Dr. Rodney Elbert Harrington graduated in 1953 with a B.A. in chemistry from the University of South Dakota, Phi Beta Kappa. During that time, he witnessed the first successful test of the hydrogen bomb on Nov. 1, 1952, on the Enewetak Atoll in Marshall Islands aboard a Liberty ship in the Pacific. It made a lasting impression on him for the rest of his life and on his attitude about wars. 

In 1956 he attended the University of California, Berkley. He received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry/chemical physics from the University of Washington in 1960 and spent his postdoctoral years 1960-1962 at the University of California, San Diego. He fondly remembered La Jolla, where his research career began in DNA structure/function relationships.

In 1962, he became an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Arizona, and a year later moved to the University of California, Davis, where he became a full professor (1963-1973). He became chair of chemistry at the University of Nevada, Reno (1973-1979) at which time his research led him to join the department of biochemistry, School of Medicine (1980-1995). 

His final academic position (1995-2002) was research professor of biochemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology at Arizona State University. Rod's research has contributed to understanding the dynamic nature of DNA and chromatin structure interactions with proteins, highlighting the significance of DNA bending, twisting, and flexibility in regulating biological processes such as gene expression and tumor suppression, resulting in more than 170 refereed scientific publications. 

He was elected Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Physical Society. 

He finished his career in science and research at Arizona State University and retired to Dutch Neck in Waldoboro in 2002.

He is survived by his wife, of nearly 47 years, Ilga Winicov Harrington; two daughters; two stepsons; and five grandchildren.

A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at the Emmaus Lutheran Church, at 265 Middle Road in Falmouth. A small reception will follow. 

Donations in Rod's memory may be made to Emmaus Lutheran church or Friends of Kotzschmar Organ fund.