In its continuing effort to provide quality education the Biology Department is still offering the introductory courses in multiple sections despite the exceptionally high enrollments, and the end of Howard Hughes Medical Institute funding for Katherine Dorfman, who has assisted in our introductory curriculum. Interest in the biological sciences continues to increase as is evidenced by the influx of majors to the department. The numbers of junior & senior majors have increased from 96 this past year to a total of 130 for the coming academic year. Such increases indicate that our objectives to attract and retain students are being realized but at the same this growth has resulted in staffing and space challenges.
The main lecture hall in Thompson Biology Laboratory is being renovated to provide up-to- date video and computer projections systems. Part of this renovation is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The department still suffers from the lack of adequate teaching and research space. To help alleviate some of the problem the department renovated room 001 in the Thompson Biology Laboratory last summer to provide a research facility for Assistant Professor Gretchen Meyer. Professor Meyer's research centers around the nature of the selective pressure exerted by herbivorous insects on their host plants. The college is currently renovating space in Bronfman Science Center for our two new department members.
The department is pleased to welcome Assistant Professors Elizabeth Adler and Wendy Raymond, and Visiting Assistant Professor Richard Henneberry to the Biology faculty for the academic year beginning in July, 1994. Dr. Adler received her undergraduate degree from Antioch College and her Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Her primary research interest is in the area of neuromodulation and synaptic plasticity with a goal of combining electrophysiological and molecular biological approaches together with imaging techniques in order to study both basic mechanisms underlying neurotransmitter release and regulatory processes involved in plasticity of synaptic function. At Williams, Dr. Adler will be responsible for teaching the Neurobiology course and the Introduction to Neuroscience with Paul Solomon.
Assistant Professor Wendy Raymond received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Harvard University. Professor Raymond's research is aimed at discovering new aspects of cell-cycle regulation using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system. Her current focus is on the mechanics and regulation of how cells exit mitosis and then enter G1 of the ensuing cell cycle. At Williams, Professor Raymond will be responsible for teaching the Genetics course and the senior Biochemistry and Molecular Biology course.
Visiting Assistant Professor Richard Henneberry received his undergraduate degree from St. Michael's College, his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from University of Massachusetts. His research focuses on cellular signal reception and transduction centering on the intracellular interplay among second messenger systems and their modulators. While at Williams Professor Henneberry will be responsible for teaching the Neuroscience senior seminar and a new 200-level course, BIOL 222, From Molecules to Brain.
Next year Bill DeWitt and Hank Art will be returning from sabbatical leaves. Bill will be returning as chair of the department, and Hank will be assuming the teaching duties of BIOL 102 along with David Smith. Steve Zottoli will be on leave for the 94-95 academic year, Dan Clemens will be on leave for the fall semester, and Nancy Roseman will be on leave for the spring semester.
This past academic year Prof. Marsha Altschuler taught BIOL 202 (Genetics) in the fall and BIOL 404 (Topics in Molecular Biology) in the spring. In addition she also taught a winter study course on the Human Genome Project. The course examined the students' own DNA after amplifying it using the polymerase chain reaction. Prof. Altschuler attended a Gordon Conference on Molecular Biology of Ciliated Protozoa in July 1993.
This academic year Prof. Altschuler had two research students working in her laboratory. The focus of the lab is that fascinating single-celled, bi-nucleated organism Tetrahymena thermophila. Justin Binder '94 worked on analyzing a small chromosome present in the Tetrahymena somatic genome - its small size enables one to eventually learn everything there is to know about its structure and function. Debby Schein '94 has initiated a project that will provide a new tool for mapping cloned pieces of Tetrahymena DNA to the chromosome from which they came. The method involves encouraging homologous recombination between the cloned DNA and the endogenous chromosome in a way that results in a shortened chromosome. The amount of shortening that occurred tells you the distance the cloned DNA is from the end of the chromosome.
Professor Henry Art has been on sabbatical leave during 1993-94 during which time he has been writing and conducting research in the Williamstown area. In the fall he led a safari to Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia for the Williams Society of Alumni. He has continued his research on ecosystem dynamics, long-term changes, and deer-vegetation interactions in maritime forests, especially at Fire Island National Seashore, NY. In September Prof. Art presented a paper on Deer/Native Plant Interactions at the Eastern Native Plant Alliance Annual Meeting, Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, MO. He is also on the Steering Committee of Eastern Native Plant Alliance.
