Colin J. Gillespie (born 11 May 1941) is a writer, physicist, lawyer and strategic analyst. He is the author of some 30 scientific research publications in quantum physics, biophysics, neurophysiology and radiation biology. He has also written on social planning, class actions, aboriginal law, environmental management and indigenous constitutions. He has 40 years of experience as a strategic analyst for business and aboriginal clients. He is an avid traveller, having spent time in more than 50 countries in all six continents.
Life and career
Gillespie was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and raised in Evenley near Brackley in England and in Melbourne, Australia. He graduated from Melbourne Grammar School in 1958. In the next decade Australian artist Leon Schwengler was a strong influence on Gillespie's personal philosophy as well as his interest in science and subsequent scientific career. In 1961 he graduated from Melbourne University with a BSc, majoring in nuclear physics and minoring in mathematics and theory of statistics. He then attended Monash University, graduating in 1967 with a PhD in quantum mechanics.
He went on to do post-doctoral work in biophysics with the National Research Council of Canada (1967–1969), and research in neurophysiology and radiation biology with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (1970–1975). In 1971 with Gordon Gislason, Gillespie developed a program for sensitively measuring radiation-induced strand breaks in mammalian DNA. He became a consultant to aboriginal tribes on implications of hydro-electric development (1975–1977). He was a consultant in 1978 to the Alberta Cancer Hospitals Board and the Alberta Government Committee on Advanced Medical Technology. While working at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Alberta he developed a program for actuarial analysis of cancer survival with Adalei Starreveld and co-wrote with Donald Chapman a text on radiation physics, chemistry and biology in mammalian cells. Most recently he co-authored an editorial on "The Power of Biophysics" in the Red Journal.
Gillespie has been a visiting and invited lecturer at the Physics Department, Adelaide University, Australia; Biochemistry Department, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; Physics Department, Calgary University, Calgary, Canada; Animal Health Division, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne, Australia; Physics Department, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Canadian Biochemical & Biophysical Society inaugural lecture, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada; Neurobiology Division, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States; L.H. Gray Laboratories, London, United Kingdom; Institute for Atomic Energy in Agriculture, Wageningen, Netherlands.
In 1978 Gillespie went to law school at the University of Manitoba and graduated in 1980 with a LL.B. He was admitted to the Manitoba Bar Association in 1981 and the Saskatchewan Bar in 1987. He specialised in environmental, aboriginal (and especially indigenous) as well as constitutional law. He also pursued a special interest in Aboriginal child protection at Weechi-it-te-win Family Services. Much of his work as a lawyer was for aboriginal clients, often pro bono. He negotiated or litigated settlement of claims against a hydro-electric utility and the governments of Manitoba and Canada. He was involved in settling a class action against paper companies and governments for mercury poisoning of tribes in Ontario. He was counsel to multi-national corporations on environmental licensing.
He was strategic counsel to a company that was building the world's first commercial spaceport at the site of the former Churchill Rocket Research Range and was involved in negotiating the purchase of surplus SS-25 intercontinental ballistic missiles from STC Complex in Russia.
He learned from tribal elders of the constitutions of two indigenous peoples, Pimicikamak and the Anishinabe Nation in Treaty No. 3, and their respective governments and helped them bring these up to date. He worked on cases in the Supreme Court of Canada, most notably the case on whether the Government of Canada could unilaterally patriate the constitution of Canada from the United Kingdom and the case concerning the validity of laws in Manitoba that were made in English and not French.
