Remembering Doug Green

It is with great sadness that we report the recent death of Professor Doug Green, a highly respected and beloved member of the Saint Michael's Biology Department. Doug passed away on Friday, March 18 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He made a significant, positive impact on our campus and our department, and will be missed for a very long time. Our hearts ache..... A Facebook tribute page has been set up, so feel free to visit.

Doug's obituary follows...

DOUGLAS S. GREEN HUNTINGTON - Douglas S. Green passed away peacefully in the Vermont Respite House on March 18, 2011, having faced several years of health challenges with dignity and grace. He was born Jan. 30, 1953 in New York City, and he grew up in Florida, Texas, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and finally San Diego, Calif. Doug graduated as valedictorian from Saint Augustine High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Stanford University in 1975, and a Ph.D., also in biology, from Princeton University in 1980. Doug also earned a masters degree in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1986. Doug met his future wife, Donna Bozzone, in 1978 when she started her graduate work at Princeton. They married in 1982 and then gradually moved north living first in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. while Doug taught at Vassar and Donna completed her thesis. Next they moved to Massachusetts where Doug taught and studied at WPI and Donna did a post-doc at the Worcester Foundation. Finally in 1987, they made their last move and happily made their home in Vermont. Doug was a professor at Saint Michael's College, first in the computer science department and then in biology. Doug devoted his professional life to learning and teaching and was well respected and loved by his students and colleagues. He was even more devoted to his family. He has two daughters, Samantha was born in 1989 and Allison in 1993. No father was ever more over the moon about his children than Doug was about his daughters. Doug's life and the lives of his family, friends, students and colleagues were enriched by his many hobbies and interests: science fiction, gardening, wood-working, chess, astronomy, chess, puzzles of all kinds, biology, computer programming, robots, and especially playing guitar. An unrelentingly positive person, Doug remained a faithful fan of his San Diego Chargers and believed every season that they would win the Super Bowl "this year." In addition to his wife Donna, and daughters Samantha and Allison, Doug is survived by his father, Oscar and his wife Doris of Prescott, Ariz.; his sister, Linda Ybarra of Aberdeen, Wash.; brother, Kenneth of Italy; and brother, Steven and his wife Michelle of San Diego, Calif. He is also survived by his brother-in-law, William Bozzone and his wife Janet and their children, Stephen and Laura. Finally, he leaves behind his "adopted" family, Frank Vella and Kathleen Verville and their children, Laura, Christopher, and Michael. Doug was predeceased by his mother, Dorothy (Harding) Green. Our family would like to thank the wonderful members of the Saint Michael's and Huntington communities for their care and help. Also, we are grateful for the gentle care that Doug received from Dr. Thomas Roland, Jeanne Sheehay, the VNA, and the angels at the Vermont Respite House. Visiting hours will be held on Friday, March 25, 2011 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Ready's Funeral Home, Mountain View Chapel, 68 Pinecrest Drive, Essex Junction. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated, Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 2 p.m. in the chapel on the campus of Saint Michael's College. Gifts in Doug's name can be made to the Vermont Respite House or the Cancer Patient Support Program Emergency Fund at FAHC. To send online condolences, please visit www.readyfuneral.com

Planning for summer....

Yes - it is the time of year that many students are putting summer plans in place. This is spring break week at SMC - so many students have been home, where some are likely making or renewing contacts for summer jobs or internship at home.

It's also the time to secure summer research opportunities. Several deadlines just passed for students applying for funding to stay on campus for the summer and do research with our faculty - and notifications will be going our soon to those who were successful.

As one example of the kinds of research opportunities that we offer - Biology professor Mark Lubkowitz recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to be part of a multi-insitution research team investigating genetic control of carbohydrate movement in corn. This project will include hiring several research students each year for the next five years. Read more about Mark's Plant Genome Grant.

Guest Blog

A guest blog from Professor Mac Lippert about an alumna, Melissa (Meyer) Perry. Melissa graduated in 2001 with degrees in Biology and Elementary Education. At Saint Mike’s, she performed undergraduate research during the summer of 2000 under the direction of Mac Lippert, and was funded by the Dan Bean Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Since graduating Melissa taught middle school at Chester Academy in NH for 5 years. For two of the five years, she taught both math and science, and focused exclusively on math for the remaining three years. Melissa then taught math at Sanborn Regional High School for 3 years. This summer Melissa completed a Masters of Education, focusing on Technology in Education, at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Currently she is home with her kids, including a new baby. Melissa plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Math Education and is currently in the application process. Below is a picture of Melissa, her husband, SMC 2000 Computer Science graduate, Patrick Perry, and their children.

It's springtime...

