2009 Assembly of Delegates:
Nominees for President

2009 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting & International Research Conference

November 12-15, 2009
The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel
The Woodlands, Texas (near Houston)

Martin Apple
President
Council of Scientific Society Presidents

Martin Apple is the President of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, the unique association of top science leaders from disciplinary research associations that encompass over 1 million researchers in over 150 disciplines.

He has made many contributions to areas of biochemical and pharmaceutical science, agriculture, education and medicine. He initiated a pioneering research institute dedicated to agricultural molecular genetics for improving the yield and nutrient quality of food plants. He led a collaborative program which achieved one of the first computer-assisted receptor-based drug designs to receive a patent. He codesigned one of the first injectable drug delivery systems which provided for the specific delivery of any drug to a designated specific tissue. He designed, engineered and led a team that built a pioneering model of a pocket-size artificial kidney dialysis machine, that worked in small mammals.

He also managed or co-led several large long term NSF-funded studies of science education reform, and of science teacher education reform.

He served on Executive Board of the Congressionally chartered National Agriculture Research, Economics, Education and Extension Board (NAREEE) where he chaired or coauthored reports and policy recommendations for Congress and the USDA Secretary on water, germplasm, genetics and rural economic development.

He was a Fellow and an elected Regent of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology. While on the faculty of the University of California Medical School in San Francisco, he was elected to chair a unique multi-campus multi-disciplinary frontier new drug research alliance of top Principal Investigators across the University of California. He was a coauthor of the Lange Review of Medical Pharmacology, Cancer, a Comprehensive Treatise, and Status of Biotechnology. In the late 1970's he worked for various periods around the globe-mostly in CGIAR countries (e.g: Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, Peru and Columbia) -- and worked with senior government officials in nations in Africa, Asia and South America on introducing new technology into agriculture. He facilitated the start of a novel International Network of Asian Women Entrepreneurs.

He received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California (UCSF & UC Berkeley) in 1968 and was elected to the Univ Calif. Berkeley Sigma Xi chapter. He was elected president of the Northern California Association of Phi Beta Kappa (recognized for its excellence by Phi Beta Kappa) and was later elected chair of the PBK Association Past Presidents.

His leadership has been noted when he received a Phi Beta Kappa Distinguished Service Award, was named as one of California's 100 "Leaders of Tomorrow," by the 20,000 member Commonwealth Club of California, and won two high awards of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, the Support of Science Award, and the Leadership Award. He was elected Vice-Chairman of the Congressionally chartered, Asia-focused East-West Center Association which gave him a Citation for Leadership. He served two terms as the Board of Visitors Chairman during a renaissance of the five research centers of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. He was a Chairman of the American Institute of Chemists.

He served on the Secretary of Education's National Expert Panel on Math and Science Education and the Secretary of Agriculture's Blue Ribbon Panel on future of the National Agricultural Library System. He was coauthor of the Business Advantage, a strategic planning software program that won the 1000-company Software Publishers Assn Award as Best Program in Higher Education .

Dr. Apple was the Co-Chair of the 2000 (first) Gordon Research Conference on Science & Technology Policy, gave a keynote speech at a recent Gordon Research Conference on Fuel Cells, and was a US participant for development of 5th Framework of the Joint Research Council of the European Commission of the European Union. He was elected to the Board of Governors of the National Economists Club and National Economists Education Foundation.

He has dedicated much of his time to bringing diverse ideas, people, disciplines and visions of the future into productive alliances that address and can make progress toward, or solve, large and complex challenges.

Candidate's Statement - Martin Apple

Sigma Xi has a long history of excellence as the most prestigious honor society across all science, and as the leader in helping shape national and global policy in areas important to the whole science community. The fundamental role of Sigma Xi that grew out of its origins in Phi Beta Kappa, is to bestow a highly esteemed recognition and a gold key to symbolize it as a badge of merit, on our most promising young researchers.

When I was elected to Sigma Xi at the University of California, Berkeley more than three decades ago, it was a distinct honor. I was pleased to become a very early Life Member and support Sigma Xi by serving in many volunteer roles in support of its mission. When I chaired the Long range Planning Committee of the Sigma Xi Board we concluded after vigorous discussion that while many Honor Societies exist to be, ours exists to do.