Prof. Art has completed a five-year research project on the ecology and distribution of Lonicera hirsuta hairy honeysuckle), a species on the Massachusetts Rare & Endangered Species List. In February Prof. Art gave a lecture entitled "Insights into the Distribution of Lonicera hirsuta" to the New England Botanical Club at their February meeting. He also gave the commencement address "Facilitators of Paradise" at the Conway School of Landscape Design.
Professor Daniel Clemens taught an upper level course in the fall, BIOL 307 (Ecological Physiology), and in the spring semester, BIOL 205 (Physiology). For the past academic year his research has centered on two projects both investigating aspects of physiological adaptation and adjustment to cold in small birds and mammals. The first project, begun last year, examined metabolic and thermo-regulatory responses to acute cold exposure in black-capped chickadees. He has been assessing cold tolerance in the birds by simultaneously measuring metabolic rate (oxygen consumption), body temperature and breathing rate during short bouts of exposure to a severe cold, using a helium-oxygen gas mixture. The second project examined patterns of body temperature regulation and daily torpor in deer mice under seminatural conditions in the Hopkins Memorial Forest, using surgically-implanted radio telemeters. This research was done in collaboration with his Honors student, Brian Rho '94, and comprised the major part of his honors thesis in biology.
In addition to his research activities, Prof. Clemens served as a referee on two manuscripts for the journal Physiological Zoology and one manuscript for The Condor. He also attended the annual meeting of the American Society of Zoologists in Los Angeles. As chairman of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Prof. Clemens has been involved in an extensive review of animal care and use procedures at the College.
This past year, Professor Daniel Lynch taught the introductory biology course, BIOL 101, in the fall and Biochemical Regulatory Mechanisms, BIOL 312, in the spring. In addition he offered a winter study course entitled, Diet, Exercise and Metabolism. He also advised two Honors students in his laboratory, Shaw Henderson and Raj Tandon. Shaw's project centered on characterizing the enzyme sphinganine N-acyltransferase, and Raj investigated the inhibition of this enzyme by the mycotoxin fumonisin B1. During the summer of 1993 in addition to the two honors students, Prof. Lynch supervised two other students in his lab, Greg Crowther '95 and Jennifer Lehoczky '93. Greg investigated the toxicity of fumonisin using corn plants and Jennifer continued her research on the characterization of the enzyme ceramide glucosyltransferase, started during her honors research project. In July, along with Prof. Lynch, Jennifer attended the annual meetings of the American Society of Plant Physiologists held in Minneapolis where she presented a poster on her work. Prof. Lynch also hosted four high school students in his lab for one week as part of the outreach program funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Research Institute.
Professor Lynch published two papers on his research and served as a reviewer for several journals in the fields of plant biology and biochemistry and for various granting agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research, Inc. He was an invited speaker at the Gordon Research Conference on Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins. Prof. Lynch has been awarded tenure in the Biology Department effective July 1, 1995.
During her first year at Williams, Prof. Gretchen Meyer taught BIOL 203 (Ecology) in the fall semester and a senior tutorial, BIOL 401T (Current Issues in Ecology and Evolution) in the spring, that focused on discussions of papers from the primary literature. She also team-taught Introduction to Environmental Studies in the spring with Prof. Jay Thoman of the Chemistry Department and Prof. David DeSimone of the Geology Department. Prof. Meyer supervised one Honors student, David Scholle '94 whose thesis involved measuring temporal and spatial variation in insect diversity and abundance. He also examined insect activity patterns on hourly, daily, and monthly time scales. He worked in both a temperate forest and a tropical forest, and made comparisons between the two sites. Both sites were equipped with canopy walkways, enabling David to compare patterns in insect diversity, abundance, and activity patterns between the ground and the canopy. Prof. Meyer has published two papers this past year both in Ecology.
