org, with much
relevant material under “Recreation and Leisure,” then “County Parks.”
Eyren Hafen Land
Preserve: Municipal Land Trust for Egg Harbor
City, NJ, also with 501(c)(3) tax status, operated by seven trustees. We don’t own land, but rather contract
with municipal government to manage City-owned land: for wildlife and
recreation (bird-watching, hiking, hunting).
We have conducted trash cleanups and erected signs, including signs that
remind users of vehicles that State Law forbids operation of ATVs and other
motorized vehicles on public land.
