1998 Assembly of Delegates
Nominees for Directors at Large

Howard C. Mel
Univ. of California at Berkley

Dr. Mel has been a faculty member at Berkeley since 1955. Starting as Instructor in Chemistry, he shortly made the transition into the emerging field of Biophysics. Currently professor Emeritus of Biophysics he continues to maintain a toehold in teaching, research and university service. Past UC administrative appointments have included Director, the Lawrence Hall of Science; Director, UC’s Education Abroad Program in France (Bordeaux, Poitiers, Pau/Paris); Chairman of UC’s Graduate Group in Biophysics & Medical Physics and Director of NIH Training Grants (Biophysics, Systems & Integrative Biology). His research and publications have emphasized blood cell/ membrane biophysics and biorheology (including development of patented new cell separation and analytical techniques), and he continues an active side interest in the theory and biological applications of open and closed system thermodynamics.

A founding member of the Biophysical Society, Dr. Mel has served in numerous capacities in that organization, including Council and Executive Committee. He has also served in one or another editorial capacity with publications which include Blood Cells (Springer), Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (McGraw Hill), Journal of Mathematical Biology, Cell Biophysics, Review of Scientific Instruments, and as a reviewer for Science, Blood, Biophysical Journal.

Undergraduate and graduate educational institutions he has attended include Bowdoin College; The University of Geneva, and the Conservatory of Music in Geneva Switzerland; and the University of Brussels, Belgium. His BS and PhD degrees (in Physical Chemistry) are both from UC Berkeley. He spent 3 sabbatical-year leaves in hematology/biophysics laboratories in Paris - his second scientific home. Fellowships and honors include: Fulbright Fellowship (Brussels); NSF Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship (Paris); Phi Beta Kappa; Fellow, AAAS; Fellow, Association Claude Bernard (Paris); Prix du Rayonnement de la Langue Francaise (gold medal from the Academie Francaise).

Early background experiences include 2 years as Traffic Manager of the Calo Pet Food Company, and service to LtJG with the US Navy (Intelligence Service, Bremen, Germany). In community activities, Dr. Mel has served in several capacities with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra and other cultural and educational organizations. He is married, with 3 children and 4 grandchildren. Enduring extracurricular passions include music (performance on several instruments); photography; mountaineering (the Sierra Nevada of California, the Himalayas of Bhutan, the Fanski’s of Tajikistan …).

Candidate's Statement

I still recall the excitement I felt when, as an undergraduate, I learned I had been elected Associate Member of Sigma Xi, and then became informed of the history and goals of the "scientific Phi Beta Kappa," as it was described to me. That early affiliation led quite naturally to a heightened awareness of the organization’s activities and an anticipation of eventual full membership which was to come some years later. Why has that sense of excitement largely vanished from today’s crop of candidates (including my own offspring, at other institutions), what can be done about it; even, what should be done about it? Is Sigma Xi still relevant, as it once was, and can it be reinvigorated at the grass roots level? I believe that the answers to these latter two questions are yes, but that the process of accomplishing this is not rival, and that remotivating mentors and "mentees" alike will require vigorous, concerted effort on the part of like-minded colleagues among the directors and officers of Sigma Xi.

Many years ago, when I served as Vice President and Program Chairman for the Berkeley Chapter of Sigma Xi, we faced a challenge of this same sort, and successfully met it with some innovative measures. No doubt the changing circumstances since that time dictate that different innovations will be necessary to be successful today. For example, a greater emphasis on the role of interdisciplinarity in science (a crucial issue from my perspective as a biophysicist), as well as development of stronger linkages between science-creative-learning and other types of learning (e.g., music, and language learning)may be essential today. My past experiences with Sigma Xi have been limited to the West (as an active Associate or Full member for nearly 50 years; as an officer of the UC Berkeley Chapter, as a Traveling Lecturer to several small western colleges, and as a delegate to a national meeting held in Southern California), I would welcome, now, the opportunity to serve at the national level with colleagues who share these views, in an effort to revitalize interest in Sigma Xi at the local level.

