• National Design Team, Tokamak Fusion Core Experiment;
• National Design Team, Compact Ignition Tokamak;
• National Review Team, Compact Ignition Tokamak Diagnostics Plan;
• National Review Team, technical merit and cost estimates of the superconducting magnets for the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) nuclear physics facility under initial construction at Waxahachie, Texas (famously, the U.S. Congress terminated all funding for the SSC after publication and analysis of the complete report);
• DOE Review Panel, Pellet Injector Program on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory;
• Joint Japan-U.S. Exchange Programs, fusion diagnostic instrumentation and radiation hardening measurements: member of one and leader of two additional exchanges.

• hollow glass microspheres for deep ocean floatation devices;
• novel metallurgical technique for separation and recovery of tungsten and vanadium from ore;
• femtosecond laser system for studying molecular chemical dynamics;
• wavelength meter for accurate but relatively inexpensive determination of continuous or pulsed laser light in 350 to 1130 micrometer range;
• coordination of oceanographic demonstration project for U.S. Navy by five cooperating laboratories of the former Soviet Union Academy of Sciences:
  • Shirshov Institute of Oceanography (Moscow and Gelendzhik);
  • Institute of General Physics (Moscow);
  • Leningrad Institute of Precise Mechanics and Optics (Leningrad);
  • Vavilov State Institute of Optics (Leningrad);
  • Marine Hydrophysical Institute (Sevastopal and Katsiveli).

Leadership and Teaching: I was a Regular Army, Airborne, Ranger, Corps of Engineers commander, staff officer and educator.

I was a combat engineer company commander in the field in southern Germany with readied explosives and ammunitions during the Cuban Missile Crisis (long ago!) with the mission to harass, slow and finally stop the expected onslaught of Soviet tanks from Czechoslovakia toward the Rhine River. I later became a staff officer in an Engineer Group supporting the U.S. Army VII Corps in Germany. After returning to the United States I taught in the Department of Physics, United States Military Academy, West Point, for three and a half years where I was an Assistant Professor, Head of the Physics Laboratory, and Course Director for two years of the Advanced Physics Course (for the brightest cadets), made the first holograms at West Point, and fostered the use of recently invented lasers into the physics laboratory experiments and demonstrations. I received the Army Commendation Medal for professional activities at West Point, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Summer Fellowship, and an NSF Science Faculty Fellowship for doctoral studies.

The extensive training and practical experience in leadership by the U.S. Army for its officers, coupled with its emphasis on a rational system for making decisions in settings where choices may have life or death consequences, have influenced me in all my subsequent activities.

Candidate's Statement - James F. Baur

James F. Baur has an expansive vision and a workable plan for Sigma Xi progress: extend the proven successes, recognize and ameliorate the weaknesses, while introducing fun and bold initiatives.

Sigma Xi can fulfill its laudable mission with considered attention and action to improve the Society's programs and procedures without resort to disruptive reorganizations.

Proven Successes: My considered opinion is that the award-winning "American Scientist," the expanding programs in Ethics, in Education and in Public Understanding of Science and the well-trained, helpful and courteous Headquarters staff are areas of pride for the Society and these programs and people must be encouraged to continue to excel.

Areas to Strengthen: Most knowledgeable observers agree that our annual initiate total is low compared to the pool of excellent candidates, our short-term retention rate of new initiates is too low, too many chapters are inactive, chapters would benefit with delegate attendance at the Annual Meeting more often than the required every third year, recruiting and retaining vigorous chapter officers is difficult and remains a recurring and almost universal problem within chapters, and Sigma Xi in all aspects could benefit from additional publicity in local universities and laboratories and in widely circulated media.

Initiatives: I propose that we all look ahead, enhance successes and improve weaknesses, but also add a little fun and excitement in the process. I will have three years in the cycle of President-Elect, President and Past President to champion the following ideas.

