2006 Assembly of Delegates:
Mid-Atlantic Geographic Region Associate Director

2006 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference

November 2-5, 2006
Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center
Detroit, Michigan

Name: Charles E. Kriley

Present Position: Professor of Chemistry
Organization: Grove City College

Address: 100 Campus Drive
Grove City, PA 16127
USA

Telephone: 724-967-3066
FAX: 724-458-3855
E-mail: cekriley@gcc.edu

Chapter Affiliation: Grove City College

Candidate's Statement: I have been an active member of Sigma Xi since 1995 and have learned the importance of being a member of Sigma Xi. This will be my seventh annual Sigma Xi meeting and I would like to continue serving Sigma Xi in the position of Associate Director of the Mid-Atlantic region. Sigma Xi has been an extremely positive influence on the faculty and students of Grove City College and has provided a means for the various departments to interact on a scientific level. I have found that my membership in Sigma Xi has provided me with a unique opportunity to engage in conversations with faculty outside my particular area. This interaction has not only helped my professional career but it has also provided opportunities for the students at Grove City College.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: Associate Director Sigma Xi Mid-Atlantic region 2003-present. Sigma Xi: member Northwest Indiana, 1995-98; Founding member, Grove City College Chapter, 1998. Treasurer, Grove City College Chapter 1998-present; Delegate to annual meeting for 7 years; Chemistry Disciplinary Editor for American Journal of Undergraduate Research 2002-present; Baccalaureate Nominating Committee 1999-01, Committee Chairman 2001; Sigma Xi Undergraduate research grant Fall 2000; Sigma Xi Science, Math and Engineering Education Grant 2003 and 2004 for "Grove City College Summer Science Camp". The Summer Science and Engineering camp has just completed it's fourth year of successful operation this past summer. Member of Phi Lambda Upsilon. SACP Advisor 2000-present (Student Society of Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh). Co-advisor Student Chapter of American Chemical Society 1996-present.

Biographical Information: Charles E. Kriley. Education: Ph.D., Purdue University, 1993; B.S., Chemistry, Grove City College, 1988. Employment: Professor, Grove City College 1996-present; Research Consultant, Purdue University, summer 1999; Visiting Scientist, B.F. Goodrich, summer 1997/98; Assistant Professor, Purdue University Calumet 1993-96. NSF Grant, "Incorporating FT-IR into the Laboratory Curriculum", 1995; Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh College Grant, "Fiber Optic CCD 440 Array UV-Vis Spectrophotometer," 2000; Sigma Xi research Grant, "Polymerization of Cyclic Olefins using Nickel Catalysts," 2001. Chemistry Outreach: Chemistry Show Coordinator for seven years for preschool children to 3rd grade with an emphasis on minority and home schooled children. Chair of the Grove City College Sigma Xi Chapter Committee for the selection of the Sigma Xi Outstanding High-school Science and Math Teacher, 1998-2002. Programs Administered: Northwest Indiana Regional Science Olympiad Purdue University Calumet, Event Coordinator, 1994-96; Expanding your Horizons in Mathematics and Science Conference, Purdue University, volunteer. Research Interests: Active undergraduate inorganic/organometallic research program. Research involves the preparation, characterization and reactivity of metal-phosphines and their use as catalysts for polymerization reactions.

Name: Michael Patrick McCann

Present Position: Professor of Biology and Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
Organization: Saint Joseph's University

Address: Saint Joseph's University
5600 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19131
USA

Telephone: 610-660-1823
FAX: 610-660-1832
E-mail: mmccann@sju.edu

Chapter Affiliation: Saint Joseph's University

Candidate's Statement: I am pleased to be considered for membership on the Committee on Nominations for Sigma Xi. The Society is faced with the continuing challenge of retaining and increasing membership, while at the same time the need for science advocacy within the public and government sectors is at its highest point in decades. Addressing these and other compelling issues facing Sigma Xi in the short and long term will require continued strong and effective leadership. I would be honored to be elected to the committee on nominations to help in the election of future Presidents-elect and Treasurers for the Society.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: I have served as secretary of the Saint Joseph's University Chapter since 1999 and, prior to that, as its president. The chapter has hosted an annual student research symposium that have grown in size such that the 2006 conference (a joint meeting with the Eastern Colleges Science Conference) had some 230 posters and 75 talks presented by more than 600 students and faculty from 60 colleges and universities. The SJU chapter has also hosted three major public panel discussions, and the chapter has received awards for excellence, outstanding program and new member initiation, over the last several years.