Research Fellow, National Research Council of Canada(1967–1969)Research Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited(1970–1976)Consultant on implications of hydro-electric development (1975–1977)Consultant to Alberta Cancer Hospitals Board & Alberta Government Committee on Advanced Medical Technology (1977–1978)Co-authored an editorial on "The Power of Biophysics" in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and PhysicsAssociate, Taylor Brazzell McCaffrey(1981–1982) Partner, Taylor McCaffrey (1983–2007), managing partner (1988–1989), senior counsel (2007–2010)Adjunct Professor, University of Manitoba, Faculty of Graduate Studies] (2000–2007)The unilateral patriation case (Man. C.A. and S.C.C.)The Bilodeau case (s. 27 of the Manitoba Act) (Man. C.A. and S.C.C.)The Air Canada et al. sales tax case (S.C.C.)Westco Storage Ltd. v. Inter-City Gas Utilities Ltd. (C.A.; S.C.C. leave denied)Old St. Boniface Residents Association v. City of Winnipeg (C.A.; S.C.C.)American Association for the Advancement of ScienceBiophysical SocietyCanadian Institute for Administration of JusticeCanadian Bar AssociationSelden SocietySociety of Professionals in Dispute Resolutionvice-president Canadian Mental Health Association Winnipeg Regionchairperson Strategic Planning Committee, chairperson Housing Appeal Boardmember-at-large Manitoba Advisory Committee on Sustainable Development Implementationdirector & president Social Planning Council of Winnipegdirector Canadian Council on Children and Youthcampaign chairperson of YM/YWCA International Development CommitteeCommonwealth Scholarship (1959)Monash Post-Graduate Scholarship (1961–1967)National Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellowship (1967–1970)William Rachman Prize for Legal Research & Writing (1979)University of Manitoba Alumni Association Scholarship (1979)Cathy Turner Prize in Evidence (1980)Alf Francis Memorial Prize (1980)Hon. Mr. Justice Hudson Prize in Jurisprudence (1981)Law Society of Manitoba Prize (1981)Gillespie, C.J. (1966). "Electron Tunneling between Superconducting Thin Films". In Tomlin, S.G. The Physics of Thin Films. University of Adelaide Press. p. 121. Gillespie, C. J. (1967). "Effects of Film Geometry on Superconductive Tunneling". Journal of Applied Physics. 38 (6): 2615. Bibcode:1967JAP....38.2615G. doi:10.1063/1.1709957. Gillespie, C.J. (1967). Study of Superconductors by Electron Tunneling (Doctoral Thesis). Monash University. Gillespie, C.J. (1970). "Ion sorption and the potential profile near a model lecithin membrane". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes. 203: 47–61. doi:10.1016/0005-2736(70)90034-9. Gillespie, C.J. (1970). "Ion sorption and the potential profile near a model lecithin membrane". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes. 203: 47–61. doi:10.1016/0005-2736(70)90034-9. Gislason, G.S.; Gillespie, C.J. (1971). A Fortran Program to Analyse Sedimentation Profiles of Irradiated DNA (Report No. 61). Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment. Gillespie, C.J. (1971). "The Energy of Cation-Anion Pairs in a Lecithin Membrane". Biophysical Society Abstracts. 11: 11A. Gillespie, CJ; Gislason, GS; Dugle, DL; Chapman, JD (1972). "Random break analysis of DNA sedimentation profiles". Radiation research. 51 (2): 272–9. JSTOR 3573608. PMID 5065728. doi:10.2307/3573608. Dugle, D.L.; Gillespie, C.J. (1972). "Sedimentation of High Molecular Weight Single Strand DNA from Mammalian Cells". Radiation Research Society Abstracts: 4. Dugle, D.L.; Chapman, J.D.; Gillespie, C.J.; Borsa, J.; Webb, R.G.; Meeker, B.E.; Reuvers, A.P. (1972). "Radiation-induced Strand Breakage in Mammalian Cell DNA". International Journal of Radiation Biology. 22 (6): 545–555. doi:10.1080/09553007214551451. Gillespie, C.J. (1973). "Towards a molecular theory of the nerve membrane". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 40 (3): 409–28. PMID 4754889. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(73)90001-5. Gillespie, C.J. (1973). "Towards a molecular theory of the nerve membrane: The significance of the quasithreshold behaviour". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 42 (3): 519–31. PMID 4766750. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(73)90244-0. Gillespie, C.J. (1973). "The Validity of the Independence Principle and the Constant Field Equation". Biophysical Journal. 13: 165A. Gillespie, C.J. (1973). "Towards a molecular theory of the nerve membrane: Prediction of the maximum negative conductance". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 42 (3): 533–43. PMID 4766751. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(73)90245-2. Dugle, D.L.; Campbell, C.E.; Meeker, B.E.; Gillespie, C.J. (1973). "Correlation between lethality and DNA single-strand breaks in Bacillus subtilis cells treated with N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine". Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis. 18 (3): 237–245. doi:10.1016/0027-5107(73)90206-6. "Kinetics of the Single-Strand Repair Mechanism in Mammalian Cells", D.L. Dugle & C.J. Gillespie, in Molecular Mechanisms for Repair of DNA, eds. P.C. Hanawalt & R.B. Setlow, Plenum Press, New York (1975) vol. B, 685."Survival of X-Irradiated Hamster Cells: Analysis in Terms of the Chadwick-Leenhouts Model", C.J. Gillespie, J.D. Chapman, A.P. Reuvers & D.L. Dugle, in Cell Survival after Low Doses of Radiation: Theoretical and Clinical Implications, ed. T. Alper, The Institute of Physics & John Wiley, London (1975), 25.Gillespie, C. J.; Chapman, J. D.; Reuvers, A. P.; Dugle, D. L. (1975). "The Inactivation of Chinese Hamster Cells by X Rays: Synchronized and Exponential Cell Populations". Radiation Research. 64 (2): 353–64. JSTOR 3574271. PMID 1197645. doi:10.2307/3574271. "Radioprotectors, Radiosensitizers, and the Shape of the Mammalian Cell Survival Curve", J.D. Chapman, C.J. Gillespie, A.P. Reuvers & D.L. Dugle, in Cell Survival after Low Doses of Radiation: Theoretical and Clinical Implications, ed. T. Alper, The Institute of Physics & John Wiley, London (1975), 135.Chapman, J. D.; Gillespie, C. J.; Reuvers, A. P.; Dugle, D. L. (1975). "The Inactivation of Chinese Hamster Cells by X Rays: The Effects of Chemical Modifiers on Single- and Double-Events". Radiation Research. 64 (2): 365–75. JSTOR 3574272. PMID 1197646. doi:10.2307/3574272. "Radiation Inactivation of Mammalian Cells by Single- and Double-Events", J.D. Chapman, A.P. Reuvers & C.J. Gillespie, Biophysical Journal (1975) 15, 17A."Chemical Radiosensitization Studies with Mammalian Cells Growing in Vitro", J.D. Chapman, D.L. Dugle, A.P. Reuvers, C.J. Gillespie & J. Borsa, in Radiation Research – Biomedical, Chemical and Physical Perspectives, eds. O.F. Nygaard, H.I. Adler & W.K. Sinclair Academic Press, New York, (1975) 752.Gillespie, C.J. (1976). "Towards a molecular theory of the nerve membrane: The sufficiency of a single-ion queue". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 58 (2): 477–98. PMID 940336. doi:10.1016/S0022-5193(76)80132-4. Gillespie, C.J.; Dugle, D.L.; Chapman, J.D.; Reuvers, A.P.; Doern, S.D. (1976). "DNA Damage and Repair in Relation to Mammalian Cell Survival: Implications for Microdosimetry". Symposium on Microdosimetry. Euratom, Commission of the European Communities. p. 799. Chapman, J.D.; Reuvers, A.P.; Doern, S.D.; Gillespie, C.J.; Dugle, D.L. (1976). "Radiation Chemical Probes in the Study of Mammalian Cell Inactivation and their Influence on Radiobiological Effectiveness". Symposium on Microdosimetry. Euratom, Commission of the European Communities. p. 775. Gillespie, C.J. (1976). "Towards a molecular theory of the nerve membrane: Inactivation". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 60 (1): 19–35. PMID 957709. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(76)90153-3. Dugle, D. L.; Gillespie, C. J.; Chapman, J. D. (1976). "DNA Strand Breaks, Repair, and Survival in x-Irradiated Mammalian Cells". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 73 (3): 809–12. Bibcode:1976PNAS...73..809D. JSTOR 65515. PMC 336008 . PMID 1062792. doi:10.1073/pnas.73.3.809. Gillespie, C.J. (1976). "Social Planning Issues in the North". Canadian Institute of Planners Forum: 10. Chapman, JD; Doern, SD; Reuvers, AP; Gillespie, CJ; Chatterjee, A; Blakely, EA; Smith, KC; Tobias, CA (1979). "Radioprotection by DMSO of mammalian cells exposed to X-rays and to heavy charged-particle beams". Radiation and Environmental Biophysics. 16 (1): 29–41. PMID 572979. doi:10.1007/BF01326894. Chapman, J.D.; Gillespie, C.J. (1981). "Radiation-Induced Events and Their Time Scale in Mammalian Cells". In Lett, J.T. Advances in Radiation Biology. New York: Academic Press. pp. 9, 143. Gillespie, C.J. (1981). "The Scope of the Class Action in Canada". Manitoba Law Journal. 11: 215. Gillespie, C.J. (Spring 1987). "On Public Appropriation of Indian Water Rights" (PDF). Resources. 18 (4). Gillespie, C.J. (1990). "Enforceable Rights from Administrative Guidelines?". Canadian Journal of Administrative Law and Practice. 3: 204. McKernan, J.M.; Gillespie, C.J. (1993). "Environmental Regulatory Flexibility in Manitoba". Proc. AWMA. 151 (5). Gillespie, C.J.; McKernan, J.M. (1993). "Managing Environmental Assessments in Canada". Proc. AWMA. 151 (7). Gillespie, Colin (2004). The Nature and Legal Capacity of Pimicikamak and its Government. Taylor McCaffrey. Chapman, J. Donald; Gillespie, Colin J. (2012). "The Power of Radiation Biophysics—Let's Use It". International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics. 84 (2): 309–11. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2012.04.020. "This Changes Everything" (2012), Winnipeg: Big Fizz Inc."Time One: Discover How the Universe Began" (2013), Winnipeg: Big Fizz Inc.Colin Gillespie, "Before the Big Bang", Winnipeg Free Press, 24 January 2015, p. D4; http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/sci_tech/before-the-big-bang-289664731.htmlColin Gillespie, "The Supersymmetry Calamity", Winnipeg Free Press, 31 January 2015, p. D4; http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/sci_tech/the-supersymmetry-calamity-290413241.htmlColin Gillespie, "Physics and the Common Cold", Winnipeg Free Press, 7 March 2015, p. D4; http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/sci_tech/physics-and-the-common-cold-295461431.htmlColin Gillespie, "The Vax and Nothing but the Facts", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 April 2015, p. D4 http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/the-vax-and-nothing-but-the-facts-300441161.html