.. well, not quite. But we did have some warm weather last week (sunny and high 50s), plus the days are noticeable longer. It's nice to drive in and home with daylight now. This time of year also means we will be seeing some seasonal migrations.... of prospective students and their families to our campus. So welcome!

I'll be meeting with some accepted students interested in biology on February 28, March 7, and March 28; and there are also Open House events planned for April 9 and 16.

If you are interested, please contact our Admissions Office. And, you might also be interested in the following...

Congratulations....

...to Dr. Mac Lippert (Nov 19 guest blogger) and SMC Bio alumni Ryan Larson and Nate Schoenly on the recent publication of some of their research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Lippert is the first author, with Ryan and Nate among the coauthors, on this collaborative research article titled "Role for topoisomerase 1 in transcription-associated mutagenesis in yeast".

Our biology faculty provide many research opportunities for students, some of which have resulted in students appearing as coauthors on professional research journal publications. In addition, faculty often bring their research students to professional conferences to present and discuss their research. These experiences are quite valuable for students wishing to go on to various professional or research-oriented graduate programs after leaving St. Mike's.

For more about the research opportunities in the Biology Department, visit our website, or issues of our e-newsletter, Biology Matters.

Pura Vida!

A Report from the Tropical Ecology Course
By Prof. Valerie Banschbach


{PICTURE OF CHESTNUT MANDIBLED TOUCAN, taken by Jeff Dukette}

Pura Vida! That’s the Costa Rican expression for living life fully, immersed in every moment. That sums up the experience that the Saint Michael's College students (Jake Girard, Ian Sullivan, Emily Ogilvy, Jess Sprague, Corey Dolbeare, Mike Sprague, Bridget Levine, Sara Williams, Jeff Dukette, Chris Lavallee, Jake Withee, and Janel Roberge) and Professors Denise Martin, me, and Jonathan Leonard, had during our winter break trip to study ecology and conservation of the cloud forests and lowland rain forests of Costa Rica.



{PICTURE OF WHOLE GROUP, V. Banschbach’s camera}

As you might guess from our group photo in the lodge, the cloud forest at Monteverde, CR was a little chilly and damp. The cloud forest receives 20% of its rain as “horizontal rain”, i.e. clouds. The hummingbirds and the plants thrive on it and we saw plenty of super-sized examples! Students researched pollination biology of a hummingbird pollinated member of the plant family Acanthaceae, behavior of the trap-jawed meat-eating ant, Odontomachus sp., and the habitat preferences of bromeliads.


{PHOTO OF VIOLET SABREWING AT FEEDER, V. Banschbach}






{PHOTO OF STRANGLER FIG – JAKE WITHEE, JESS SPRAGUE, PROF. DENISE MARTIN AND PROF. JONATHAN LEONARD—taken by Jess Sprague’s camera}



After our work at Monteverde, we took an interesting full-day road trip down from the mountains to our next study site, the Atlantic slope lowland rain forest at Selva Verde.
{PHOTO Mike Sprague, Bridget Levine and Jake Withee, taken by V. Banschbach}


When we arrived at the lower elevation rain forest site, it was a bit hotter, and like this basilisk lizard, we were ready for a dip in the water.{PHOTO OF BASILISK LIZARD, V. Banschbach}

At the Selva Verde rain forest reserve, students conducted projects on Heliconia sp. pollination, red-eyed tree frog behavior, ant lion prey capture, and bird foraging behavior.

At both study sites, we had excellent Costa Rican naturalist guides that helped us pack an enormous amount of learning about natural history, ecology and conservation issues into our 10-day trip. Of course, we also took a little time just to hang out and enjoy the experience.

{PHOTO OF MANTLED HOWLER MONKEY, taken by V. Banschbach}

And now we are back enjoying the snow.

It's time....

So, here I am, the Friday before classes begin. Trying feverishly to wrap-up the piles of administrative left-overs from last semester and get ready for Monday - the opening of the new semester.

Two of our faculty returned recently from our Department's Costa Rica study tour course, and it sounds as though everything went great. We hope to share some specifics and a photo or two with you in the near future.

We've got a good array of course options for our Bio major and minors this spring semester. In addition to the second semester of Intro Bio (BI 153) and Biological Reading & Writing (BI 205), both of which are required of all Bio majors, we've got Genetics, Molecular Biology, Developmental Biology, Animal Behavior, Human and Comparative Anatomy, Human and Comparative Physiology, and 3 sections of Senior Seminar (each with a different topical focus). For more information about our program check out our website.

For accepted prospective students and their families - please plan to come and visit at one of our accepted student open house dates - February 28, March 7, and March 28. I hope to see some of you there.