2006 Assembly of Delegates:
Nominees for President

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

Henry Petroski
Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of History, Duke University

Henry Petroski earned his bachelor of mechanical engineering degree from Manhattan College in 1963, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, in theoretical and applied mechanics, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1964 and 1968, respectively. His wrote his dissertation on closed-form solutions in continuum mechanics, and he continued to do research and publish in that area as an assistant professor in the aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics department at the University of Texas at Austin. His refocused his research when he moved to Argonne National Laboratory, where he was asked to lead a new group in fracture mechanics for the Reactor Analysis and Safety Division, whose work at the time was concentrated on the development of a liquid metal fast breeder reactor. When he joined the civil engineering department at Duke in 1980, he again refocused his research, this time toward problems in structural mechanics, and he developed complementary interests in failure analysis and in design theory and methodology. He has published about seventy-five refereed journal articles in these various areas. Among the sponsors of his research have been the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He is a professional engineer licensed in Texas and a chartered engineer registered in Ireland. In 2004 he received a presidential appointment to serve on the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

Petroski has written broadly on success and failure in design and on the history of engineering and technology. His books on these subjects, which are intended for a broad audience, include To Engineer Is Human, which was adapted for a BBC-television documentary, and Design Paradigms, which was named by the Association of American Publishers as the best general engineering book published in 1994. His Engineers of Dreams is a history of American bridge building. He has also written books on commonplace objects, including the titles The Pencil, The Evolution of Useful Things, The Book on the Bookshelf, and Small Things Considered. A memoir about delivering newspapers in the 1950s and about what predisposed him to become an engineer is entitled Paperboy. His latest book, Success through Failure: The Paradox of Design, came out this past spring. Most of his books have been published by Alfred A. Knopf, which is a division of Random House, but he has also published books with the university presses of Cambridge, Harvard, and Princeton. His books have been translated into a variety of languages, including Chinese, Finnish, German, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish.

In addition to his refereed-journal articles and books, Petroski has also published numerous non-technical articles and essays for newspapers-including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal-and magazines-including New Scientist and MIT's Technology Review. Since 1991, he has been writing the "Engineering" column in American Scientist; he also writes a monthly column on the engineering profession for Prism, the magazine of the American Society for Engineering Education. Selections of his American Scientist columns have been collected in the books Remaking the World and Pushing the Limits. He lectures regularly to both technical and general audiences in the U.S. and abroad, and has been interviewed frequently on radio-including National Public Radio, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Australian National Radio-and on television-including PBS, CNN, NBC, CNBC, Discovery Channel, History Channel and other network and cable channels. He has been profiled in the "Science Times" section of the New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, Chronicle of Higher Education, Smithsonian, and in a wide variety of other newspapers, magazines, and trade journals, both domestic and foreign. An interview with him was featured in a recent issue of Veja, Brazil's weekly news magazine, which boasts the fourth-largest readership in the world.

Petroski has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Humanities Center, where he spent a sabbatical year. Among his other honors are the Ralph Coats Roe Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Washington Award from the Western Society of Engineers, and the Civil Engineering History and Heritage Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers, whose history and heritage committee he chairs. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from Clarkson University, Manhattan College, Trinity College (in Hartford, Conn.), and Valparaiso University, and has been the recipient of distinguished engineering alumnus awards from Manhattan College and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an honorary member of the Moles; a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and a member of the American Philosophical Society and the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

Candidate's Statement - Henry Petroski

My association with Sigma Xi goes back to 1968 and is full of warm professional and personal memories. I was a graduate student at the University of Illinois at the time and was intrigued by an announcement of a student-paper competition sponsored by the local chapter of the Society. I entered what was to be my first refereed-journal paper in the competition and was pleased to learn that I was selected as a finalist, which meant that I had to present the paper orally, another first for me. My wife, Catherine, who was pregnant at the time, did not attend the public presentations, which probably made me a bit less nervous speaking in the physics auditorium, which seemed to me then to be cavernous. Catherine did not let me know that she was in labor until I returned home that evening. Our first child, Karen, was born the next morning. Soon afterwards, I was notified that I had received third-prize in the paper competition and that I was to be inducted into Sigma Xi as a full member later that spring. Catherine and Karen did attend that ceremony.

