EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Matthew T. Miscikowski ’26
EDITORS
Benjamin G. Currin ’25
Ethan T. Currin ’25
Joshua D. Ferreira ’27
Camden T.T. Libby ’26
Marc Moroz II ’26
Evan A. Old ’26
Brown T.W. Riggins ’26
Kaden D. Sawyer ’27
ADVISOR
Michael J. Wolyniak
Department of Biology
Cover Photo:
Under the leadership of Dr. Scott Starr in the Department of Biology, Hampden-Sydney has started an Apiary for maintenance and study of bee colonies. The Apiary allows students to learn about the fundamentals of beekeeping and work on research projects studying bee behavior. The photo here was taken from the H-SC Apiary, and you can learn more about the bee work being done at Hampden-Sydney in an article in this issue by Haden VonCanon ’27.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
News from the Hampden-Sydney STEM Departments
Michael J. Wolyniak, Glenn F. Gilyot, John Machacek, Jennifer E. Vitale, and Hugh O. Thurman III
Career Retrospective–Dr. Anne Lund
Matthew T. Miscikowski ’26
Career Summary: Dr. Mike Duncan ’02–From Hampden-Sydney College to Yellowstone National Park
Matthew T. Miscikowski ’26
Feature Articles
Exploring Biodegradation of Marine Plastics
Thomas M. Flagg ’25
Infectious Disease in Environmental Health
Robert H. Frazier ’26
Research Articles
Phosphomimetics of Malate Dehydrogenase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Ethan T. Currin ’25 and Michael J. Wolyniak
Impact of Baleen Entanglements on the North Atlantic Right Whale
Brandon R. Finch ’26 and Alexander J. Werth
Genetics of Sjögren’s Syndrome and Colorectal Cancer
Thomas M. Flagg ’25 and Michael J. Wolyniak
Genomic annotation of Bosection6, a Bacteriophage that Infects Mycobacterium smegmatis
Robert H. Frazier ’26 and Michael J. Wolyniak
Design and Development of a Near-Infrared (NIR) Fluorogenic Probe for the Detection of Leucine Aminopeptidase
Benjamin S. Gerber ’27, Thomas A. Morris ’24, Garrett M. Regan ’25 and Glenn D. Gilyot
The Study of Optoacoustics
B. Jackson Herndon ’27 and Stanley A. Cheyne
Studying the Viscosity of Various Engine Oils Using a Rotational Viscometer
Harry L. Kardian ’26 and Hugh O. Thurman III
Whale Entanglement
M. Cooper Lemmond ’27 and Alexander J. Werth
An Experiment in Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for Undergraduate Labs in Physical Chemistry or Physical Biochemistry
Evan A. Old ’26, Matthew C. Rehak ’21, Jefferson C. Thompson ’16, and Herbert J. Sipe, Jr.
Investigation of a Possible Uncatalogued Seyfert 2 in the FOV of SNR 3c 397 Using Archival Data
Abram J. Rodriguez ’26 and Jonathan W. Keohane
SARS-CoV-2: How Viral Mutations Drive Development of Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine
Kaden D. Sawyer ’27, John S. Hurt ’26, and Timothy M. Reichart
Analysis of SN-1604 & G11.2-0.3 Using X-Ray Astronomy
Matthew A. Toman ’27 and Jonathan W. Keohane
Macrophotography of Virginia Bee Species
Haden G. VonCanon ’27 and Scott M. Starr
Entanglement’s Effects on Baleen Filtration Fluid Dynamics in Critically-Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales: Preliminary Findings
Alexander J. Werth, Brandon R. Finch 26, and M. Cooper Lemmond ’27
Re-Creating the Nunalleq Cultural Center for Use in Virtual Reality
Andrew C. Winans ’25 and Sean P. Gleason
On the Physical Properties of Oil-Based Ferrofluids
Cooper W. York ’26 and Hugh O. Thurman III