Harry A. Alden

 

Personal                     

3560 Brookeside Drive

Chesapeake Beach, MD  20732

410-286-8722

halden@comcast.net

Myers/Briggs Personality Assessment: ENTJ (Reformed)

 

Education

1977-1981                               Millersville University, Millersville, PA (MU), BS Biology (cum laude)

1981-1984                               University of California, Davis, CA (UCD), MS Botany

1984-1985                               University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (UW), RA/TA Botany

1989-1993                               Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL (FSU), Ph.D. Biology

                                               

Professional Experience

2006                        Adjunct Faculty (teaching BIO-1010 Botany lecture & lab), College of Southern Maryland, Prince Frederick, MD.

1997-2005               Microscopist (microscopic analysis of objects from archaeological and fine arts contexts, teaching in microscopy and microscopic analysis, digital image analysis) GS-401-12, Smithsonian Center for Research and Education, Smithsonian Institution, Museum Support Center, Suitland, MD.

1993-1997                      Botanist (research and identification of temperate woods, general botanical questions & identifications), GS-430-11, Forest Products Laboratory, Center for Wood Anatomy Research, Madison, WI.

1992-1993                      Botanist (research and identification of temperate woods, general botanical questions & identifications), GS-430-7, Forest Products Laboratory, Center for Wood Anatomy Research, Madison, WI.

1991-1992               Teaching Assistant (Field Botany & Plant Morphology/Anatomy), Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.

1990-1991               Research Assistant (Land Steward for Nature Conservancy & assisted in development of Ecological Management Plan for Dog Island, Florida, in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy), Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.

1989-1990               Teaching Assistant (General Botany), Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.

1986-1989               Adjunct Assistant Professor (Wood Science & Identification, Identification of Biological Materials in Works of Art), University of Delaware, Art Conservation Department, Newark, DE and Wood Researcher/Wood Identification Specialist, Winterthur Museum and Gardens, Winterthur, DE.

1985-1986               Biological Aide (data collection and temperate wood identifications), GS-3, Forest Products Laboratory, Center for Wood Anatomy Research, Madison, WI.

1984-1985               Research Assistant (SEM analysis of somatic embryos) and Teaching Assistant (General Botany) University of Wisconsin, Botany Department, Madison WI.

1981-1984               Research Assistant (microscopic analysis of various plants); Supervisor: Dr. E.M. Gifford and Teaching Assistant (Plant Anatomy, Plant Morphology, General Botany, General Biology); Supervisors: (Drs. Gifford, Thornton & Rost) University of California, Botany Department, Davis, CA.

1977-1981               Student Assistant (management of campus greenhouse, plant anatomy research) Millersville University, Department of Biological Science, Millersville, PA.

1970-1977               Chef/Cook, Lancaster County, PA

 

 

 

 

 

Membership In Professional Societies

1979-Present

Botanical Society of America

1986-1989

Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology

1987-1997

International Association of Wood Anatomists

1991-1993

Association of Southern Biologists

1998-Present

State Microscopical Society of Illinois

2005 – Present

American Association of Museums

               

Service In Professional Societies

1980-1981

Vice President, Millersville University Botany Club

1983-1984

Education Policy & Teaching Program Development Committee, University of California

1984-1985

Graduate Fellowship Committee, University of California

1986-1989

Admissions Committee, Art Conservation Dept., University of  Delaware

1987-1988

Curriculum Committee (Chair), Art Conservation Dept., University of Delaware

 

Academic Honors/Awards

1981        Graduated cum laude, Biology Millersville University

                Outstanding Biologist of the Year Award Millersville University

1983        Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award (nomination only), University of California at Davis