We have developed a diverse spectrum of Sigma Xi programs and activities that enrich the scientific and public communities, such as visiting lecturers, grants in aid to young scholars, timely symposia on crucial concerns, special awards to outstanding achievers, building international linkages, publishing American Scientist, enhancing public appreciation for science, engaging key issues of the year, advocating for science and engineering, pursuing an improved science and mathematics education, ensuring a high standard of scientific ethics.

The 21st century has already demonstrated that it will not be a simple extension of the trends established in the last half of the 20th century. We were long complacent with dependence on fossil fuels for energy, confident of our strong economic vigor, avoiding seeing a growing gap between our presumably excellent educational outcomes and our future needs, extending and growing our take-make-waste human activity model, while tripling the global human population in one lifespan, and being self-assured that we were a center of gravity of global leadership in frontier science and technology. The last decade has shown the severe weakness of thinking and planning our future by linear forecasts in each of these areas.

Sigma Xi needs to become an expanding center of new thinking, new leadership, new vision and new optimism to address and provide leadership to our 21st century challenges. We are being summoned by the growing opportunity to bring our collective wisdom and scientific leadership to address the challenges of our time. We are called upon to lead the perpetual development of new scientific knowledge, to create a 21st century social contract with science, and to ensure that global capacity to use new knowledge is directed to positive ends, and to the building of sustainable societies.

Scientific leadership for these emerging challenges is not a spectator sport.

Effective leadership by Sigma Xi at this point in our illustrious history requires both an expansion of our best features, some new priorities, and a turnaround in our effectiveness in addressing several of our chronic internal weaknesses. Earlier slowness in taking prompt action on these internal issues—actions that would produce a sustained strategic rejuvenation of Sigma Xi, has left us temporarily less well positioned to meet the new challenges we should be addressing. For example, a large majority of our chapters failed to elect a worthy new member again last year. Variable standards for inviting new scientists to membership are being followed. Our real estate holdings drain, instead of build, our financial security. Our flagship publication follows a paper publication business model that may need to be re-optimized in these rapidly changing and economically difficult times. We have not verified what the role ought to be in the current century for a community of elite scholars and creative problem solvers, joined in a scientific honor society—what is the proper balance between being an honor society and capturing the enormous potential talent pool to serve the future, or between providing services to our members and stimulating and facilitating their ability to collectively address external challenges for the common good?

In our Members future role of leading anticipatory organizational learning by whatever organizations we are in, the next Sigma Xi should become a model of a "learning organization," always experimenting, always learning.

I suggest that effective strategic planning and an action focus of our activities toward the following, could substantially improve Sigma Xi's future:

1. support the programs and activities that work well, and invent new programs and new traditions that expand our opportunities, improve the value and merit of our role as the science honor society, and redirect our future from decline to ascendancy;
2. restore the prestige and significance of Sigma Xi as a premier honor society by rapidly increasing the number of new inductees from the large number of highest quality, research-intensive universities, and from the many highly regarded disciplinary scientific societies that publish the leading peer-reviewed frontier research journals;
3. become the talent pool source of a growing quantity and quality of science leadership appointments in academia, industry, and government;
4. make substantial strategic action-focused alliances with highest quality research leadership groups that complement and expand the capacity of Sigma Xi and enhance its role in ensuring ethical standards;
5. take on the multi-year challenge to act together on future opportunities to stimulate our institutions and economic policies to convert the larger society into one fully incorporating environmentally sustainable systems;
6. make measurable progress every year toward developing the R&D depth and capacity to effectively and rapidly address major new scientific and societal challenges;
7. address education at strategic leverage points, creating and incorporating relevant R&D with intellectual rigor, and take action on the results, that will significantly improve education outcomes at all levels;
8. enhance actions that support, defend and nurture the eternal lamp of new knowledge and understanding at every opportunity;
9. infuse our thinking, planning and future vision with a deep appreciation that we are in a period of profound global transformation, where uncertainty about the future may become the primary certainty with which we live.

