2004 Assembly of Delegates:
Southeast Regional Director

November 11-14, 2004
Le Centre Sheraton
Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Name: Thomas L. Feldbush

Present Position: Professor of Biology
Organization: East Carolina University

Address: Department of Biology
Howell Science Complex
East Carolina University
Room S-119
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
Butte, MT 59701
USA

Telephone: 252-328-5443
FAX: 252-328-4178
E-mail: feldbush@mail.ecu.edu

Chapter Affiliation: East Carolina University

Candidate's Statement: The two most important tasks are: to improve communication between chapters in the Southeast Region and between the Region and Sigma Xi Board of Directors; and to increase chapter membership by sharing best practices in member recruitment and retention. We need a strong representative voice on the Board and we need an accessible regional web site to inform chapter presidents and members on national issues and new, innovative ideas for enhancing membership. We should consider establishing a regional newsletter in which ideas can be exchanged and upcoming events advertised. We should encourage chapters to have representation at the National Meetings and we should consider a yearly regional meeting of chapter presidents and delegates. Sigma Xi can and should promote science as a career and we must start early when our children are in grade school and middle school. Chapters need to work together to meet the needs of future scientists as well as our current members.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: Sigma Xi, East Carolina University Chapter 1997- present, advisor to the chapter board and funded a number of chapter activities; Phi Kappa Phi, ECU Chapter 1997-present, vice president 1997-1999, president 1999-2001, past president, 2001-2003; North Carolina Association for Biomedical Research, vice chairman of the Executive Committee 1998-2000, chairman 200-2002.

Biographical Information: Tom received his Ph.D. in immunology from Ohio State in 1966 and performed post doctoral studies at the Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford, England. In 1970 he moved to the University of Iowa where he spent the next 18 years building his academic career training numerous graduate students and maintaining a funded research program focused on immunologic memory. Tom left Iowa in 1988, becoming the Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the VA Hospital, University of Missouri School of Medicine (1988-90), then the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education at Northwestern University School of Medicine (1990-95). During this period of time Tom served on numerous peer review boards for both the Veterans Administration and the National Institutes of Health, maintained a funded research program, published numerous articles and chaired a number of professional meetings. Tom became Vice Chancellor of Research and Graduate Studies at East Carolina University in 1995 and returned to the faculty as a professor of biology in 2003.

Name: Thomas D. Mathews

Present Position: Retired
Organization: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (primary) and Southern Wesleyan University (secondary)

Address: 850 Fred Street
Charleston, SC 29412-5043
USA

Telephone: 843-795-5260
E-mail: mathtom1@bellsouth.net

Chapter Affiliation: Charleston

Candidate's Statement: My interest in this position is based on my regard for Sigma Xi and my desire to increase the dwindling numbers of students entering science and the loss of Sigma Xi members. The regions are critical to fulfilling the goals and functions of Sigma Xi. As the Southeast Director, my focus would be on the concerns and ideas of the region, on improving communication within the region, on actions necessary to reach solutions to problems, and on plans to achieve goals of both Sigma Xi as a whole and the Southeast Region specifically.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: I serve as board member and Councilor of the Charleston Chapter, which entails my attending the annual Sigma Xi conference and such duties as the chapter assigns me. I am also on the board of the Southeastern Laboratory Society of which I am a charter member. In non-technical capacities, I serve on several church and community-outreach committees.

Biographical Information: Adjunct Professor - Physical Science Instructor for Southern Wesleyan University. 1999-2003. Taught classes in Columbia, SC, and Charleston. Associate Marine Scientist/Division Safety Officer - Marine Resources Research Institute of the Marine Resources Division (MRD) of the SC Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). 1972-1999. Served as chief chemist and safety coordinator. Research Assistant - Texas A&M University. 1970-1972. Taught senior and graduate chemical oceanography courses, while completing the requirements for the Ph.D. in Oceanography. Chemistry Instructor - U.S. Naval Academy. 1965-1968. Taught freshman chemistry, navigation, and naval operations. Graduate Assistant - Georgia Institute of Technology. 1964-1965. Taught chemistry lab courses, while pursuing graduate studies in inorganic chemistry. Adjunct Faculty, Graduate Program in Marine Biology, College of Charleston. 1974-1999. Additional - Member of Sigma Xi for over twenty years. Served as president and VP, in the Charleston Chapter. Education - B.S. in Chemistry (1964), College of Charleston. Ph.D. in Oceanography (1972), Texas A & M University.