Prof. Colin Orians spent this past year teaching BIOL 305 (Evolution) and BIOL 241 (Conservation Biology) in the fall and BIOL 302 (Advanced Ecology) in the spring. He has co- authored two papers which appeared in Oecologia and Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. He presented the results of his research at the National Meetings of the Ecological Society of America held in Madison, Wisconsin. He has also given lectures at Franklin & Marshall College and Bowling Green University.
Prof. Orians received an REU Supplemental Grant from NSF to support student research. He has participated in the NECUSE program - a program designed to give undergraduates research experience at other New England colleges and universities. A total of three students worked in his lab during the summer on projects that focused on willow genetics, leaf chemistry, and insect host selection and performance. Prof. Orians worked with Prof. Katherine Dorfman to develop techniques required to measure insect performance. Finally, Prof. Orians and David Raffeld, a local poet, received funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to work at the Williamstown Elementary School. The program focused on insects and poetry and involved both classroom and field activities. It was designed to introduce students to insect natural history, and to encourage students to communicate their observations through poetry.
Prof. Nancy Roseman spent her second year teaching Immunology in the fall semester and the Biochemistry/Molecular Biology (BiMo) course in the spring. This spring she attended the 10th International Pox Virus Symposium in Banff, Canada where she presented a poster detailing research done on the vaccinia dUTPase enzyme in collaboration with Robert Evans of the Chemistry Department. She has co-authored a paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Prof. Roseman also advised two Honors students this past year, Erik White and Scott Martin. Erik's research focused on assaying dUTPase activity in vivo, while Scott worked on structure/function studies on the enzyme.
Prof. Heather Williams taught BIOL 403 (Behavioral Endocrinology) in the fall semester and BIOL 204 (Animal Behavior) in the spring. During the year she served on the Compensation Committee and the Fringe Benefits Advisory Group. Prof. Williams supervised one Honors Student, Neil Mehta. His research focused on the critical period for song learning in zebra finches.
Prof. Williams attended the Society of Neuroscience's annual meeting in Washington, D Her research, sponsored by the National Institute of Health, continues to receive funding for her project, "Modulation of Auditory and Motor Modes in Vocal Learning." Prof. Williams also published a book review in Science and a scientific paper in Journal of Neurobiology. She has served as an ad- hoc reviewer for the National Science Foundation and several other scientific publications.
Although Prof. Lee Venolia was on maternity leave for the fall semester, she supervised two Honors students, Cynthia Sharpe and Dan Casey, in summer and academic year research. With the help of the C. elegans genome sequencing project, she is close to a molecular characterization of the muscle affecting gene, unc-45. The results are to be presented at the East Coast C. elegans meeting in Baltimore in June. Prof. Venolia taught Advanced Molecular Genetics in the spring semester while working on a "Certificate of Viral Survival" through the Williams College Children's Center.
Prof. Steve Zottoli was acting chair of the Biology Department for the 1993-94 academic year. He is currently Program Director of both Howard Hughes Medical Grants and is also Director of the Grass Foundation Laboratory at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA which, during the summer, supports independent research by young investigators in their late predoctoral and early postdoctoral training. Prof. Zottoli is also a Trustee of the Grass Foundation.
In collaboration with Bruce Johnson and Ron Hoy at Cornell University, Prof. Zottoli continues to develop a series of laboratory modules utilizing the crayfish as an animal model. This work has resulted in two teaching abstracts presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience and a number of other modules currently being developed. This work is supported in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
This past year Prof. Zottoli gave a talk entitled: "Julia Barlow Platt (1857-1935): Pioneer Comparative Embryologist and Neuroscientist" at the J.B. Johnston Club meeting which precedes the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, DC. He also gave a seminar at the Medical College of Pennsylvania on his regeneration research and presented a poster with Adrienne Bentley at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting held in Washington, DC. Prof. Zottoli was an invited speaker at the Fifth International Symposium on Neural Regeneration held in Pacific Grove, CA and presented a talk entitled, "Spinal Cord Regeneration in Adult Goldfish: Implications for Functional Recovery in Vertebrates". Prof. Zottoli will be on sabbatical leave for the 1994-95 academic year.
1960 Distinguished Visitors 1993-94
BIOLOGY COLLOQUIA
POSTGRADUATE PLANS OF BIOLOGY MAJORS