2009 Assembly of Delegates:
Southwest Regional Director

2009 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting & International Research Conference

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

Name: Fuller W. Bazer

Present Position: Regents Fellow, Distinguished Professor and O.D. Butler Chair in Animal Science, and Interim Head, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology
Organization: Texas A&M University

Chapter Affiliation: Texas A&M University

Biographical Information: Dr. Fuller W. Bazer obtained his B.S. in Biology from Centenary College of Louisiana, the M.S. in Animal Science from Louisiana State University and, after 30 months service as an air defense office in the U.S. Army, he received the Ph.D. in Animal Science (Reproductive Biology) from North Carolina State University in 1969. He was on the faculty at the University of Florida from 1968 to 1992 before coming to Texas A&M University where he has served as Vice President for Research and Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The Texas A&M Health Science Center; Director, Institute of Biosciences and Technology; Associate Vice Chancellor and Executive Associate Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Associate Vice President for Research; and Interim Head, Veterinary Pathobiology.

Dr. Bazer is a reproductive biologist who studies uterine biology and pregnancy, particularly mechanisms of action of pregnancy recognition signals from the conceptus to the maternal uterus, including interferon tau and estrogen from ruminant and pig conceptuses, respectively. The roles of uterine secretions as transport proteins, regulatory molecules, growth factors and enzymes and endocrine regulation of their secretion is another major research area, as is the endocrinology of pregnancy, especially the roles of lactogenic and growth hormones in fetal-placental development and uterine functions are being studied. The mechanism(s) of action and potential therapeutic value of conceptus interferons and uterine-derived hematopoietic growth factors are areas of research with both pigs and sheep as models for human disease.

Dr. Bazer serves as Executive Director of the Texas A&M Chapter of Sigma Xi due to his interests in research and graduate education. He has mentored 35 Ph.D. and 44 M.S. students, and 32 postdoctoral fellows. For these activities he has been recipient of awards that include the American Society of Animal Science Physiology and Endocrinology Award and L.E. Casida Award for Graduate Education; Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Society for the Study of Reproduction Research, Distinguished Service, Trainee Mentoring and Carl Hartman Awards; Alexander von Humboldt Research Award; and Wolf Prize in Agriculture.

Name: J. Carter M. Tiernan

Present Position: Assistant Dean for Student Affairs in the College of Engineering
Organization: University of Texas at Arlington

Chapter Affiliation: University of Texas at Arlington

Candidate's Statement: Sigma Xi is an organization with an excellent heritage that is looking for ways to position itself to be relevant today. If elected, my goal would be to help bring the strengths and benefits of Sigma Xi and its members to bear on the challenges and needs of today. Part of achieving this will be to help Sigma Xi clearly define a mission and a purpose that provides Sigma Xi members and chapters with direction and with goals for challenges they could choose to address and with tools to use in meeting the needs they see in their communities. With a renewed purpose and mission, the accolade of Sigma Xi membership will be made even more valuable allowing us to reach more new members. This same renewed purpose and mission will also clarify and direct the goals of regions and local sections and lead to more broadly recognized activities that are sponsored by Sigma Xi. This recognition of Sigma Xi will support both our role as a Society recognizing achievement and as a group of committed scientists and engineers who see it as their place to help make a difference in the world. It would be an honor to be part of this process by serving as Sigma Xi Regional Director.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities: Dr. Carter Tiernan is the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs in the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her responsibilities include directing undergraduate recruiting, K-12 engineering outreach, engineering student organizations, and student activities. She also teaches in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Dr. Tiernan's activities include:

• Serving as an officer, currently President, of the UT Arlington Sigma Xi chapter.
• Advising the UT Arlington section of the Society of Women Engineers since 2003.
• Serving as the American Society for Engineering Education representative for UT Arlington since 2008.
• Judging in ACES, the Annual Celebration of Excellence by Students, a combined graduate and undergraduate research forum, in which about 150 students present their work orally or by posters. This event is co-sponsored by University of Texas at Arlington Sigma Xi, which entails providing leadership for the organization of the event (this year, numerous faculty served as student mentors, and several members served on the organizing committee). Sigma Xi also provided funds for awards for the outstanding mentor.

