2012 Assembly of Delegates:
Northeast Geographic Regional Associate Director

Name: Phillip Barnes

Present Position: Associate Professor, Biology Department
Organization: Connecticut College

Chapter Affiliation: Yale University

Candidate's Statement: I have been a member of Sigma Xi since 1982. I have extensive leadership and organizational experience at the institutional level at Connecticut College, and I would like the opportunity to expand such activities at the regional and national level. As someone who teaches evolutionary biology, I have seen first-hand the need for, and have actively been involved in the effort to bring effective science education and science literacy to my students and the local public. By being an umbrella organization for all natural sciences, Sigma Xi is in an exceptional position to bring programs supporting scientific literacy, in all its variety, to a very broad part of society. This of course means that the scientists must be supported in their pursuit of scientific knowledge and that the scientific enterprise be maintained by ensuring the recruitment of new scientists. Without expanding scientific knowledge, improving scientific literacy becomes somewhat a moot point. I will bring to this position my interests in and enthusiasm for scientific practice and for improved scientific literacy of the general public. And, coupled with my extensive organizational and administrative experience at the institutional level, I will help as needed with existing programs and assist in development of new programs that expand Sigma Xi's reach in these areas at the regional and national levels. I expect to learn quite a bit in the process as well.

Biographical Information: I was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow (1975-1978), a Doctoral Dissertation Fellow (1979-1980) and earned a Ph.D. in Zoology and Genetics (1981) at the University of Minnesota.  I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Genetics Department at North Carolina State University (1981-1985) and have been an Assistant Professor (1985-1991) and currently am an Associate Professor (1991 – Present) in the Biology Department at Connecticut College, New London, CT, USA.  I was Chair the Biology Department twice (1993-1996 and 1999-2002).  I have obtained (a) research grants (as P.I.) from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Research Corporation and the American Philosophical Foundation, (b) major instrumentation grants for research and undergraduate education (as co-P.I.) from NSF ($318,374) and the Kresge Foundation ($500,000), (c) an NSF REU Site Grant (as co-P.I.) ($32,000) and (d) an institutional planning grant for a new life sciences building (as co-P.I.) from the Sherman-Fairchild Foundation ($100,000).  The Mary and Richard Scott Charitable Trust has honored me with $35,000 in donations for undergraduate research experiences and internships (1994-2000), and in 2000 their son Jordan Scott, M.D., a Connecticut College alumnus, endowed the Phillip T. Barnes Research Internship for Biology students at Connecticut College.  I have directed more than 50 undergraduate research projects.  In 1988, I organized and hosted the regional meeting for the Population Biologists of New England.  At Connecticut College, I have served on and chaired (a) the Faculty Steering and Conference Committee (governance), (b) the Priorities, Planning and Budget Committee, (c) the Committee on Faculty Compensation, and (d) the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.  I am a member of Sigma Xi, American Genetic Association, American Society of Naturalists, European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Genetics Society of America, Society for the Study of Evolution and the National Center for Science Education.

Name: Kestutis Bendinskas

Present Position: Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Director of MaSPeC
Organization: SUNY- Oswego

Chapter Affiliation: State University of New York at Oswego

Candidate's Statement: I have served Sigma Xi at the local, regional, and national level. Our Chapter won the Distinguished Chapter Award for its activities when I was its secretary. I have helped Zack and Pam with regional issues by maintaining our regional website and sending notes to the NE listserv. The delegates of national Sigma Xi meetings might remember me fighting for keeping student application fees and annual dues low, renaming the national meeting into the international meeting, and resolving a voting problem that allowed the delegates of the latest meeting insist on the individual electoral voting for all Sigma Xi members. However, most of you might know me as coordinator of all seven annual NE regional Sigma Xi research poster symposiums, most recent one at Queens College, NY. I consider the regional poster symposium one of the most interesting and productive regional Sigma Xi activities, now recognized nationally, and I would like to continue promoting and running these events as our region’s Associate Director.

Biographical Information: Dr. Kestutis Bendinskas is Associate Professor of Biochemistry in the Department of Chemistry at SUNY-Oswego. He graduated in 1991 with a Chemistry Engineer degree (Environmental Science track) from Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology in Moscow, Russia. He received his Ph.D. in Photochemistry from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1995, under the tutelage of Dr. Robert William Midden. After his postdoctoral studies with the renowned Dr. Lawrence Grossman in the Department of Biochemistry at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, he directed Bioorganic and Biochemistry labs at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, for 4 years. After two years as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Sciences at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, in 2003 Dr. Bendinskas joined the graduate program faculty at SUNY-Oswego, where he currently teaches Biochemistry, Proteomics, and Environmental Science.

Dr. Kestutis Bendinskas is Northeast Sigma Xi Associate Director and Symposium Coordinator, Director of the Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Center at SUNY-Oswego, and primary editor of the Biochemistry section of the American Journal of Undergraduate Research. His current research is about lead- and mercury-induced changes in the human proteome. He also participates in education research by developing new biochemistry and proteomics teaching laboratories. His last six papers (2010-2012) includes 13 student co-authors, most of whom presented posters or talks at Sigma Xi and ACS events.

Name: Subrata Saha

Present Position: Director of Musculoskeletal Research and Research Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation Medicine
Organization: SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn

Chapter Affiliation: SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn

Biographical Information: Dr. Subrata Saha is presently the Director of Musculoskeletal Research and Research Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Dr. Saha received a BS in Civil Engineering from Calcutta University in 1963, an MS in Engineering Mechanics in 1969 from Tennessee Technological University, and Engineering and PhD degrees in Applied Mechanics from Stanford University in 1972 and 1974, respectively. He has been a faculty member at Yale University, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Loma Linda University, Clemson University, and Alfred University. Dr. Saha has received many awards from professional societies, including Orthopedic Implant Award, Dr. C. P. Sharma Award, Researcher of the Year Award, C. William Hall Research Award in Biomedical Engineering, Award for Faculty Excellence, Research Career Development Award from NIH, and Engineering Achievement Award. He is a Fellow of The Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

He has received numerous research grants from federal agencies (NIH and NSF), foundations, and industry. Dr. Saha is the founder of the Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference Series. He also started the International Conference on Ethical Issues in Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Saha has published over 90 papers in journals, 35 book chapters and edited volumes, 347 papers in conference proceedings, and 84 abstracts. His research interests are bone mechanics, biomaterials, orthopedic and dental implants, drug delivery systems, rehabilitation engineering, and bioethics.