Paul Pechan
Technical University in Munich

Paul Pechan graduated from University of Waterloo, Canada in 1977 and received his PhD in Plant Physiology at Cambridge University, England in 1983. As a postdoc, Dr. Pechan worked one year at UC Davis and three years at the Ottawa Research Station (Agriculture Canada). In 1988 he was awarded Alexander von Humbold fellowship to work in Germany: from 1988 till 1995 he was a group leader at a Max Planck Institute (MPI fuer Biochemie). Since 1995 he has been at the Technical University in Munich. His area of research includes stress proteins and embryogenesis in plants. He is a member of various research societies, including AAAS and NY Academy of Sciences. He is the editor of TERRA, a new Trans-European Agricultural Journal.

Because of his origins in the Czech republic, he has developed close links with various organizations in Central and Eastern Europe. He is an honourary professor at the Agricultural University in Prague, vice president at the Prague Institute of Advanced Studies (1992-1997) and head of plant molecular laboratory at Charles University (1994-present). He is currently a coordinator of a trans European project of nearly 300 organizations with interest in biotechnology and agriculture. The main aim of the network is information processing and dissemination.

Dr. Pechan has been a member of Sigma Xi since 1984 (UC Davis Chapter). He was a founding member of the Prague Sigma Xi Chapter in 1995 and its past president. From 1995 he has served as a member of the Sigma Xi International Committee.

Candidate's Statement

Sigma Xi is changing. It is today a different society than when I joined 14 years ago. The forums, satellite linked townhall meetings, special publications and the virtual reference centre are becoming, alongside the American Scientist and the always important activities of individual chapters, permanent and visible identification marks of Sigma Xi quality. These changes reflect the importance of the information technologies now available within our society. But outside of North America, where the name of Sigma Xi is not yet very well known, people ask why join Sigma Xi, what is so special about Sigma Xi?

I am convinced of Sigma Xi importance for our society, not just in North America but around the world. One of the certainties of 1998 is that we now live in a global society: economic downturn in Japan could concurrently affect research spending at Siemens in Germany as well as government spending on university research in the Czech republic. Publication of exiting new or, conversely, falsified data in Europe will impact research in the US and elsewhere. Global warming, emerging diseases, patenting of scientific results, changing roles of basic and applied research, what to do with the glut of available information and many, many other topics are not just of regional but also of global concern (see the interesting Sigma Xi forum topics for this year in Vancouver).

Sigma Xi is one of the few organizations where developments in our scientific community and indeed the society at large can be adequately addressed as they usually are: complex and interdisciplinary. People need to feel and appreciate that through Sigma Xi membership one can learn, discuss and when necessary have an impact on important topics, being it at local, regional (including national) or international level. I believe the strength of Sigma Xi lies in linking and deepening cooperation between these three levels. I promise to work towards these goals.

Virginia Trimble
Univ. of California, Irvine and Univ. Maryland

Virginia Trimble divides her time between the Physics Department of the University of California, Irvine and the Astronomy Department of the University of Maryland. Her primary research interests are in the structure and evolution of stars and galaxies and the structure and evolution of the astrophysics community ( scientometrics and history of science). She is currently a vice president of the International Astronomical Union and of the American Astronomical Society, editor of Comments on Astrophysics, and a member of the Council of the American Physical Society, as well as vice-chair of the astronomy section of AAAS. She has served as president of the University of California Irvine Chapters of Sigma Xi and of Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Trimble’s degrees in astronomy and physics are from the University of California at Los Angeles and the California Institute of Technology, and she has spoken at more than 120 conferences and community, school, and public groups over the past five years.

Candidate's Statement

My father was a research chemist in industry for more than 50 years. The single event in his life of which he was proudest was his election to associate membership in Sigma Xi near the end of his student career. My most important goal for our organization is that it remain one about which our children and students will feel the same way a generation into the future.

None of us doubts that Americans, young and old, need greater scientific and technological literacy. I believe that Sigma Xi needs to play a larger role here, and that most of our members are willing to help and willing to work on public education - but not very much. Everybody is busy, and most Sigma Xi members feel that their first loyalty is to their individual disciplines and discipline-specific societies. I hope that the board of directors, working together with the outstanding staff at Headquarters, can devise projects and programs that will enable our members to go out into their communities and schools and do something that will make a difference, without totally wiping out what little leisure they now have.