1985        Certificate of Merit, Forest Products Lab, Center for Wood Anatomy Research, Madison, WI

1991        Ellen Griffin Scholarship, National Council of State Garden Clubs, Florida State University

1992        Certificate of Merit, Forest Products Lab, Center for Wood Anatomy Research, Madison, WI

1993        Certificate of Merit, Forest Products Lab, Center for Wood Anatomy Research, Madison, WI

1994        Certificate of Merit, Forest Products Lab, Center for Wood Anatomy Research, Madison, WI

1995        Certificate of Merit, Forest Products Lab, Center for Wood Anatomy Research, Madison, WI

2005        Certificate of Appreciation and Service, Intelligence Community POW/MIA Analytic Cell, Defense                                  Intelligence Agency

 

Publications

  1. Dobbins, D.R., H. Alden, and D. Marvel. 1983. Developmental anatomy of juvenile and adult phases of Marcgravia rectifolia L. American Journal of Botany 70(9):1263-1271.
  2. Alden. H. A. 1989. Collector's Notes on Horseflesh Mahogany. Antiques, May:1102-1106.
  3. Alden, H.A. 1993. The Effects of Hurricane Winds and Fire on the Growth and Developmental Anatomy of Secondary Xylem in Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) from Cape Saint George Island, Franklin County, Florida, USA. Ph.D. Thesis, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
  4. Alden, Harry A. 1995. Hardwoods of North America. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL-GTR-83. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. 136 pp.

5.        Alden, Harry A. 1997. Softwoods of North America. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL-GTR-102. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. 151 pp.

  1. Kretschmann, D.E., H.A. Alden & S.P. Verrill. 1998. Variations of microfibril angle in loblolly pine: comparing iodine crystallization and x-ray diffraction techniques. In: Significance of Microfibril Angle to Wood Quality. B.G. Butterfield, ed. IAWA, Westport New Zealand.

7.        Alden, H.A. and Alvaro E. Galvis 2004. On The Trail of the Fathers: The Serendipitous Santos. Microscopy Today (cover) 12(4):8-12.

8.        Millar, C.I., John C. King, Robert D. Westfall, Harry A. Alden and Diane L. Delany. 2004. High-elevation response of conifers to climate change in the Sierra Nevada and Western great basin, USA: treeline           elevation is not the primary effect. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #U53A-0707.

  1. Millar, C.I., R.D. Westfall, D.L. Delany J.C. King and H.A. Alden. 2004. Responses of high-elevation Sierran and Great Basin pines to late Holocene decadal- and century-scale climate variability. Poster presented at the Mountain Climate Sciences Symposium, May 25-27, 2004, Kings Beach, CA.
  2. Goldberg, A. and H. Alden. (2005, In Press) Haptanthaceae, a new dicot family from Honduras. Systematic Botany.
  3. Alden, H.A., Roland H. Cunningham, Kevin Ryan, Paul T. Jantzen and David R. Dobbins. 2005. “Objects Worthy of Notice.” Microscopical anatomy of selected plants collected by The Lewis & Clark Expedition. Microscopy Today (cover) 13(3):8-17.
  4. Millar, C.I., John C. King, Robert D. Westfall, Harry A. Alden and Diane L. Delany. 2005. Late Holocene Forest             Dynamics, Volcanism, and Climate Change at Whitewing Mountain and San Joaquin Ridge, Mono County,       Sierra Nevada, CA, USA. Quaternary Research (in review).
  5. Dussubieux, L., Dan Naedel, Roland Cunningham, Harry Alden and Mary W. Ballard. 2005. Accuracy, Precision and Investigation: Mordant Analysis on Antique Textiles by various methods. Meeting: 14th Triennial Meeting of the International Council of Museums--Conservation Committee. Date: September 12-16, 2005 (Den Hag, The Netherlands).
  6. Millar, C.I., H.A. Alden, D.L. Delany, J.C. King, and R.D. Westfall. 2007. (In Press). Climate change and volcanic eruptions: clues from old wood in the Glass Creek watershed, eastern Sierra Nevada, CA. Quaternary Research.

