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University of New Mexico Chapter

The Honor Society of Sigma Xi is a national organization devoted to the encouragement of scientific research. The local chapter of Sigma Xi sponsors many activities in support of science and research. For example, we sponsor public talks in our Science and Society Lecture Series, we honor outstanding high school science and math teachers, and we recognize Junior Division science fair winners. Most importantly, we recognize our own UNM graduate students with a marked aptitude for research by inviting them to become members of Sigma Xi.

Young Investigator Award The UNM Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, invites nominations for the Chapter's Young Investigator Award (YIA). It includes a cash prize of $1000 and a framed certificate of recognition; the Chapter may nominate this person for the National YIA the following year. The recipient of this award will be invited to give a Public Talk under the auspices of his/her Department in the fall.

  • Any active, dues-paying member of the Chapter (for 3 years), within 10 years of his/her highest earned degree, is eligible to be nominated. To have your nominee considered for this prestigious award, please submit a nomination letter detailing why s/he deserves this honor, attach the nominee's RESUME and mail the package to: Professor H.S. Ahluwalia, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 800 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1156, by March 31, 2007.
  • The nominator must be an active member of Sigma Xi, and s/he should request at least three letters of support, from outside UNM, from persons familiar with the nominee's research work (this is not a teaching excellence award) and have them sent directly to Professor H.S. Ahluwalia. Please have your deserving colleagues recognized for this high honor.
Excellence in Graduate Research. To further encourage and recognize the research performed by our students, we honor a doctoral student near the end of his or her Ph.D. dissertation. We ask that you nominate a superior student from your department to receive this award. The student will be asked to make a Sigma Xi lecture presentation, and will be paid a $100 honorarium; we request that this presentation be made within the framework of your departmental seminar series. If your candidate is not a member of Sigma Xi, he/she will be invited to become a full member of Sigma Xi this spring. If your candidate is an associate member of Sigma Xi, he/she will be promoted to full membership. The winner of this award will be invited to attend our Annual Banquet, to be held on Monday, April 30, 2007, at the Division of Continuing Education Building, 1634 University Blvd NE. We request that you or the graduate advisor in your department write a brief statement in support of your recommendation, summarizing your student's achievements. Please send this document along with the student's CV to Harjit Ahluwalia, at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, before March 31, 2007.
Outstanding Undergraduate . A second award will honor an undergraduate student who has participated in a science research project in a UNM department. We are especially interested in recognizing an outstanding undergraduate who is presently engaged in research and has a strong potential for future research. The student will be recognized at our Annual Banquet. He/she will be presented with a certificate of recognition and a $50 prize, and will be invited to become an associate member of Sigma Xi. The nomination for this award, along with supporting documents, should also reach Dr. Ahluwalia by March 31.