Name: Lawrence James Rouse

Present Position: Chair, Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences
Organization: Louisiana State University

Address: Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
USA

Telephone: 225-578-6308
FAX: 225-578-6307
E-mail: lrouse@lsu.edu

Chapter Affiliation: Louisiana State University

Candidate's Statement: During my years as chair of my chapter's student grant-in-aid committee, I realized how important it is for those of us who have successful research programs to encourage students who are just beginning the journey. I will work to encourage chapters to begin or increase support of student research through locally generated awards. The most efficient way to increase funds for this effort is to increase the number of members in each chapter. My complimentary goal, therefore, is to encourage growth of chapters in the Southeast Region.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: Member of Sigma Xi and the Louisiana State University Chapter since 1976; Chair of the chapter's student grant-in-aid committee 1997 - 2001; Chapter Treasurer 2001 - 2003; Vice President 2003; President 2003 - 2004; Past President 2004 - 2005.

Biographical Information: B.S. - Physics, Loyola University, New Orleans, 1964; Ph.D. - Physics, Louisiana State University, 1972; Faculty, Coastal Studies Institute and Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, 1972 to Present; Director, Coastal Marine Institute, Louisiana State University, 1998 to Present; Chair, Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, 2003 to Present; Board of Directors, Iberville Parish (county) Chamber of Commerce, 2004 to Present; Board of Directors, Eastside Community Health Center (a rural health clinic servicing primarily low income residents), 2004 to Present. My present research interests are in circulation within estuaries, flow along inner continental shelves, and the exchange between these two regions. As part of these circulation processes, I am interested in the sources, pathways, and fates of material, particularly sediment, transported by the water. My research is generally multidisciplinary, cooperating with other scientists who have expertise in such fields as wetlands ecology, nutrient cycling, ichthyoplankton, numerical modeling, and coastal geomorphic processes.

Name: Jack Sommer

Present Position: Knight Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Organization: University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Address: 19532 Weavers Circle
Cornelius and Earth Sciences
East Carolina University
Charlotte, NC 28031
USA

Telephone: 704-896-0718
FAX: 704-896-0788
E-mail: jacksommer@aol.com

Chapter Affiliation: Charlotte

Candidate's Statement: As a member of the Board of Directors (1989-1991 & 2002-2004) I have developed a deep appreciation of the Society at the chapter and regional levels as well as an understanding of the Society in its global context. I am more convinced now than at any other time of the abiding importance of our honor society and its steadfast mission to foster communication and companionship among scientists across disciplines and national boundaries. I am also acutely aware of the need for Sigma Xi to continue to streamline its operations to support its mission more effectively. For this reason I would like to continue to work with Sigma Xi leaders and Staff to realize new possibilities and to help the Society to continue to improve its service to Members and their Chapters. During the past two years the Southeast Region has created a website to facilitate communication and I have sought advice and opinions of members through their chapters to share with the Board of Directors in an effort to improve the working of Sigma Xi. If I am re-elected as Regional Director I pledge to continue to solicit your insights and to report back to you on how these have been employed in the decision making of the Society. During the past two years chapters of the Southeast Region have received more awards for overall excellence, programs and diversity than any other region. I would like to help you keep up the good work.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: Sigma Xi: Executive Committee, 1988-89; Regional Director for the Southeast 2003-; Chair of International Committee, 1988-91; Committee on Science and Society, 1988-90 & 2004-; Compensation Committee, 1989; Audit Committee, 2003-; Chair of Ad Hoc Committee on Science, Technology and Government, 1989-92; Director of the Survey of Scientists and Engineers, 1987-90; National Advisory Group on Undergraduate Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education, 1988/89; National Lecturer, 1990; President of the Charlotte Chapter, 1995/96 and 1998/99. AAAS: Fellow, 1998-; CAIP member. Royal Society of New Zealand: Member and Director of a Survey of Scientists and Technologists, 1996/2000.