1. a residential summer camp, 1 week in length, serving 50 9th-10th graders,
2. a day camp, 1 week in length serving 50 9th - 11th graders,
3. a residential summer camp, 1 week in length serving 50 7th-8th graders,
4. a day camp, 1 week in length serving 50 6th-8th graders, and
5. a 1 week girls-only camp for 50 5th-9th grade girls. The camps serve groups underrepresented in engineering and high school teachers are included. The camp program started in 1998 and Dr. Tiernan took over the program in 2005.

Writing grants worth over $.5M since 2007 for engineering education and outreach from state sources. Dr. Tiernan is also part of grant teams on another $3M worth of scholarship and science and engineering education programs from NSF and the US Dept. of Education. Dr. Tiernan is currently collaborating with professors from UT Arlington's seven Engineering departments and five of the six departments in the College of Science.

Biographical Information: Dr. J. Carter M. Tiernan is the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs in the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1983. She then joined Texas Instruments in Dallas, where she worked on software design for electro-optics systems and developed part of a multi-agent artificial intelligence system to support single-seat fighter pilots. During her time at TI, Dr. Tiernan completed an MSCS at the University of Texas at Dallas. She began her studies toward a Ph.D. while at TI and finished the degree while working as a faculty associate for two years at the UT Arlington Automation and Robotics Research Institute.

Between 1992 and 2001, Dr. Tiernan worked for Project SEED, a national mathematics organization. She taught high school and college mathematics to elementary school children, provided professional training for educators, and worked as part of the management of Project SEED in Dallas and nationally.

Dr. Tiernan taught part-time at UT Arlington while at Project SEED. She came back to UT Arlington as a full-time faculty member in the fall of 2001 as a Senior Lecturer, undergraduate advisor , and Director of Outreach in the Computer Science & Engineering department. Since 2005, she has also been the Director of the College's Engineering and Computer Science Summer Camps. Dr. Tiernan was named the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs in June 2007.

Since becoming Assistant Dean, Dr. Tiernan has helped bring more than $3.4 million dollars of grants to the College of Engineering for engineering outreach, recruiting, retention, and scholarships. She oversees the Engineering Summer Programs which reached more than 300 students in summer 2009 through 10 different engineering camps. She coordinates undergraduate recruiting for the College, advises engineering student organizations, and conducts various school year outreach programs including the FIRST Tech Challenge, part of the US FIRST competitions, the RoPro High School Robot Programming Contest, and Engineering Saturdays. She is collaborating with the UT Arlington College of Science on future STEM outreach activities and on retention programs for current and incoming STEM undergraduates.

Name: Stanley A. White

Present Position: Retired (2003) President of Signal Processing and Controls Engineering (SPACE) Corp.
Retired (1990) Senior/Chief Scientist of Sensors Systems and Aircraft Engineering Div., Rockwell International.

Chapter Affiliation: Orange County Chapter

Candidate's Statement: Rather than give an empty statement, let me share with you a great frustration. Boards of Education and teacher's unions are successfully keeping retired STEM practioneer/educators who lack teaching credentials out of high-school classrooms. These people, who in many instances were the creators of and primary contributors to the very material that the kids are studying in school, don't want to "take over the classroom," as some educators insist, but do want to mentor, guide, tutor and offer the insightful understanding that comes only with deep experience. I have often heard from school officials, "We are working towards our students passing THE TEST, and we cannot deviate from the approved path for passing THE TEST."

I protest, "But then they don't even know how, where and when to use this stuff. I've seen that!"

"The school doesn't get graded on that."

@#$%&!

American's engineers and scientists at one time drove the world's progress. Now we can't even prepare the kids to get into the U.S. universities for the education that they need to restart our economic engines. You know and I know that the "service economy" is a dead end. Foreign students are doing OK. They pick our intellectual and technological fruit from the academic and laboratory trees and take it back home, apply it, develop and manufacture the products and WE buy the stuff. (Have you looked at the balance of payments lately?) Sigma Xi must be a prime contributor in changing this unacceptable mess.

So, if elected, I'll try with my unorthodox methods to start to make some changes. Meet with school boards, meet with union reps, tell 'em how Sigma Xi members (and others) can help. Raise a little hell! It sure beats doing nothing.