 

Invited Papers And Posters

  1. Alden, H.A. 1988. Identity and preservation of wooden materials from the H.M.S. DeBraak. Presented at the Calvert Marine Museum, St. Leonard, MD.
  2. Alden, H.A. 1988. Analysis and conservation of waterlogged wood. Presented at SUNY, Buffalo, Art Conservation Program.
  3. Alden, H.A. 1988. Biodeterioration of wood. Presented at SUNY, Buffalo, Art Conservation Program.
  4. Alden, H.A. 1988. Identification of biological materials used in objects d’Art. Presented at SUNY, Buffalo, Art Conservation Program.
  5. Alden, H.A. 1989. Research on materials of biological origin at Winterthur Museum. Conservation Analytical Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
  6. Alden, H.A. 1995. Softwood Identification for Archaeologists. The Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson. April 27th, 1995.
  7. Alden, H.A. 2000. Pray Let These Remain: Microscopical analysis of the contents of a time capsule from the Strait of Magellan, left by the HMS Adventure (1830). Inter/Micro-2000 Meeting, June 28, 2000, Chicago, IL.
  8. Alden, H.A. 2000. Wood anatomy and identification of the remains of a 600 year-old forest from the Sierra Nevada at Whitewing Mountain, California. Inter/Micro-2000 Meeting, June 28, 2000, Chicago, IL.
  9. Alden, H.A. 2001. The basis of “fiber” identification. A plant anatomists view. Eastern Analytical Symposium, Atlantic City, NJ.
  10. Alden, H.A. 2004. Preliminary evaluation of selected plant material from the Lewis & Clark expedition. Carnegie Mellon University lecture series.
  11. Alden, H.A. 2004. Preliminary evaluation of selected plant material from the Lewis & Clark expedition. Senator John Heinz Museum, Pittsburgh, PA (SI Affiliate) 2 lectures as part of their Lewis & Clark bicentennial celebration.
  12. Millar, C.I., R.D. Westfall, D.L. Delany J.C. King and H.A. Alden. 2004. Late Holocene dynamics of the Glass Creek watershed, Sierra Nevada; Forest history, volcanism, & climate change. Abstract of invited talk. Proceedings 21st annual PACLIM Workshop, March 2004, Asilomar, Pacific Grove, CA.
  13. Alden, H.A. 2005. All that’s gold does not glitter: Analysis of textiles from the Midas Tumulus MM, Gordion, Turkey. College of Southern Maryland, Prince Frederick, MD.

 