Biographical Information: A.B. Dartmouth College, 1960; A.M. Boston University, 1961; Ph.D. Boston University, 1968. Lecturer and Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College, 1964-1975. NAS/NRC Postdoctoral Fellow, 1967/68. Dean of Social Sciences and Associate and Full Professor at University of Texas at Dallas, 1975-84. Science Policy Analyst, National Science Foundation, 1984-89 and Deputy Director of Science Resource Studies, 1989-90. Senior Advisor for Science and Technology, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1990-92. Knight Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, UNC Charlotte, 1992-2002. Fulbright Senior Scholar to New Zealand, 1995-96. Board of Advisors and Co-Chair of the Judges Panel, the George and Cynthia Mitchell Prize for Sustainable Development, 1989-96 and Chair of the Young Scholars Mitchell Prize Competition 1989-98. Chair, Policy Advisory Board, Houston Advanced Research Center, 1996-99. Who's Who in Science and Engineering, 1992.

Name: Andrea B. Taylor

Present Position: Assistant Professor
Organization: Duke University Medical Center

Address: Department of Community & Family Medicine
Duke South, Box 3907
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, NC 27710
USA

Telephone: 919-688-3016
FAX: 919-668-3024
E-mail: andrea.taylor@duke.edu

Chapter Affiliation: Duke University

Candidate's Statement: I decided to run for the position of Director for the Southeast Region for one reason: Like many before me, Sigma Xi has been instrumental in supporting my research career. Having been on the receiving end of Sigma Xi, I feel I have reached a point in my career where I am able to give something in return and I believe that one of the best ways I can accomplish this is by volunteering to serve. I recently relocated to North Carolina and am rooted to Duke University and to the Triangle area. I am particularly interested in the position of Director for the Southeast Region, because acting as a liaison between the Board and regional chapters would allow me to serve in one of the broadest capacities possible, while providing opportunities to learn more about Sigma Xi.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: I was first nominated to Sigma Xi in 1988 by my academic mentor, when I was a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. The Grant-in-Aid I received through Sigma Xi enabled me to purchase the digital calipers needed to collect my dissertation data, and which I still have, and still use. In support of women in science and the Duke University Women's Initiative, I have opened my research laboratory to undergraduate and graduate women, and Sigma Xi has generously supported some of these students in their research efforts. I have encouraged these students as they continue in their research careers to become contributing members of Sigma Xi. Likewise, I continue to encourage science in secondary education by participating as a member of the North Carolina Academy of Sciences, and as a judge in the Sigma Xi-sponsored North Carolina Student Academy of Science State Competitions.

Biographical Information: Andrea Taylor is Assistant Professor in the Departments of Community and Family Medicine and Biological Anthropology and Anatomy in the Duke University School of Medicine. Taylor received her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in 1992. Her research involves tracking the functional and adaptive patterning of cranial morphology in the great apes in order to better understand the ecological bases of species diversification in primates. More recently, she has also begun to investigate the ways in which chewing muscles interface with the bony feeding apparatus to both facilitate and constrain movement during feeding behaviors. Taylor has been a member of Sigma Xi since 1988. She has numerous publications and recently co-edited Gorilla Biology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective (with Michele Goldsmith, Cambridge University Press, 2003). She currently serves on the Student Affairs Committee and the Newsletter Advisory Board, both for the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. She serves as a reviewer for the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Journal of Human Evolution, and the American Journal of Primatology, as well as for the National Science Foundation and the LSB Leakey Foundation.