Sigma Xi and Other Activities:

• Inducted as Full Member by Purdue University's Sigma Xi Chapter in May, 1965.
• Inducted as Full Member by North American Aviation's Research Society of America (RESA) Autonetics Branch (yep, "Branch" is what they were called then!) in January, 1966.
• Elected Treasurer of the newly merged Autonetics Club of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society of North America, 1974-1978.
• Aerospace downturn; Club went inactive, 1978-1988.
• As self-proclaimed Dictator President, revitalized the Autonetics Club in 1988.
• Merged the California State University at Fullerton (CSUF) Club into the organization to form the Orange County Club in 1992.
• Led the charge which resulted in promotion of the OC Club to Chapter status in 1993.
• Elected President of the Orange County Chapter, 1993-2000 and 2005 to present.
• Served as Delegate to Annual Meeting 10 times, Nominating Committee Chair 5 times.

Biographical Information: Dr. White was born in Providence, RI on 9/25/31, attended 8 elementary schools in 7 states, graduated from Indianapolis' Shortridge HS, enlisted in the Army Infantry prior to graduation, and within 2 years advanced to Communications Chief in the Hq. & Hq. Co., 151st Infantry Battalion, 38th Div. He transferred to the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command, became SHORAN Station Chain Commander, 338th Strategic Reconnaissance Sqdn., Wing M and served 2 out of 3 tours of duty (TOD) in the Atlantic Missile Range (AMR). He volunteered for special SHORAN assignments during the Korean War with a USMC Engineering Battalion, a U.S. Army Artillery Co., and the British Army (that's the other TOD). He met the love of his life in the AMR and in 1956 brought his bride to Purdue University (then the nation's largest engineering school) where he acquired his BSEE, MSEE, PhD (EE, A&ES with commendation) degrees, his Profes-sional Engineer's License, 4 kids, 2 dogs and a cat. While at Purdue he taught both mathematics and electrical engineering, worked as a laboratory assistant, established Purdue's first printed-circuit-board facility and designed and built a satellite-tracking antenna system; worked on jet-engine fuel-flow control systems research for the Aircraft Engineering Dept. of Allison Div. of General Motors in Indianapolis and shuttled out to Downey, CA, to work on the development of inertial navigation systems for the Autonetics Division of North American Aviation (NAA).

He and NAA "clicked." He was awarded an NAA Science-Engineering Fellowship to help him complete his Ph.D quickly. He subsequently enjoyed a rewarding 31-year aerospace and electronics engineering career at NAA/North American Rockwell/Rockwell International, home of the X-15, XB-70, Apollo spacecraft, Space Shuttle and B-1. His primary work was on stabilization, guidance, navigation, flight control and communications for spacecraft, aircraft and missile systems. His most "famous" assignment was as Voyager Spacecraft GN&C Systems Project Engineer. After retiring as Senior/Chief Scientist from Rockwell's Sensors and Aircraft Engineering Division in 1990, he was retained as corporate Scientific Advisor, founded and operated for 13 years Signal Processing and Controls Engineering (SPACE) Corp., an aerospace engineering consultancy, and for 15 years was a contract author for the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He has authored scores of peer-reviewed research papers and coauthored three vintage-60's engineering texts.

Dr. White also held an Adjunct Professorship at UC. For over 30 years, in the evenings he taught Aerospace Engineering at UCLA, Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCI and served as Group Leader of the joint Rockwell/UCI Image Processing Institute. As an inventor, he holds 82 U.S. and 20 foreign patents on communications, flight control, navigation and various electronics technologies. As Distinguished Visiting Lecturer, he taught at 17 U.S. universities and at univer-sities in 12 foreign countries. Throughout his career he has received literally hundreds of top engineering awards including being elected Fellow of the IEEE, IAE, NYAS, AAAS and AIAA, the IEEE Centennial and Millennium Medals, the Circuits and Systems Society's Technical Achievement Award and Golden Jubilee Medal, the Vladimir Karapetoff Award for outstanding career developments in Navigation and Flight Control and the Leonardo da Vinci Medallion.

His favorite avocations are choral music and flying. He is active in the Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano, served as Chairman of the Fair Housing Council, the Community Assistance Fund, the CA Governor's Advisory Committee for Special Education of the Physically Handicapped and the Orange County Parent Group for Handicapped Children and Adults. He also chaired 7 major international engineering conferences, founded the Orange County Chapters of Sigma Xi and the Signal Processing Society. He is a consultant to such entities as the National Science Foundation, the Electronics Industries Association, U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, JPL, the National Academy of Engineering (identifying Centers of Excellence), the state of California (the MICRO initiative) and is active in many engineering and scientific organizations.