19
In 2003, I was fi rst introduced to Dick by his former postdoc David Zeddies
while David and I were both Grass Fellows at the MBL. I was initially very nervous
to meet the “great fi sh auditory physiologist” Richard Fay. I had read all his papers
and was especially interested in his earlier elasmobranch hearing research with Art
Popper. After initially meeting Dick, I was quickly put at ease when I realized how
easy it was to talk with him about research and science in general. Right away we
started to discuss possible projects regarding sound source localization with the
“west coast toadfi sh,” the plainfi n midshipman. The following year David Zeddies,
Dick Fay, and I set off to the UC Bodega Marine Lab in California to investigate the
plainfi n midshipman and sound source localization. We later successfully wrote an
NSF grant to support our Bodega research on sound localization, which eventually
led to four coauthored publications on the topic (Zeddies et al. 2010, 2011, 2012,
Coffi n et al. 2014). During this time, David and I looked forward to our annual
“Bodega research adventure” with Dick. I had some of the best times of my science
career working with Dick and David during those summers in Bodega. As Cathy
once mentioned not only did Dick fi nd the yearly trip to Bodega Bay to work with
the “midshipman” invigorating, he also loved the beauty of the area and the fabulous meals they all managed to cook while “roughing” it.
In 2008, Cathy retired and started a hobby that turned into a small business that
resulted in her building an arts and crafts studio on their Shearwater Farm. Her shop
is full of all kinds of paintings along with decorated rugs, trays, boxes, and wastebaskets. As Cathy put it, her hobby/business “became a nice way for her to calm
down and adjust to retirement after 20 deadline-driven years in the publishing business.” In 2011, Dick joined Cathy in retirement and they both spent time travelling
to Brazil and Ecuador to visit their daughter Amanda who was teaching in Quito. In
April 2013, while on vacation in Brazil Dick suffered a stroke and he is now steadily
improving and slowly regaining all his faculties. In 2014, the Fays spent 3 winter
months in Old San Juan Puerto Rico enjoying the warm weather and not missing the
very cold winter that gripped New England that year. They are defi nitely making
plans to go back soon. Cathy tells me that Dick is feeling good about his career and
in retirement is now happy to pursue writing a children’s book on Hearing in
Goldfi sh. I hear that Cathy is also very happy in retirement editing and illustrating
his recent work. At this point in his life, Dick says he has some good advice that he
would like to pass on: “Listen to Art Tatum, a genius jazz pianist whose music will
amaze your mind and soothe your soul. Start with “Deep Night.””
Many thanks to Cathy Fay for sharing much of the information presented here
that allowed me to tell you about Dick’s “other side.” Best “fi shes”!
The Publication List of Richard R. Fay
1. Fay, R.R. (1969a) Auditory sensitivity of the goldfi sh within the near acoustic
fi eld. U.S. Naval Submarine Medical Center, Submarine Base, Groton,
Connecticut, Report No. 605, 1-11.
2. Fay, R.R. and MacKinnon, J.R. (1969) A simplifi ed technique for conditioning respiratory mouth movements in fi sh. Behav. Res. Meth. & Instru . 1,
123-124.
A Most Interesting Man of Science: The Life and Research of Richard Rozzell Fay
In 2003, I was fi rst introduced to Dick by his former postdoc David Zeddies
while David and I were both Grass Fellows at the MBL. I was initially very nervous
to meet the “great fi sh auditory physiologist” Richard Fay. I had read all his papers
and was especially interested in his earlier elasmobranch hearing research with Art
Popper. After initially meeting Dick, I was quickly put at ease when I realized how
easy it was to talk with him about research and science in general. Right away we
started to discuss possible projects regarding sound source localization with the
“west coast toadfi sh,” the plainfi n midshipman. The following year David Zeddies,
Dick Fay, and I set off to the UC Bodega Marine Lab in California to investigate the
plainfi n midshipman and sound source localization. We later successfully wrote an
NSF grant to support our Bodega research on sound localization, which eventually
led to four coauthored publications on the topic (Zeddies et al. 2010, 2011, 2012,
Coffi n et al. 2014). During this time, David and I looked forward to our annual
“Bodega research adventure” with Dick. I had some of the best times of my science
career working with Dick and David during those summers in Bodega. As Cathy
once mentioned not only did Dick fi nd the yearly trip to Bodega Bay to work with
the “midshipman” invigorating, he also loved the beauty of the area and the fabulous meals they all managed to cook while “roughing” it.
In 2008, Cathy retired and started a hobby that turned into a small business that
resulted in her building an arts and crafts studio on their Shearwater Farm. Her shop
is full of all kinds of paintings along with decorated rugs, trays, boxes, and wastebaskets. As Cathy put it, her hobby/business “became a nice way for her to calm
down and adjust to retirement after 20 deadline-driven years in the publishing business.” In 2011, Dick joined Cathy in retirement and they both spent time travelling
to Brazil and Ecuador to visit their daughter Amanda who was teaching in Quito. In
April 2013, while on vacation in Brazil Dick suffered a stroke and he is now steadily
improving and slowly regaining all his faculties. In 2014, the Fays spent 3 winter
months in Old San Juan Puerto Rico enjoying the warm weather and not missing the
very cold winter that gripped New England that year. They are defi nitely making
plans to go back soon. Cathy tells me that Dick is feeling good about his career and
in retirement is now happy to pursue writing a children’s book on Hearing in
Goldfi sh. I hear that Cathy is also very happy in retirement editing and illustrating
his recent work. At this point in his life, Dick says he has some good advice that he
would like to pass on: “Listen to Art Tatum, a genius jazz pianist whose music will
amaze your mind and soothe your soul. Start with “Deep Night.””
Many thanks to Cathy Fay for sharing much of the information presented here
that allowed me to tell you about Dick’s “other side.” Best “fi shes”!
The Publication List of Richard R. Fay
1. Fay, R.R. (1969a) Auditory sensitivity of the goldfi sh within the near acoustic
fi eld. U.S. Naval Submarine Medical Center, Submarine Base, Groton,
Connecticut, Report No. 605, 1-11.
2. Fay, R.R. and MacKinnon, J.R. (1969) A simplifi ed technique for conditioning respiratory mouth movements in fi sh. Behav. Res. Meth. & Instru . 1,
123-124.
A Most Interesting Man of Science: The Life and Research of Richard Rozzell Fay