Michael P. Crosby
Interim Vice Chancellor for Research University of Hawaii at Hilo

Dr. Crosby has over 30 years of diverse research, teaching, science management and leadership endeavors. He has gained experience and expertise in developing, managing and conducting multi-disciplinary research and overseeing programs through his interactions, involvement and partnerships with numerous universities, national and international science and resource management agencies, programs and committees. Many of these endeavors focused on improving the "synthesis, translation and transfer" of science and technical information between research, public policy and stakeholder communities. During much of the last 20 years, he played an active role in directly leading national and international multi-disciplinary research programs, as well as developing national policy and administrative aspects for our country's science programs.

In January 2008, Dr. Crosby was appointed as the Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development at the University of Hawai'i - Hilo. He is currently on a leave of absence from his federal Senior Executive Service position of Executive Director for the National Science Board (Board), which he began in July 2003. He came to the Board from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) where he was serving as the Senior Advisor for International Science Policy in the Under Secretary's Office of International Affairs at NOAA. His previous positions in NOAA have been: Executive Director for the NOAA Science Advisory Board; National Research Coordinator for Ocean and Coastal Resource Management; and Chief Scientist for Sanctuaries and Reserves. Dr. Crosby also completed a special detail from NOAA to the US Agency for International Development, where he served for two years as the Senior Science Advisor for Marine and Coastal Ecosystems. Prior to joining NOAA, he held numerous faculty positions with the Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research at the University of South Carolina, the Department of Marine Science at Coastal Carolina University, the Graduate Program at the University of Charleston, and Salisbury State University. He has also had previous science positions with the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

He obtained an MS in Biology, with honors, from Old Dominion University and a PhD in Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences at the University of Maryland. He has developed successful research grants of over $26M from NSF, NOAA, EPA, DOD, USAID, and others. Dr. Crosby has led major national and international, multi-discipline, multi-year research projects, such as a US Man and the Biosphere Program project entitled "Ecological and socio-economic impacts of alternative access management strategies in marine and coastal protected areas"; the US, Israeli and Jordanian joint partnership project entitled "The Red Sea Marine Peace Park Cooperative Research, Monitoring and Management Program"; and the Hawai'i State EPSCoR project entitled "Pacific High Island Evolutionary Biogeography: Impacts of Invasive Species, Anthropogenic Activity and Climate Change on Hawaiian Focal Species". He is a member of Sigma Xi - The Scientific Research Society, Natural Areas Association, Coastal Society, National Shellfisheries Association, Estuarine Research Federation, American Association for the Advancement of Science and is a Fellow of the Royal Linnean Society of London. He is also on the Board of Governors for the US-Israeli Binational Science Foundation and on the Board of Directors for the Pacific Congress on Marine Science and Technology.

Dr. Crosby serves as a reviewer and panelist for numerous scientific journals and national and international science panels and advisory committees. He has published over 40 articles in Marine Ecology Progress Series, Journal of Shellfish Research, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, Marine Biology, Limnology and Oceanography, Ocean and Coastal Management, Natural Areas Journal, Coral Reefs, Oceanography, Aquatic Conservation, various Technical Memoranda Series, and has edited several books and manuals dealing with marine protected areas and coral reefs.

Candidate's Statement - Michael P. Crosby

Aloha mai kakou!
The mission of Sigma Xi is to not only enhance the health of the research enterprise and foster integrity in science and engineering, but also to promote the public's understanding of science for the purpose of improving the human condition. While the first two facets of our mission are essential and worthy of an honorary science and engineering society in and of themselves, I contend that the third component is what makes the difference. That facet, combined with our chapter-based organizational structure, membership pledge to foster companionship and cooperation among scientists, and vision to be the global honor society of science and engineering, define our society as a unique organization.

Without question, my most rewarding career experiences have resulted from developing and leading research programs that have served as vehicles for much more than just the conduct of good science. These experiences mesh with the core of Sigma Xi's mission and vision - a dedication to mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers who will carry the mantle of facilitating the development of national and international science and engineering research and education programs that improve the syntheses, translation and transfer of science and technical information between research, public policy and stakeholder communities.