Name: Ann Houston Williams

Present Position: Field Studies Coordinator
Organization: US Environmental Protection Agency

Address: USEPA/ORD/NHEERL/HSD/EBB
Human Studies Facility
104 Mason Farm Rd.
UNC-CH
Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7315 USA

Telephone: 919-843-4833
FAX: 919-966-0655
E-mail: williams.annh@epa.gov

Chapter Affiliation: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Candidate's Statement: For almost thirty years, Sigma Xi has been an extremely important part of my professional career. In 1990 after 13 years in academia, I accepted a position with Sigma Xi Headquarters during its transition from New Haven, CT to RTP, NC. First as Program Administrator for Chapters and Clubs and later as Director of Chapter Programs, I spent nine years working to improve the health of all chapters. Having visited more that 150 chapters across North America, I am acutely aware of the difficulties that faculty face on their local campuses and the effort needed to maintain a chapter. As the staff liaison to Sigma Xi's Committee on Diversity and the International Committee, I helped move forward the issues and programs of these committees. As a Regional Director, I would emphasize the work of revitalizing chapters in the Southeast Region and the Society, as a whole, and would push to reinvigorate the Society's program on diversity.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: American Society of Zoologists, Education Committee, 1987-1990; Chair, Committee on Awards, Auburn University Chapter of Sigma Xi, 1988-1989; President-elect, Auburn University Chapter of Sigma Xi, 1989-1990; Secretary, Alabama Academy of Science, 1985-1990; Board of Directors, North Carolina Academy of Science, 1994-1997, President-elect, 1997-1998, President, 1998-1999, Past President, 1999-2000; Board of Directors, Organization for Tropical Studies, 1986-90; Board of Directors, League of Women Voters of Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC, 1900-1995, Voters Service Chair, 1990-1992, First Vice President, 1992-1993, Co-President, 1993-1994, Treasurer, 1994-1995; UNC Chapter of Sigma Xi, Secretary-Treasurer, 1999 to present.

Biographical Information: WILLIAMS, ANN HOUSTON, zoology educator; b. Red Bank, N.J. BS, U.S.C., 1965; MA in Teaching, Duke U., 1972; PhD, U.N.C., 1977. Tchr. high sch. biology A.C. Flora High Sch., Columbia, S.C., 1966-73; teaching asst. U.N.C., Chapel Hill, 1973-77; asst. prof. Southwestern at Memphis (name now Rhodes Coll.), 1978-80; asst. prof. Auburn (Ala.) U., 1980-85, assoc. prof., 1985-90; program adminstr. Sigma Xi, The Sci. Rsch. Soc., Research Triangle Park, N.C., 1990-99; cons. Normandeau Assocs., Mass., 1978; bd. dirs. Fed. Credit Union Auburn U.; vis. prof. Dauphin Island (Ala.) Sea Lab, 1981, 82, 84, 85. Author: Report to EPA, 1983; contbr. articles to profl. jours. Wilson Fellow U.N.C., 1974-75; grantee NSF, 1975-77, 86-88. Mem. AAAS (EPA rsch. fellow 1983), LWV (bd. dirs. 1983-86), Ecol. Soc. Am., Ala. Acad. Sci. (sec. 1985-90), Mid-South Biology Tchrs. Assn. (pres. 1979-80), Marine Environ. Scis. Consortium (sec. program com. 1985-86, vice chair 1986-87, chair 1987-88), Orgn. for Tropical Studies (bd. dirs. 1986-90), Sigma Xi (chpt. pres. elect 1989-90), Auburn Chaper of Zeta Tau Alpha (gen. advisor 1981-87). NC Acad. Sci. (bd. dirs., pres-el., pres., past-pres. 1994-00. Proj. Dir., Carol. Mammogr. Reg. 1999-2002. US EPA, Epidemiologist (2002-).