Biographical Information: I received my B.S. in Biology from Saint Joseph's University in 1987 and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Stanford University in 1993. I returned to Saint Joseph's as a faculty member in 1992. In 2005 I was appointed to the position of Associate Dean for the College of Arts & Sciences following a two-year term as President of the Faculty Senate. Prior to that I had served in various faculty governance positions and as assistant chair of the Department of Biology. My research has always involved developmental mechanisms in microorganisms. As an undergraduate student I was very fortunate to work with Dr. John Tudor studying the mechanisms used by the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus to penetrate the outer membrane of its prey cells. My graduate work, under the direction of Dr. Abdul Matin, focused on the genetic basis of the carbon starvation and stress response in Escherichia coli. Since returning to Saint Joseph's, I have returned to work with bdellovibrios as well as working in collaboration with my with, Dr. Karen Snetselaar, on the fungus Ustilago maydis, a pathogen of corn plants. Most recently our group worked as part of a large international collaboration to annotate the genome sequence of U. maydis.

Name: Andrew J. Velkey, II

Present Position: Associate Professor of Psychology
Organization: Christopher Newport University

Address: 1 University Place
Newport News, VA 23606
USA

Telephone: 757-594-7927
FAX: 757-594-7342
E-mail: avelkey@cnu.edu

Chapter Affiliation: Tidewater, VA

Candidate's Statement: "Why Sigma Xi?". When I approach colleagues about joining the society, they want to know why membership in Sigma Xi matters. Sigma Xi is relevant because it is the only chapter-based interdisciplinary honor society for ALL areas of science, technology, mathematics, and engineering; the success of the society depends, in large part, on the success of the local chapters. Through the efforts of dedicated individuals at both the local and national level, progress in chapter vitality has been made---new chapters have been chartered, and other chapters have been re-vitalized. However, some chapters remain "flat" and others continue to decline. While I have been able to serve my local chapters in various officer positions, I wish to do more for the society. If elected to the office of Associate Director for the Mid-Atlantic region, I will encourage dialogue and foster connections and collaborations between the variety of chapters in our group in order to increase the impact and vitality of the chapters.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: Sigma Xi: Tidewater Ch. Membership Chair, 2006- present; Facilitator, Tidewater Area Café' Scientifique, 2005-present; Tidewater Ch. Past-President, 2005-2006; Tidewater Ch. President, 2004-2005; Tidewater Ch. President-Elect, 2003-2004; Tidewater Ch. Secretary, 2001-2003; University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Ch. President, 2000-2001; UMMC Ch. President-Elect, 1999-2000; Delegate to annual meeting every year from 1999 to 2006; National Nominating Committee, 2006-present; National Committee on Qualifications & Membership, 2006-present ;Area Groups/Industries/State and Federal Laboratories Constituency Group Nominating Committee, 2001-2004; National Committee on Minutes, 2001-2004; Teller, 2002 Annual Meeting; Sigma Xi National Travel Grant for PKAL summer institute workshop on "Developing Courses that Link to Themes and Goals in Project 2061 (AAAS)", 2000; Sigma Xi Science Education Development Grant for the development of a new science course at Millsaps College, 2001; Supervised seven undergraduate research projects funded in part by local grants awarded by the UMMC Chapter, 1998-2001. Also an active participant in Project Kaleidoscope, including selection as a member of the "PKAL Faculty for the 21st Century" (F21, class of 2006).

Biographical Information: Education: Ph.D.-Experimental Psychology, The Univ. of Montana, 1997; M.A.-Experimental Psychology, The Univ. of Montana, 1995; B.S.-Psychology, Millsaps College, 1991. Employment: Assoc. Prof. of Psychology, Christopher Newport University, 2005-present; Asst. Prof. of Psychology, CNU, 2001-2005; Asst. Professor of Psychology, Mississippi College, 1997-2001; Asst. Program Evaluator, Department of Community and Government Studies, The Univ. of Montana, 1995-1997. Publications: American Journal of Primatology, Behavioural Processes, Cognitive Technology, Creighton Law Review, Perceptual & Motor Skills, and Psychopharmacology. Currently researching territoriality and aggression in Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens), the reinforcing properties of the aggressive encounters between resident and invading male fish, and the effects of xenoestrogens at sub-toxic levels on reproductively-relevant behavior in B. splendens.