Perhaps like many a young peripatetic academic with a limited budget and a young family, I let my membership lapse after a few years, but I did eventually renew my association with the society after I settled down at Duke University, to whose chapter I transferred my affiliation. It was a great honor to be asked by the Duke Chapter to give the lecture at its induction ceremony one year. It was an even greater honor when, in 1991, I was invited to be a Sigma Xi National Lecturer, and for two years I traveled to university campuses and research centers that I otherwise might not have. It was during this period that I became acquainted with the dedication, enthusiasm, and energy that can be found among the Society's chapters. I still have fond memories of speaking at annual banquets, induction ceremonies, and regular chapter meetings to audiences with a wide range of scientific and technical expertise and of touring laboratories in fields far from my own areas of research.

At about that same time, Brian Hayes, then editor of American Scientist, invited me to write a regular column on engineering for the magazine. He knew of my work because by then I had published three books on engineering and design and had written articles and essays for such magazines as Science 80, Issues in Science and Technology, and especially MIT's Technology Review. I had also been publishing op-ed pieces, mostly on issues related to science, technology, and public policy, in the New York Times and Washington Post. My first "Engineering" column appeared in the January-February 1991 issue of American Scientist; the one in the current, November-December 2006, issue is my ninety-sixth. I am looking forward to the publication of my one-hundredth American Scientist column this coming summer.

Among the most satisfying aspects of writing for Sigma Xi's magazine has been receiving feedback from readers, and through this I believe I have developed a sense of the nature of the society's membership and its interests. Many of the letters I have received have led to repeat correspondence and, in some cases, to face-to-face meetings after I have given a lecture at another institution or when a visitor to Duke has dropped in to my office. To me, the membership of Sigma Xi is heterogeneous by research field but homogeneous in its dedication to the spirit of the society's motto, "companions in zealous research." I have been immensely pleased to learn that anthropologists, biologists, chemists, . . . , and zoologists read my columns on engineering, and that aerospace, biomedical, chemical, and all kinds of other engineers read the eclectic articles in the magazine. As specialized as we all might be in our own field, we recognize and respect the common roots of our scientific and engineering method and the common perennial problems associated with running a research program, and we appreciate the intellectual and inspirational value of all fields of science and engineering.

Should I be a successful candidate for President, I will spend my first year in office learning more about the nature and operation of the Society and will prepare myself to lead it during my presidential year. My principal goal will be to gain greater visibility and respect for Sigma Xi not only among those highly-qualified scientists and engineers who are not presently engaged in it but also among the scientific and technical media. I would like to see Sigma Xi thought of as a natural representative of the broad spectrum of scientists and engineers engaged in cutting-edge and integrative research, and I would like to see the general media of record, such as the New York Times, Science, and Nature, come to the President and other officers and members of Sigma Xi for thoughts and statements on current issues relating to all aspects of the research enterprise, perhaps by inviting op-ed or editorial pieces. This will bring the Society greater recognition among opinion leaders and, by extension, the general public to whom we should all wish to communicate our research intentions and findings.

It is no secret that membership in Sigma Xi is not as large as it once was, and that the Society would be well-served by more numerous and more active members and chapters. I believe that a growth in membership and chapter activity will naturally follow from a more visible public presence of Sigma Xi in the pages of, for example, "Science Times," the weekly science and technology section of the New York Times, and on its op-ed page, as well as in similar pages in other newspapers and magazines. As President, I would use the bully pulpit of the office to push for greater visibility in the opinion-forming media generally. By means of carefully crafted and opportunely timed news releases, interviews can be generated in media of all kinds, including-in addition to newspapers and magazines-on radio, television, and the Internet. I know this to be the case because I have experienced it in conjunction with the publication of my own books and through strategic press releases from my publisher and from my home institution.