We need to bring two messages to our fellow citizens. First, that engineering, science, and technology are important in their lives, and second, that they are comprehensible. Voters can know enough about chemical risks, radiation hazards, and atmospheric chemistry to make intelligent decisions. And everybody can know enough about biology, geology, and astronomy to appreciate what he sees looking up, down, or around him. That life is more fun when one does understand these things we all know. Perhaps that is a third message to be conveyed.

And what did Father say when, already an assistant professor, I was elected to Sigma Xi in 1969? "Aren’t you a little old for that?" I hope not!

Geraldine Twitty
Howard University

Geraldine W. Twitty is currently a professor in the Department of Biology at Howard University. Her tenure at Howard embraced studies that lead to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology, the Master's in Parasitology, and the doctorate in Biochemical Genetics. She has continued to keep abreast of trends through studies in Recombinant DNA Technology and the Human Genome both at the NIH and Cold Spring Harbor. Her interests also include investigations in Environmental Science and Geographic Information Systems. Her departmental responsibilities include coordinating the entry-level General Biology courses and the capstone Senior Seminar. She has served as Chair of the Comprehensive Sciences Program and coordinates a number of activities concerned with the successful transition and retention of youth and majors into biological science careers.

Her post graduate research activities began at the Carver Research Foundation. It includes investigations on gene families and isozymes in murine and selected invertebrate populations as well as the effects of the environment on endangered species.

Geri's professional associations include several years of service to Sigma Xi as a member of the Qualifications Committee and as Secretary to the Howard University Chapter. She holds board/council membership with the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the Association of

Southeastern Biologists, Minority Women in Science, the D.C. Coalition for Environmental Justice, the Environmental Roundtable, and the

National Visitation Committee, Oklahoma Teacher Education Collaborative.

Candidate's Statement

Sigma Xi has a special challenge to aggressively promote the transition of research and technology into the next millennium. To be successful, we must design strategies that not only promote broader understanding and appreciation of science and technology to the global community but also foster recruitment, retention, and broader participation. Our endeavors must be collaborative and structured such that the rewards of membership are explicit. My service on the Qualifications Committee makes me acutely aware of chapter diversity. This experience will allow me to more effectively represent and sustain the shared vision of the membership.

Mario E. C. Vieira
United States Naval Academy

Mário E. C. Vieira is an associate professor of Oceanography in the Oceanography Department at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. Born and raised in Portugal, he received a B.S. from the Portuguese Naval Academy (1962); his naval career, which included command at sea, deputy head of the Oceanography Section of the Portuguese Naval Hydrographic Institute and other leadership positions, ended with his retirement in 1982 with the rank of commander. He earned a M.S. degree in Oceanography from the US Naval Postgraduate School (1974), a M.A. (1978) and Ph.D. (1983) degrees in Oceanography from The Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal (1985). He began his academic career at the Marine Sciences Research Center of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he was a Research Assistant Professor from 1984 to 1990. He was a Visiting assistant Professor at the Southampton College of Long Island University, New York, from 1984-1985. In 1990 Dr. Vieira accepted an Assistant Professor position in the Oceanography Department of the US Naval Academy; he was promoted there to Associate Professor with tenure in 1995. He was an Adjunct Associate Professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook from 1990 to 1994.

Dr. Vieira’s research interests are in the field of physical oceanography, with a focus on estuarine and coastal circulation and dynamics. He has led and collaborated in scientific investigations in association with the Chesapeake Bay Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, the Marine Sciences Research Center of the State University of New York, the Portuguese Naval Hydrographic Institute and the Institute of Marine Sciences, Barcelona, Spain. He has published 38 papers and given 40 presentations at national and international professional conferences. He has been a guest lecturer at Porto and Nova Universities, Portugal.

Dr. Vieira is an active member of several professional organizations. Elected to Sigma Xi in 1975 by The Johns Hopkins University chapter, he has served in the US Naval Academy chapter as vice-president (1994-95), secretary/treasurer (1995-96), president (1996-97) and delegate to the annual meeting of 1996 and both meetings in 1997. He is a member of the Estuarine Research Federation since 1987 where he serves in the education committee since 1993. He is a member of the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society since 1991, having served as treasurer from 1994 to 1996. He is also a member of the American Geophysical Union since 1981.

