[updated March,
2007]
I’m
Professor Emeritus of Cell Biology, and College Archivist (volunteer), at
Richard
Stockton (State) College,
Office: E-055; Office phone: 609-652-4355 (ext. 4355)
Office fax: 609-626-5515
Home phone:
609-965-4453
Summer home
phone (
E-mail
address: dick.colby@stockton.edu
Office
hours: MWF 10-11 (not kept rigorously!)
Photograph-with Madge Parrot.jpg
Contents (below,
in sequence):
(1) Life synopsis (written for my high-school classmates on
their 50th reunion)
(2) Résumé (updated March, 2007)
Brief descriptions and syllabi for courses I have taught
at
(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 thr. 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)
(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 roughly 4
times between 1982 and 1993)
(12) Links to
my Community Activities: Sierra Club,
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(1) Life synopsis: Attended nursery
school in
**************************************************************
(2) Résumé: Richard H. Colby Prof. Emeritus of Cell
Biology
(updated
March, 2007) Natural
Sciences and Mathematics (
Richard
Stockton (State) College
Phone: (609) 652-4355 (office)
(609)
626-5515 (fax)
(609)
965-4453 (home)
E-mail:
Dick.Colby@Stockton.Edu
Personal data:
born 7 Nov 39 in
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
Education:
PhD, 1968:
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:
1971-present:
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.
Since 1989 I've
spent my summers (and other spare moments) as a guest in the laboratory of
Prof. Caroline Pond, Dept. of Biology, Open University,
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.
Sabbaticals,
leaves and exchanges:
Fall
1978: I exchanged jobs with Prof. EH Mercer,
1982-83:
Full-year sabbatical with Prof. Jason Wolfe,
Fall
1990: Leave of Absence (unpaid) to work in the
Fall
1991: Sabbatical: used to write up the work
accomplished in the previousyear.
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:
Community
service: Planning Board Chairman (Egg Harbor
City, most years since 1986, including currently); Atlantic County Parks and
Environment Advisory Commission (since the mid-1980's; Chair, currently);
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 and PAC treasurer); Trustee: Eyren Hafen
Land Preserve (1998-present); MIT Educational Council (interviewer, 1978-97);
Corporation Board member, Bermuda Biological Station (since about 1976); active
in Egg Harbor City Historical Society, NJ Assn of Railroad Passengers, Mainland
Great Books Discussion Group (occasional leader).
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
Trihalomethane Production in
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.
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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.
Sylabus-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.
Sylabus 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.
Sylabus-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
after 27 July:
609-965-4453
Sylabus 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
Sylabus-Old Towns and New
Towns-99S.doc
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(9) Muckraking:
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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
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(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.
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
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 1985, 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
organizeed 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.
