Hampden-Sydney wrapped up its summer research program on Tuesday, August 31, with a series of oral and poster presentations from participating students. This year’s group of 42 scholars was the largest-ever group of summer researchers, and they covered an array of disciplines from biology and chemistry to theatre and philosophy.
Working with Director of Undergraduate Research Mike Wolyniak, aspiring dentist Jacob Siler ’23 explored how lifestyle factors impact one’s risk of periodontal disease. “Doing research at Hampden-Sydney College this summer was an amazing opportunity,” Jacob says. “Dr. Wolyniak was a great resource as he gave me the autonomy to run the experiment. This ownership greatly expanded what I was able to learn.”
For his project, Cooper Boyles ’23 was inspired by the work of the late Emeritus English Professor Hassell Simpson in his book Hampden-Sydney Stage: Theater at the College, 1786-2002. Cooper’s project—titled “ Tigers in the Theatre: Updating Professor Simpson’s Hampden-Sydney Stage”—built upon Simpson’s work of archiving theatre at H-SC. “As a history and theatre major, the work combined both of my paths of interest,” Cooper says. “It’s work that deserves to be continued and updated.”
Independent research is vital to the undergraduate student experience. Given the real-world experience it provides as well as the opportunity for students to dive deeper into their chosen fields, student research helps to form well-rounded scholars. Hampden-Sydney is thrilled to see so many of its students taking advantage of research opportunities during their time on the Hill.
Full list of the 2021 summer research projects:
Cooper Boyles ’23- Tigers in the Theatre: Updating Professor Simpson’s Hampden-Sydney Stage
Zachary Mace ’23- A Production of Disruption: An Analysis of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on the Stage
Ryan Scott ’23- To Uproot or Plant: Christianity’s Relationship to Judaism in the Proto-Orthodox Church
Lucio Chavez ’22-The Ideal Political Candidate from the Leadership Perspective
Alexander Kehoe ’24- Analysis of a Blockchain-Based KYC System and its Implications for Economic Development
Daniel Nivens ’24-Constitutional Interpretation Through The Ages: A Three-Period Model For the Development of Constitutional Interpretation
Patrick Strite ’24-The Effectiveness of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families at Reducing Non-Marital Pregnancies in Rust Belt Cities
Leland Cobb ’23-Exploring The Genetic Basis of Regeneration in the Brown Planaria Species Dugasta dortocephala
Taylor McGee ’24-Designing a Better Beer through Yeast Genetics
Daniel Marsden ’23-Nuna Nalluyuituq: The Land Remembers
Michael Van Citters ’22-The Master Argument: Berkeley on Mind-Independent Extension
Jake Beavers ’23-The Effect of Urban Development on Biodiversity
Nathan Cabrera ’23- In situ Electrochemical Generation of Hydroquinone Radicals for Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopic Studies
Jalynn Camp ’22-Self-Concept in Foster Children
Henry Carman ’23-Surveying Turtles in Hampden-Sydney Ponds for Ranavirus
Eliot Chandler ’22-Redesigning Wind Tunnel for Lift and Drag Measurements on Airfoils
Sully Cheyne ’23-Increasing Sound Absorption Coefficient in Concrete
Connor Eickelman ’23-A Study of Phenoxyl Radicals from Bisphenol-A Analogues Using Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy
Jackson Eisele ’23-Studying Moral Violations at the Workplace
Martin Eschman ’24-Studying the Effects of Power on Moral Thinking
Joshua Fentress ’23-Investigating Food Plant Growth Under Martian and Lunar Conditions: Testing Extraterrestrial Soil and Light Conditions on Plant Viability
Trey Grimes ’23-Synthesis of the Transmembrane Domain of the Spike Protein from SARS-CoV-2 and Determination of its Oligomerization State
Tyler Hobart ’23-Synthesis of the Transmembrane Domain of the Accessory Protein ORF7a of SARS-CoV-2 Using Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis and Analyzing the Oligomerization State
Mark Hurst ’24-Timbre and the Physchophysical Relationship of Sound
Josiah King ’23-Characterization of the ACE2 protein/SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interaction in the nasal passageway
Tobias Konieczka ’22-The Isolation and Characterization of Novel Bacteriophages
Paul Mahaff ’22-Creation of Two Survey Networks at Hampden-Sydney College to Survey Snakes for Ranavirus
Coleman Meadows ’22-Differences in Prejudices Regarding Gay Youth and Adults
Izac Mercer-Olatunji ’23-Exploring Growth Conditions for the Fly Agaric Mushroom Amanita muscaria
Daniel Pearce’22-A Virtual Exploration of Glycosylated Peptidyl Boronic Acids as Effective Inhibitors of H. influenzae IgA1-P
Andrew Rehak ’23-Synthesis and Application of Naphthaldehyde-Derived, FRET-Based Probes for the Detection of Heavy Transition Metal Ions in Aqueous Environments
Brett Reis ’23-Synthesis of the Transmembrane Domain of the Accessory Protein ORF7b of SARS-CoV-2 Using Solid Phase Peptide Techniques and Analyzing the Oligomerization State
Ben Rose’23-Use of the TRAF function in Electron Spin Resonance Signal Processing
Heath Rozier ’22-Exploring the Relationships between Identity, Self-Esteem, and Social Class
Jacob Siler’23-The Impact of Lifestyle Factors on Periodontal Disease
Aidan Sloan ’22-Adhesion of V. Cholerae to Intestinal epithelium and chitin using a common nonspecific adhesion molecule
Andrew Smith’22-The Role of Key Telomere-Associated Genes on Replicative Lifespans in the Budding Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Daniel Smith ’22-Synthesis of a Copper(II) Quenching FRET ligand
Becton Topping’24-Digitization and Analysis of novel 4,4-bis(trifluoromethyl)biphenyl spectra
John Torian’23 Making GONG Solar Data Accessible via Afterglow
Jeb Wall ’22-Bioinformatic Analysis of FOXC2-correlated Genes in Melanoma Reveals a Role for the FOXC2 Transcription Factor in Several Oncogenic Pathways
Aron Weldai ’24-Site-Directed Spin Labeling of Oligomerization Sites of a Synthetic Transmembrane domain
Student Research at H-SC
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