Candidate's Statement

The approaching 21st century promises great challenges to an institution like Sigma Xi. The global village will keep shrinking and bringing us all, scientists and public, into closer quarters throughout the world. The opportunity offered to Sigma Xi to extend its action beyond the borders of North America must be taken seriously. I have lived and worked as a scientist both in the US and abroad; I have experienced first hand the fertile environment for an honor society in other continents. Sigma Xi should consider making its leadership available internationally in the area of interdisciplinary scientific research collaboration ; I envision chapters of our society throughout the world, sponsoring activities and programs designed with the local needs in mind. The beneficial sharing of human and material resources, the convergence of research purposes and even increased goodwill could be some of the payoffs. Increased flexibility in the governance and possibly in the dues system of Sigma Xi might be desirable for the success of this expansion and to foster a mitigation of the declining membership problem. Our Society could also be better served by making more efficient use of the regional mechanism: encouraging frequent communication and joint activities between chapters within a given region. I believe that increased member recruiting would be a side benefit from increased visibility and strength at the regional level.

I would like to serve the Society as Director-at-Large; I am eager to contribute to the Sigma Xi of the new century.

Robert Zand
University of Michigan

Dr. Zand earned a B.S. degree with majors in chemistry and physics, an M.S. at the Polytechnic University of New York, and after service in the army returned to graduate school and received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Brandeis University. He received an N.I.H. postdoctoral fellowship for studies in the Biochemistry Department at Harvard Medical School and after two years joined the newly formed Biophysics Research Division, directed by his postdoctoral mentor, at the University of Michigan. His current appointments at the University of Michigan are: Professor of Biochemistry in the Medical School, Professor of Macromolecular Science and Engineering in the College of Engineering, and Research Scientist in the Biophysics Research Division. He was elected to Sigma Xi by the Harvard-Radcliffe Chapter and has held positions in the Michigan Chapter of Sigma Xi as a Council member, Chapter Secretary, Vice President and President. He has been active at the Societal level for the past 20 years with appointments on the Committees on Nominations, Membership, Qualifications, Awards, and Programs. He was elected to serve two terms as North Central Regional Director and in that capacity served on the Board of Directors and also served a term on the Executive Committee.

Candidate's Statement

I am honored to be nominated for a second term as Director-at-Large. I agreed to run for office because I see progress being made to turn the organization into a viable and meaningful Society of scientists and researchers in the 21st century. We have not solved the problems that were present when I was elected to office three years ago but I am convinced we have made significant inroads and will continue to make the necessary changes to return Sigma Xi as a significant voice for the research community. We still face many significant problems and cannot be complacent.

What are the immediate problems facing the organization?

1. We continue to face a no growth situation with respect to membership. Sigma Xi needs to do a better job of convincing present members to maintain their active status and to convince potential members that acceptance of election to membership is meaningful professional recognition by their peers.

2. The concept of HONOR for election to Sigma Xi has been severely eroded and the vitality of the chapters is often a significant problem at the major research universities. Chapters at major research intensive universities have very different needs and objectives than chapters at smaller colleges and universities or chapters at industrial organizations and government labs.

3. In an age when the communication revolution dominates information and technology transfer, Sigma Xi continues to operate programs that were effective 30 years ago but have little significance to a majority of its membership today.

The above listing is far from exhaustive, but includes problems to which the highest priority must be assigned. In addition to my commitment to working towards solving these pressing problems, I intend to work to develop a series of long-term objectives to facilitate new directions that Sigma Xi must take in order to remain vital and meaningful to its members. My long service at the local and national levels of Sigma Xi provides the experience necessary to develop the solutions to the problems faced by Sigma Xi.

New programs that could have strong support from the membership

1. Try to get those members of the Society who have public recognition to promote the Society in the media. For example, Nobel winners who are members of the Society. Scientists who are popularizers of science such as Prof. Lederman.

2. A chapter outreach program to state and federal legislators to educate them about the return on the investment derived from research and the consequences to the nation if research is not adequately supported.

3. A combined effort by chapters and headquarters on how to write grant applications for federal agencies. Perhaps it would be possible for grants to be reviewed by a group set up by the Society, to assist new investigators in getting their grant applications upgraded.

4. The Society should develop a program that can be implemented by chapters to teach people how to communicate effectively. The American Physical Society is already involved in such a program.

If we continue to model our programs on the past and do not adapt to more modern and meaningful issues and programs we will fade away as an organization just like RESA did.