• Articulate "Sigma Xi in 2030" - After discussions and a workshop, a planning document should be produced that describes what structure, reach, and emphasis should be the target 25 years from now and what action should be taken along the way to adjust Sigma Xi to a future world view, including relationships with world science or humanitarian or governing organizations, communication techniques, separate continental offices for Sigma Xi geographic divisions (Africa, Middle-East, Europe, Asia, Pacifica, Americas), and membership refinements, to list a few of the considerations.
• Accelerate "Global Sigma Xi" - The International Committee and the Board established the "International Partner" category of chapter-type local groups. Sigma Xi Moscow Partner and Sigma Xi Georgia Partner have been approved and installed. More Partners in Africa and Eastern Europe are in formation. I am advocating forming chapters from groups at Gulf of Aquaba (joint Jordan-Israeli research group), South Pole (Western group) and Antarctic Station (Russian affiliated group), and nascent groups I have visited and encouraged in Seoul, Beijing and Ulaanbaatar. The International Committee is hard at work in all aspects of this endeavor. Like science, Sigma Xi should be global and transcend national boundaries.
• Establish "Sigma Xi Global Fund" - Scientists and engineers in China, Mongolia, Kenya, and many other countries cannot afford the normal dues of Sigma Xi. The Society in general and the International Committee in particular is heeding the will of the delegates at recent Annual Meetings to go global but not by subsidizing new chapters and members from normal dues. Thus, I am encouraging the "Sigma Xi Global Fund" be established with contributions from multinational corporations that do business and have an interest in the fostering of science in developing countries and regions as a means to supplement - not completely absorb - the dues of members in chapters in their operational areas. Thus, many thousands of competent and deserving scientists from all over the globe can join, enlarge, enrich, and enliven Sigma Xi!
• Annual Meeting Outside North America - As Chair of the International Committee, I have participated in functions at the Moscow Partner and the Hungary Chapter. I have asked my colleagues there to help me do a feasibility study for each place to host an Annual Meeting. I envision a fun and unusual program for chapter delegates there, with special presentations on Russian science or Hungarian science, sessions inside the Kremlin hall or the Hungarian Academy of Sciences building, and opportunities for delegates to absorb the aura, architecture, and culture of Moscow or Budapest. Costs could be contained with modest subsidies from the local authorities and use of the Star Alliance or Sky Team (including Aeroflot) for feeder and charter oceanic flights. Now that would be fun!
• Increase Annual Meeting Attendance - Frequent (best is annual) chapter delegate attendance improves Society governance and greatly influences fruitful chapter activities. I favor exploring use of hotels with less expensive rooms and the trial use, at least, of a room-share list as a service to delegates to control meeting costs and increase attendance.
• Increase Chapter Membership to 40 - Too many chapters maintain membership at levels too low for vibrant chapter programs and healthy officer morale. I advocate a gentle and understanding effort by Headquarters, including enlisting the Regional and Constituency Directors, to increase minimum membership to 40 in all chapters for improved chapter functioning.
• Consolidate Chapters for Viability - In those instances where chapters cannot be brought up to 40 or a reasonable number of members, or otherwise the chapter cannot function well, I advocate an effort to consolidate one or more chapters with a more healthy chapter in the area to serve all the Sigma Xi members there and to enrich the receiving chapter with more members and institutional resources.
• Promote Consortia of 3 to 6 Chapters - Alternatively, Sigma Xi within a region may be enhanced with speakers, programs, open houses, or poster judging if three to six chapters work together in planning joint programs to share the load of execution, to increase attendance, and to promote companionship among the memberships of the chapters. Such consortia have worked successfully in the past in Connecticut, southern California and Arizona, among other areas. I advocate promoting such consortia, again with the active assistance of the Directors.
• Open House at Industry/Government Labs - Open houses are informative and fun. I surmise that many chapters are missing out on the opportunity to partner with local non-university laboratories for activities. I advocate an aggressive program to foster more open house activities, especially ones that bring the local industry and government laboratories and their scientists, officials, and facilities into the Sigma Xi movement.
• Speak Up - I implore members and officers to share ideas and speak their mind on issues, programs, problems, and their successes by calling or e-mailing the President, any Director, or relevant Headquarters staff. Sigma Xi would be the better for that effort.