Offered Papers And Posters

  1. Alden, H.A. 1981. The developmental anatomy of juvenile and adult phases of Marcgravia rectifolia L.. Pennsylvania Academy of Science Meeting, Lancaster, PA.
  2. Croxdale, J., H.A. Alden, B.J. Nikolau, T. Ulrich & E.S. Wurtele. 1985. Presence of Acetyl-CoA carboxylase and occurrence of cuticle in somatic embryos of carrots. Croxdale presented it at ASPP Meetings, Davis, CA (6/24/85). Abstract in Plant Physiology 77(4).
  3. Alden, H.A. 1989. Wood analysis from the H.M.S. DeBraak. First Joint Archaeological Congress, Baltimore, MD.
  4. Alden, H.A. 1992. The Effects of Hurricane Winds and Fire on the Growth and Developmental Anatomy of Secondary Xylem in Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) from Cape Saint George Island, Franklin County, Florida, USA. (Ph.D. thesis). ASB meetings, Tuscaloosa AL.
  5. Rajer, A., H.A. Alden & J. Hackney. 1995. A preliminary report on conservation research into the rural art parks of Wisconsin. Rajer presented it at the AIC 23rd Annual Meeting, St. Paul MN (6/4/95-6/11/95). AIC Objects Specialty Group Postprints, 3:130-137.
  6. Alden, H.A., R.B. Miller & E.J. Burke. 1996. Microscopic separation of lodgepole (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) based on ray and axial resin duct anatomy. Alden presented it at the AIBS meetings, Seattle WA (8/3/96-8/8/96). Am. J. Bot. 83(6):32-33.
  7. Kretschmann, D.E., H.A. Alden & S.P. Verrill. 1997. Variations of microfibril angle in loblolly pine: comparing iodine crystallization and x-ray diffraction techniques. Kretschmann presented at Significance of Microfibril Angle to Wood Quality. (11/21/97-11/26/97). University of Canterbury Field Station, Westport New Zealand.
  8. Alden, H.A. 1997. The ethnobotany of natural resins. Lecture in Furniture Conservation Training Program, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education.
  9. Alden, H.A. 1998. The ethnobotany of natural dyes. Lecture in Furniture Conservation Training Program, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education.
  10. Alden, H.A. & A.C. Wiedenhoeft. 1998. Qualified determination of provenance of wood of the firs (Abies spp. Mill.) Using microscopic features of rays: an aid to conservators, curators and art historians. Poster at 26th American Institute of Conservation Annual Meeting, June 1-7, 1998, Arlington, VA.
  11. Alden, H.A. 1998. Scientific limits of microscopic wood analysis of objects d’art. Poster at 26th American Institute of Conservation Annual Meeting, June 1-7, 1998, Arlington, VA.
  12. Alden, H.A. 1999. Microarchaeology of a royal tomb at Copán, Honduras. Inter/Micro-99 Meeting, June 30, 1999, Chicago, IL.
  13. Alden, H.A. 1999. Preliminary evaluation of selected plant material from the Lewis & Clark expedition. Inter/Micro-99 Meeting, June 30, 1999, Chicago, IL.
  14. Alden, H.A. and Ron H. Cunningham, 2004. What the Heck is That? : The creation of a microscopical database/atlas for the identification of North American ethnobotanical materials – a national collaborative effort. Inter/Micro-99 Meeting, July, 2004, Chicago, IL.

15.     Alden, H.A. and Alvaro E. Galvis 2004. On The Trail of the Fathers: The Case of the Serendipitous Santos. Inter/Micro-99 Meeting, July, 2004, Chicago, IL.

  1. Alden, H.A., Anne Murray, Dan Naedel, Roland H. Cunningham and Will Casavan. 2005. Hair of the Dog, or How        Blanket Fibers can Get Your Goat. Inter/Micro-05 Meeting, July, 2005, Chicago, IL.
  2. Alden, H.A. Odds and Sods, Part 3: Microscopical Short Stories from the Smithsonian. Inter/Micro-05 Meeting, July, 2005, Chicago, IL.

 

Other Research Experience

Millersville University – Departmental honors courses: “Ontogeny of leaf primordia and developmental anatomy of leaves in the juvenile and adult phases of Marcgravia rectifolia L.” and “The development of blue light induced, two dimensional growth in protonema of Woodwardia orientalis L.”

University of California (Davis) – Light microscopic studies of corn life cycle, ontogeny of celery genotypes, Glyphosate (Round Up) as a growth regulator and ontogeny & growth kinetics of Azolla spp. exposed to rice herbicides.

University of Wisconsin (Madison) – Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy of cuticle development on somatic carrot embryos.

Forest Products Laboratory – Cellulose microfibril angle and tracheid lengths as predictive characters of wood quality in loblloly pine.

University of Delaware – Microscopic separation of furniture woods (framed materials, clocks, New England cabriole furniture, Windsor furniture, and woods used in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Era, with special reference to the H.M.S. DeBraak.

The Florida State University – Supplemental inventory of flora and fauna of Dog Island. Development of Ecological Management Plan for Dog Island, Florida, in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy.

 

Curriculum Vitae

Subject

School

 

 

 

Biology

(MU)

Principles of Biology

Plant Physiology

Zoology

 

 

Developmental Biology

Plant Morphology

Aquatic Biology

 

 

Comp. Chordate Anatomy

Lower Plants

Ecology

 

 

Botany

Animal Physiology

Plant Anatomy

 

(UCD)

Genetics

Plant Ecology

Cytology

 

 

Electron Microscopy