From anecdotal evidence, I believe there are many qualified graduate students and young researchers who are not members of Sigma Xi because they either have never been asked to join or have not seen the value of membership in a society whose main presence in the world appears to be through local chapters and the Society's magazine. As well read as American Scientist is, researchers have long been used to going to their library-and now to the Internet-to read the latest issue of many a magazine or journal. I also believe, again supported by anecdotal evidence, that there are many senior researchers who are not members of the Society simply because they have never been nominated. There comes a point when these individuals have reached a stature that makes it awkward to nominate and induct them into the same society-and perhaps at the same membership level-in which their graduate students are being inducted. I believe that a new level of membership, perhaps something like Fellow, would provide a mechanism whereby extremely accomplished researchers who, for whatever reason, were not nominated for membership in Sigma Xi at an earlier stage in their career, could be so honored later. These new Fellows can in turn be expected to be much more proactive in nominating their own graduate students and younger colleagues for membership in the Society. If properly introduced and administered, the designation, Fellow of Sigma Xi, should become a sought-after honor for both long-time members and non-members alike.

I am not one to make long lists of promises that I do not believe I can reasonably keep. These few are my considered proposals for a one-year presidential tenure to serve the members and needs of the Society. Thank you for considering me as a candidate for President of Sigma Xi.

Ann H. Williams
Epidemiologist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

I am proud and honored to say that I am a 31-year member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Since that singular event of being inducted into the Society while a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975, Sigma Xi has been the main focus of my extracurricular scientific activities. As a field ecologist, Sigma Xi has provided the perfect venue for my connecting with the myriad of scientific disciplines whose researchers have contributed additional, invaluable insights into the studies on which I was working. Without a doubt, Sigma Xi has given me more than I could ever repay through service to the Society.

I received my B.S. in Biology from the University of South Carolina, the M.A.T. in Biological Sciences from Duke University, and the Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am indebted to the Society for two Grants-in-Aid of Research to conduct an experimental study of a coral reef community in Discovery Bay, Jamaica, for my doctoral research.

Following post-doctoral work with Dr. John Sutherland at the Duke University Marine Laboratory, my first teaching position as an assistant professor of biology was at Southwestern at Memphis (now, Rhodes College) in Memphis, TN. I was soon lured away by Auburn University to head their marine biology program and continue my marine community ecology research at the Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory, Dauphin Island, Alabama, where I also served on the Sea Lab's Coordinating Committee. Over my 10 years at Auburn, the marine biology program thrived and I am pleased to see numerous graduates of Auburn working and studying the marine environment in governmental and academic communities throughout the US.

I served as the Secretary of the Alabama Academy of Science for five years, as the Graduate Program Officer for the Department of Zoology and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn, and on the Boards of the Organization for Tropical Studies, the Auburn chapter of the League of Women Voters, and Auburn University's Federal Credit Union. As a member, and later chair, of the Auburn Sigma Xi chapter's Committee on Awards, I facilitated the selection for recognition of outstanding theses and dissertations each year. I was elected President-elect of the chapter in 1989 and would have served as President, but North Carolina called my husband and me to return to the Old North State in 1990.

I accepted an administrative position with Sigma Xi, when our Headquarters moved to Research Triangle Park, NC. As the Program Administrator for Chapters and Clubs, I traveled throughout the US visiting with chapters, providing support for existing groups, and assisting others in securing charters for new chapters. While visiting Mississippi State University, chapter officers asked about Sigma Xi's policy on diversity. As the Society had no policy at that point, I returned to Headquarters and began the work that culminated in the Society's creation of the Committee on Diversity. Today, this committee is one of the Society's more active and vital committees.

During my nine years with Sigma Xi, I was promoted to Director for Chapter Programs and served as staff liaison to the Committee on Regions, Committee on Qualifications and Membership, and the International Committee. I initiated the Sigma Xi Expeditions program; The Intercom, the officers' newsletter; the young/international member special dues rate; and chartered and revitalized numerous chapters. I have continued this latter important work for the Society by providing the leadership for the revival of the Duke University Chapter in the past year.

