As part of a seed grant project between Hampden-Sydney and Virginia Tech for the development of research opportunities in bioengineering, the Biology Department has received a 3D printer for classroom and research purposes.  As the summer research season kicks off at the College, the timing of this new acquisition could not be better:

Tyler McGaughey ’18, Jason Pough ’19, and Brian Tarnai ’20 install and set up the new printer

The first student project that will take place using the printer will be the construction of filter structures that can be used to clean local streams and lakes.  The project is well-positioned for both undergraduate research and extension to the Department’s ongoing high school outreach program.

This lawn gnome is the first creation of the new H-SC Biology 3D printer

The Biology Class of 2017 has achieved great things in their four years at the College, and we will miss their presence in Gilmer Hall.  Best of luck to all of our graduates!

DJ Bines                                         Fletcher Borum

Brant Boucher                                Blake Brown

Robbie Bugbee                              Josh Chamberlin

Alex Crabtree                                 Tazewell DelDonna

William Echols                                Gannon Griffin

Treavor Hartwell                             Ryan Kluk

James Lau                                     Zach Martin

Traylor Nichols                               Tyler Reekes

Reuben Retnam                             Zach Tabrani

Harris Thomas                               Mitchell Thomas

Joey Tyler                                      Thomas Vinyard

Dustin Wiles                                  Michael Willis

A.J. Willy                                       John Zohab

The Hampden-Sydney Biology Department was well represented at the College’s Final Convocation, an award ceremony recognizing outstanding academic achievement during the 2016-17 year.

The James R.T. Hewett Biology in recognition of outstanding achievement in the Biology Department was given to James Lau ’17.  James graduated as the Valedictorian of the Class of 2017 and will be attending Eastern Virginia Medical School in the fall.

James Lau ’17 receives the Hewett Biology award from Chair of Biology Alex Werth

The H.B. Overcash Prize for outstanding achievement among pre-health junior students was awarded to Nicholas Chase ’18.

Dr. Werth enthusiastically awards the Overcash Prize to Nicholas Chase

The two Sophomore Academic Excellence Awards for highest GPA in the sophomore class were both given to biologists.  First awarded was Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major Blake Martin ’19.

Director of the Office of Academic Success Lisa Burns presents Blake Martin ’19 with his award.

Next awarded was Biology major Coleman Johnson ’19.

Coleman Johnson ’19 with Director Burns

Finally, to show that Biology majors appreciate the full gamut of the liberal arts, Biology major David Bushhouse ’19 received the Sallie Wright Harrison award from the Department of English for his poem which considered the origins of his last name.

Dr. Steele Nowlin, Chair of the Department of English, and David Bushhouse ’19

This year, Hampden-Sydney sent two of its students, Brant Boucher ’17 and Jason Halmo ’17, accompanied Associate Professor of Biology Mike Wolyniak to the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology  (ASBMB) in Chicago.  Part of the Experimental Biology federation of 6 biology professional societies, ASBMB is an international gathering of scientists and one of the premiere opportunities to explore the frontiers of biochemistry and molecular biology.

Jason Halmo and Brant Boucher at the meeting

Both Jason and Brant presented work done as part of their work done jointly between the Biology and Chemistry departments.  The work was presented both at an undergraduate-only session as well as the general session for the entire meeting.  Jason presented his work on the characterization of chemical and genetic differences in hopped meads done between Dr. Wolyniak and Associate Professor of Chemistry Paul Mueller.

Halmo presents his work to fellow undergraduates.

Halmo also coordinated an outreach initiative, the Prince Edward County Environmental Molecular Biology Institute (PECEMBI) with Dr. Wolyniak.  Funded in part by a grant from the ASBMB, PECEMBI brought a long-term research project to the students of Prince Edward County High School with outreach support from Hampden-Sydney students and faculty.  Both Halmo and Wolyniak presented a poster on PECEMBI at the meeting.

Presenting at the Public Outreach Poster Session

Boucher’s work was jointly done by Dr. Wolyniak, Associate Professor of Biology Kristian Hargadon, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Rupak Due and focused on the development of bacterial biofilms on titanium bone replacement implants.

Brant Boucher presents his work

ASBMB is one of several national and international meetings that are regularly attended by Hampden-Sydney undergraduates as a culmination of their research work at the College.