External Posts

In a recent article in the Portland Press Herald Herb Wilson, the Leslie Brainerd Arey Professor of Biosciences, Emeritus, updates readers on fieldwork for the Maine Breeding Bird Atlas, a statewide project that now, at the end of the breeding season, has completed the third year of fieldwork in this five-year project. "The state has been divided up into nearly 5,000 blocks, each about nine square miles in area. About 1,000 of these blocks are designated as “priority blocks.” At a bare minimum, Atlas participants will devote 15-20 hours to each of these blocks to ensure thorough coverage of the state," Wilson writes. He goes on to compare bird populations since the fieldwork for the first atlas, from 1978 through 1983. "In the first atlas, tufted titmouse appeared in only 13 of the blocks, mostly in York and Cumberland Counties. What a difference 40 years makes. The current atlas shows titmice broadly nesting in the lower half of our state with breeding records as far north as Caratunk and Dover-Foxcroft."

Assistant Professors of Environment Studies Stacy-ann Robinson and Gail Carlson, along with Hania Lincoln Lenderking '20, have coauthored a review of recent academic studies on the impacts of climate change on food security in the Caribbean. It finds that climate change will impact agriculture and fisheries mainly through changing patterns of weather, air and sea surface temperatures, and water availability. It concludes that successful adaptation to these impacts should involve region-specific solutions and local communities. The review is published in the International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology. 

An interactive art installation by Hannen (Hannah) Wolfe, assistant professor of computer science, and their collaborators has won the Best in Show - Art Gallery at SIGGRAPH 2020, the world’s leading computer graphics and interactive techniques conference. Their piece, Cacophonic Choir, "addresses the ways that sexual assault survivors' experiences are distorted by digital and mass media and its effect. The installation is composed of distributed agents in space that individually respond by becoming visually bright, semantically coherent, and sonically clear, revealing original testimonies of survivors," according to Business Wire, which covered the awards.  Click here to read an interview with Wolfe and their collaborators.

Liam O'Brien, professor of mathematics and statistics, coauthored a paper recently published in the British Journal of Radiology titled "Linear Mixed-effects models for estimation of pulmonary metastasis growth rate: implications for CT surveillance in patients with sarcoma." Their work advances the field by showing that "CT surveillance intervals for pulmonary metastases can be estimated based on metastasis growth rate. There was significant variation in the pulmonary metastasis growth rate between metastases within patient and between patients. Pulmonary nodule volume growth followed an exponential model, linear in time," according to their paper.

Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Liam O'Brien and Alane O'Connor '96 have coauthored a paper published in the Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine. Titled "Implications of perinatal buprenorphine exposure on infant head circumference at birth," their research shows that "head circumference in infants exposed to buprenorphine during pregnancy was not significantly different from national norms for either male infants or female infants."

Robert Gastaldo, the Whipple-Coddington Professor of Geology, has coedited a new textbook Nature Through Time (Springer, 2020). Starting from the initial colonization of land about 430 million years ago to today, the book traces the changes primarily in terrestrial ecosystems from the world around us. The book, with 14 chapters and 96 different contributors from across the world, includes all levels of the biosphere—plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. In addition to being a coeditor, Gastaldo is the lead author on two chapters and a contributor to a third. "Previous textbooks at the university level have taken a 'forward-in-time' march from early plants and animals, with coverage of groups of organisms," said Gastaldo. "Here, we have used 'postcards' and case studies from around the globe, covering specific points in geologic time to demonstrate how what we know about our planet today is rooted deeply in its past. And how past diversification, extinction, and Earth Systems events have played their roles in the planet’s biodiversity."

Colby was highlighted in a Wall Street Journal article on managing a potential virus outbreak. The story referenced how the College was “bringing students back with a comprehensive testing protocol” and that it had “set out plans for four color-coded levels of operation” impacting classrooms, dining halls, etc. if needed.

A July 31 article titled "Four Colleges on the Fall Semester" in Politico on return to campus plans led with and featured Colby. When asked if some colleges won't survive the pandemic, President David Greene noted that Colby is very strong. “In a normal year, we would have 2,000 students on campus. We have 2,100 students now who said they’re going to be here this fall,” he said.

Both the Washington Post and Associated Press included Colby again in stories about the coming fall semester. Both articles, which published July 31, were also picked up by a significant amount of other media, including leading papers like the San Francisco Chronicle.

Tiffany Lomax has been named the College’s first director of recreation services. Lomax, who currently serves as associate director of wellness, recreation, and campus events at Delaware State University, will assume her role in August. Lomax will be responsible for launching an integrated program—including intramural and club sports—a multi-layered fitness program, meditation and mindfulness experiences, and for working with student leaders to provide the campus community with varying options to stay active and develop healthy life habits. She will work closely with members of the Colby Athletics Department as well as the Office of the Dean of the College to expand the program so all students can engage with the offerings. “An active and healthy lifestyle is an important part of the Colby experience for all students,” said Vice President and Harold Alfond Director of Athletics Mike Wisecup. “Tiffany’s talent, passion, and deep background in recreational services and her ability to collaborate across departments will play a key role in helping to elevate our program across campus as well as the broader Waterville community. We’re incredibly excited to have her join our team.” With the opening of the new athletics and recreation center coinciding with having Lomax in this inaugural directorship role, Colby is positioned to be one of the nation’s leaders in collegiate recreation, wellness, and fitness. From participating in meditation, yoga, aquatic, or spin classes in the new fitness studios to challenging themselves in the three-floor fitness center or on the state-of-the-art climbing wall, the student population will benefit from Lomax’s leadership to fulfill their college experience in ways that will redefine the potential of what colleges have to offer in the world of recreation. “Building out the College’s recreational opportunities for our community and especially our students has been a goal for years,” said Dean of the College Karlene Burrell-McRae ’94. “At Colby we understand the importance of living well and have valued having recreational opportunities as an additional asset to our academic program to help guide our students to an amazing and comprehensive collegiate experience in search of growth, knowledge, and health. We are excited Tiffany is joining our team and are certain every student at Colby will benefit from the many ways the new athletics and recreation center will help this program flourish.” In addition to Delaware State University, Lomax spent time at The George Washington University as well as with the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. In July, Campus Rec magazine named Lomax one of its five African-American women leaders in campus recreation. “I’m extremely excited to join Colby College and help develop a robust recreation program with the support of various campus partners that will serve Colby and the greater Waterville community,” Lomax said. “Recreation has provided me with positive healthy behaviors, social engagement opportunities, professional development, and a sense of belonging to my campus community. I’m thrilled to enhance these opportunities for all students on Mayflower Hill.” Lomax is an active committee member of the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association. She has a master’s degree in sports administration from Delaware State University and will complete her doctoral degree in educational leadership later this year.