For the spring 2011 semester, Tyler Moore conducted an Independent Study on Waterfowl Ecology & Management with waterfowl biologists in North Carolina and Virginia, under the supervision of Dr. Rachel Goodman.

Tyler assisted with waterfowl banding at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks of NC with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC), and at a salt marsh on the Eastern Shore of VA with the VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF).

Waterfowl banding operations are important because they help monitor the distribution, harvest rates and survival rates for many waterfowl species. This data is important because it helps the agencies determine appropriate hunting regulations for each hunting season.

On Thursday April 21, a group of H-SC students from Dr. Goodman’s BIOL 185 Water Resources & Environmental Issues course (plus 1 volunteer from CKI) teamed up to build rain barrels.  These 41 barrels will be distributed at upcoming educational workshops run by Clean Virginia Waterways.

Rain barrels help the environment by conserving water, which does not have to be treated and pumped to the home if it is coming out of a barrel.

Also, rain barrels reduce runoff, which can cause erosion, plus carry fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals into streams where they are very damaging.

If your roof’s area is 1,200 square feet (30 x 40 feet), then 1 inch of rain equals more than 700 gallons! You can harvest this rainwater which otherwise would be lost to runoff.

For more information on upcoming workshops with rain barrels, visit Clean Virginia Waterways.

The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC) has awarded its inaugural William E. Betts, Jr. Undergraduate Science Research Fellowship to Hampden-Sydney’s Henry Loehr ’13 in support of his upcoming summer research project with Professor Mike Wolyniak.

William “Ping” Betts was a long-time friend of the VFIC, serving as an active trustee from 1970 to 1986 and moving to the distinguished level of Honorary Life Trustee in 1986 where he served until his death in 2009. In 1938 in Lynchburg, Ping and his friend, A. P. Montague Jr., founded the Montague-Betts Company, a structural steel fabricator of a number of major construction projects, including New York’s World Trade Center. Mr. Betts became chairman of the company in 1956 following the death of Mr. Montague and remained in the position until his death.

The Betts Fellowship will support a student at a Virginia independent college each year in their summer research work in the sciences.  Henry will use this fellowship to work with Professor Wolyniak this summer at Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH, on a molecular analysis of lines of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana that possess random disruptions across their genomes.

Henry Loehr '13

The biology department is pleased to award departmental honors to 3 of its graduating seniors: Robbie Oliver, Pranay Reddy, and Nate Thomas.  Each of these students completed a year-long independent research experience under the guidance of department faculty, wrote a thesis on their findings, and delivered a 30 minute public presentation of their results. Congratulations to all 3 of these students on their completion of these ambitious projects!

Robbie Oliver

Pranay Reddy

Nate Thomas

Pranay Reddy, a senior Biology major, recently delivered a poster presenation of his Honors Project research at the 2011 Virginia Collegiate Honors Council Spring Conference held at Marymount University.  Under the guidance of Dr. Kristian Hargadon, during his senior year Pranay conducted a genetic characterization of two mouse melanoma cell lines that exhibit different patterns of tumor outgrowth and immunosuppression.  Using microarray and RT-PCR analyses, Pranay identified a panel of genes expressed at different levels by these mouse melanomas.  Future work in Dr. Hargadon’s laboratory will utilize these data to evaluate the role played by particular tumor-derived factors in the suppression of dendritic cell maturation and activation.

Pranay Reddy presenting at the 2011 VCHC Conference

Pranay wowing the audience!!!

Osric Forrest ’12, a rising senior Biology major, was recently awarded a $1,000 Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research.  Sigma Xi is an honorary scientific research society designed to promote scientific research programs and honor scientific achievement.  The grant-in-aid of research award will be used to support Osric’s senior year Honors Project in Biology.  Under the guidance of Dr. Kristian Hargadon, Osric will be investigating the influence of tumor-altered dendritic cells on the activation of both killer and helper T cells!

As part of Hampden-Sydney’s Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow Program, former New Jersey Governor and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Christine Todd Whitman visited Dr. Rachel Goodman’s Water Resources and Environmental Issues Class.

Governor Whitman speaks in Dr. Goodman's class

Governor Whitman answered a host of student questions on current environmental policy, the problems and trade-offs facing society in the future with respect to water supplies and energy policy, and potential solutions for dealing with society’s most pressing needs in these areas.

Governor Whitman speaking with Dr. Goodman and one of her students

Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows connect a liberal education with the world beyond the campus by bringing thoughtful and successful practitioners to colleges for a week of classes and informal discussions with students and faculty. Fellows, who include government officials, business leaders, journalists, environmentalists, and medical ethicists, are matched with small colleges like Hampden-Sydney chosen for their commitment to the goals of the program. Together they help to equip students for the social, political, and economic settings they will enter and illuminate the roles they may play as professionals and informed citizens.

Dr. Goodman and Governor Whitman

Dr.  Amy Turmelle visited our campus and spoke to our students about her recent research and experiences working with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) out of Atlanta.  In the past couple years, she has traveled with a team of scientists to 5 countries to study and test both people and wildlife for transmissible diseases.  This collaborative approach between ecologists, public health officials, veterinarians, epidemiologists, and more, is what she describes as the emerging “One Health” approach to studying emerging infectious diseases.

Early March saw 2 of Hampden-Sydney’s seniors present their research work at professional conferences attended by fellow undergraduate students as well as graduate students, postdocs, and faculty from across the nation.  Tyler Moore presented his research work from summer 2010 at the Association of Field Ornithologists/Cooper Ornithological Society/Wilson Ornithological Society at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

Tyler and his research poster

Tyler performed his research with former professor Michael Collins on bird migratory patterns in coastal Maine.

Over the same weekend a few hundred miles away, Nate Thomas presented his senior honors research at the Southeast Regional Yeast Meeting at Mississippi State University.

Nate and his research poster

Nate’s research with professor Mike Wolyniak deals with the role of two proteins found in the yeast nuclear membrane in cell division.  Nate received a $300 travel award from the National Science Foundation to help him attend the meeting, bring the total of travel grant money awarded to Hampden-Sydney biology students this academic year to $900.  Professor Wolyniak moderated a platform session at the same meeting.

Nate presenting his poster

Professor Wolyniak and Nate on the central quad at Mississippi State

Because we are a member of the prestigious Marine Science Educational Consortium (MSEC), Hampden-Sydney students enjoy easy access to the Duke Marine Lab (DUML), where you can study for a fall or spring semester or for one or more summer terms, taking a variety of courses, working on independent research projects, and generally enjoying the beautiful yet busy little campus in Beaufort, NC. You can also take a “signature” travel course, studying marine science in such international settings as Singapore, Panama, France, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Professor Werth just returned from an MSEC Advisor meeting at DUML, so be sure to contact him if you have any questions about these opportunities.

The R/V Susan Hudson in Beaufort Harbor at DUML