My affiliation with Sigma Xi began about 30 years ago when, like many others in our society, I benefited by receiving a small Grant-in-Aid of-Research (GUIR) to purchase isotopes and supplies for my graduate research. I have been a full member of Sigma Xi for nearly 25 years and have served as a member of the Sigma Xi International Committee for over 5 years. It is a very high honor to even have been nominated for a leadership position for our Society.

If elected I would certainly do all in my power to advocate for and actively lead Sigma Xi efforts to further the first two facets of our mission statement. However, my unbridled passion would be to do all I can to advance Sigma Xi to a new level of international prominence and recognition as the international honor society for promoting the value of international science partnerships to enhance relationships between countries, increasing science and engineering capacities in developing Nations, improving the human condition, and opening new frontiers of knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our universe.

However, Sigma Xi must deal with the reality of significant challenges not just for achieving such a level of international prominence and recognition, but to our very existence as a functional organization. What was created with high ideals, worthy purpose and inspiring vision nearly 125 years ago is in danger of extinction as an impactful entity unless we evolve into a truly international science and engineering honor society. To do this we must become meaningful to colleagues around the world to a significantly greater degree than exists today. The International Committee of Sigma Xi has developed a proposed enabling strategy for achieving this goal, and I would submit that the following should form a framework of near-term actions desperately needed to enable long-term growth and achievements consistent with our Society mission and vision:

Pro-Active Engagement with Global Issues
The Sigma Xi Board must become even more pro-active in reaching out to international organizations such as UNESCO, the World Bank, Third World Academy of Sciences, OECD, APEC, etc., in helping them develop policies and programs that address global problems such as: sustainable energy, disease, natural resource management, climate change, etc

American Scientist Magazine Name Change
The greatest visible product of Sigma Xi must evolve, and its title must be viewed as globally inclusive and more clearly reflect the vision of the Society. The new identity should be carefully crafted, and the change accomplished as an evolutionary and not revolutionary process. As part of the evolutionary process, the Board of Directors should first implement a new, on-line, international magazine. This new publication would include articles from American Scientist, but also would accept articles that differ from the American Scientist norm in that they may be of less broad interest and be different in approach and format. A strong hands-on volunteer editorial board would be available to work with contributors, and augment the existing editorial staff. All contributors must be Sigma Xi members. The resulting peer-review publication would be especially attractive to many of our colleagues in developing countries.

Realignment of Sigma Xi Regions
Current regional organizational structure of Sigma Xi should be redefined as world regions based on a minimum of 6 chapters/partners per region. Initially, there would be 9 regions: 6 U.S. regions, 1 Canada region, 1 Europe Region, and 1 Global Region-at-Large (to include any individual or chapter not in a currently qualified defined region). Additional regions would be formed by petition to the Board once the minimum number of chapters/partners per region has been attained. Potential future regions include Asia, Latin America and Oceania.

Annual Meeting and Research Conference Transition
The Annual Meeting format and venues should be revised such that the current Annual Meeting would be held on a biennial basis and be referred to as the Global Meeting. In alternate years, only regional meetings will be held. The venues and formats for the individual regional meetings would be determined by the regions themselves. The Board of Directors meetings would be held in conjunction with each global meeting and, on a rotating basis, in off years in the various regions. The Global Meetings themselves will also rotate among the regions.

Malama pono - Spoudon Xynones - Mahalo nui loa!

A. F. (Fred) Spilhaus, Jr.
American Geophysical Union
Executive Director Emeritus

Dr. Spilhaus received his doctorate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in oceanography in 1965. He was part of the then informal joint Woods Hole/MIT program. Dr. Spilhaus's research focused on the optical properties of sea water and more specifically on the potential uses of light scattering in identifying water masses. His two previous degrees, BS in chemical engineering in 1959 and MS in geology and geophysics in1960, were also earned at MIT. Following the latter, in 1961, he became a Sigma Xi Associate and in 1964 was elected a Full Member.

