Jim Challey has recently retired as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics and in the Program in Science, Technology and Society at Vassar College. Born and raised in North Dakota, Jim received a B.A. in mathematics at the University of North Dakota, and then did his graduate work in the history of science at Princeton. His teaching and research has focused on classical mechanics, the history of thermo-dynamics, the work of Albert Einstein, and the history of the automobile. Shortly after moving to Poughkeepsie in the early 1970’s he also became active in the local community. In the late 80s and early 90s he was elected to three terms as an alderman on the City of Poughkeepsie Common Council, where he concentrated on infrastructure and waterfront development and served as vice-mayor and acting mayor. In 2000-2001 he was elected to a term on the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie. During that time he helped create the Arlington Farmers Market, the Arlington Business Improvement District, and the re-design of Raymond Avenue. Currently he is the chair of the Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals and serves on the
boards of the Friends of Peach Hill and the Springside Restoration Landscape, Inc.