Curator W. Duane Hope at Microscope, 1975, Smithsonian Archives - History Div, In his office in the northwest corner of the Natural History Building, W. Duane Hope of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, sits at a high-powered microscope which he uses to examine slides of marine nematode worms. On the table are slides in a slide holder tray and photos of worm body parts. His research focused on the systematics, comparative and functional ultrastructure, and phylogenetics of marine nematode worms. Through the window can be seen the Washington Monument and a portion of the National Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History)..