After approximately two years in defense work, he accepted an offer from the blue and traded classified work for the free exchange of ideas and information. In 1967 he became Assistant Executive Director of the American Geophysical Union and in 1970 succeeded the then long-term Executive Director. He held that position until February of this year. During his tenure at AGU the membership grew from 7,000 researchers, educators, and students to over 56,000, the staff grew from about 20 to 180, and the net worth, on the books, went from a negative number in the early 1970s to in excess of $65 million at the end of 2007. During the 42 years that Dr. Spilhaus was deputy then chief staff officer of AGU, the Union moved from being a "committee" of the National Academy of Sciences to an independent global society with almost 40% of its membership outside North America.

Dr. Spilhaus collaborated with other scientific societies worldwide to build a strong foundation for those in the Earth and space sciences. He assisted in the start-up of new scientific organizations and in some mergers. He has also held leadership positions in associations that support scientific societies, particularly those related to publications, meetings, and society management. His contributions have been as diverse as leading the establishment of the highly respected credentialing program for professionals in the meetings industry (Certified Meetings Professional) and participating in the conception of the Copyright Clearance Center and in the founding of the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation and the Society for Scholarly Publication. His achievements were recently recognized by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives when its Board renamed the Council's prestigious leadership award the A. Fred Spilhaus Leadership Award. This award has been presented eight times in the Council's >40-year history, including presentation to Dr. Spilhaus in 1995.

Candidate's Statement - A. F. (Fred) Spilhaus, Jr.

Forty-eight years ago, I was elected a Sigma Xi Associate and three years later, as my doctorate came to fruition, I was honored by election to Full Membership. Since that time, Sigma Xi has been in the foreground of my interests and attention. As a new and young association executive in the late 60's, I frequently looked to Sigma Xi for the examples and standards that make science strong. However, it was not until about ten years ago, when I joined the Publications Committee, that I began to make more direct contributions to, and to gain a better understanding of, the depth and breadth of Sigma Xi activities.

Since its publication in1984, Honor in Science has been a towering landmark for Sigma Xi. The subsequent publications that built on this book provided further guidance for keeping our standards current and at a high level. Nonetheless, I believe we can do a better job of communicating our message to those in the scientific community beyond the Sigma Xi membership and to the public at large. It is incumbent upon us continually to work to increase the understanding and trust of the public and decision-makers in the information provided by science. Building this understanding and trust is particularly important today in face of the frequent disconnects between the science community and policy makers.

I would like to see Sigma Xi enhance its efforts to engage the membership in spreading our message with respect to research quality and ethics. Our mission and values should have a priority position in every member's thoughts. At the same time, Sigma Xi could build stronger relationships with societies around the world that share our objectives. In these ways we could be working actively in as many as 150 countries to enhance the public image of science and the support for research by promulgating the standards for the integrity of science.

Many steps are being taken to address our declining membership. Creating a more involved membership would help us further our mission as well as enhance member satisfaction and thereby member retention. Individually, we could forge stronger bonds with colleagues and societies around the world.

In these difficult economic times, we need to shepherd our financial resources and be prepared to adjust programs for the unexpected. The current state of our finances appears to require constant attention. Being vigilant about income and expense is likely to be a necessity for the foreseeable future.

I am convinced that we can address these primary issues for Sigma Xi through a coordinated approach. By doing a better job of integrating activities and communication, we can expand the reach of our message worldwide, develop and enhance membership, and improve our financial position. The more that we are seen as an important component of the scientific process, the more we can count on those within and outside the membership to help our society better serve research and those doing research.

Having recently retired, I am in a position to commit considerable time and energy to serving as an officer of Sigma Xi. I believe that I can bring my long-term experience with society operations to bear on the issues that face Sigma Xi today. I would appreciate the opportunity to dedicate my passion for the scientific enterprise to support the specific programs that our Board and committees agree are important. I hope you will give me the opportunity to serve you as President. Together as we implement new ideas and strengthen our international network, the image of science and the acceptance of what it can offer in addressing societal problems will increase at all levels throughout the world. At the same time we will be expanding the value of Sigma Xi as The Research Society.

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