Because of the importance of increasing the visibility of the Society among scientists, I have worked toward this goal in North Carolina through involvement with the North Carolina Academy of Sciences (NCAS). I was elected to the Board of Directors of the NCAS in 1994, serving first as newsletter editor and then President-elect, President, and Immediate Past President. Each year at the NCAS meeting, I have sponsored a breakfast for Sigma Xi members and their students to recognize the research of these students.

During my tenure at Sigma Xi, I realized that I missed having a direct, hands-on involvement in science, and so, began a new direction in 1999 by accepting a position as Project Director for the Carolina Mammography Registry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2002 another opportunity arose and I was pleased to accept a position as Field Studies Coordinator for the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development, Human Studies Division in Chapel Hill, NC.

At EPA, my background as a field researcher is crucial in the planning and execution of large epidemiological field studies examining the associations between environmental stressors and human health outcomes. EPA's Office of Research and Development recognized my work with an award in 2003 as a member of the NEEAR Water Study Team and, in 2005, I received a laboratory-wide award for developing a computer-assisted fish consumption survey for members of Tribal nations.

Along with my transition back into active science, I marshaled a group of Sigma Xi members at EPA and on the UNC campus to revitalize the languishing UNC-CH Chapter of Sigma Xi. Since 1999, I have served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the UNC Chapter which has not only returned to good standing with the Society, but has increased its total chapter membership by 10% and its initiates by 600%.

On the national level, I have served the Society as the Associate Director of the Southeast Region for five years and as the Regional Director for the Southeast on the Board of Directors since 2005. Since 1999, I served five years at the national level on the Society's Strategic Planning Committee, was elected to a three year term on the Society's Finance Committee, and was elected to three years (the last as chair) of the Society's Committee on Nominations. In each of these positions I have always striven to balance the future well-being of the Society with the current best interests of members and chapters.

Candidate's Statement - Ann H. Williams

Because I put Sigma Xi first! When asked why I chose to accept the nomination as President of the Society, my response is simple…I will do whatever it takes to secure the success of Sigma Xi so that future generations of scientists will share in the camaraderie and honor of membership. It would be my distinct honor and great pleasure to serve the membership and chapters by providing the leadership, and the effort required, that will ensure the Society's continuance and its increasing recognition as the honor society of research scientists.

I believe the last three years of Society leadership, more than any other recent time, have placed Sigma Xi on the road to recognition as the global honor society of research scientists. Let me provide a few examples:

• We can proudly point to our magnificent new Headquarters building, serving not only as our Society's administrative home, but also its Center for numerous prestigious programs that have begun to flourish within its walls.
• The Society's leadership role in the United Nations Scientific Expert Group (UNSEG) on Climate Change is a fine example of our international recognition as a source of scientific expertise.
• Through the use of the new video documentary featuring Sigma Xi members and describing the Society's marvelous legacy and the contributions of our distinguished members, each of us is enabled to increase the visibility and awareness of Sigma Xi within our communities.
• Thanks to the Headquarters staff, with the guidance of the Board of Directors, Sigma Xi is emerging as a leader in the conduct of ethical scientific research.

My vision for the Society includes the following goals and actions:

• Increase the visibility of Sigma Xi in all venues where chapters currently reside by involving campus/corporate publicity offices in highlighting the work of Sigma Xi members, chapter events, and new membership elections.
• Reverse the downward trend of membership by earning the meaningful support of key administrators for chapter events, members' commitment to the work of the Society, and the election of new members.
• Increase the number of members and chapters globally by identifying and working with international partners such as the International Council for Science (ICSU).
• Increase the interactions and shared research among scientists world-wide through creating scientist-to-scientist partnerships that amplify appreciation for the values and importance of membership in Sigma Xi.
• Increase the number of programs and activities carried out under the auspices of the Sigma Xi Center through securing additional extramural funding.
• Increase awareness and recognition of the Sigma Xi name by creating partnerships and programs that will foster recognition of the value of this significant membership to all.

Allow me to work with you, because we will put Sigma Xi first!

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