It's been an exciting and busy year here at Sigma Xi and we want to make sure you know all of the highlights! Since Sigma Xi operates on a fiscal year system, which is to say a new year for us begins on July 1st each year and ends on June 30th of the following year, we thought the best time to update you on all of our good news would be just before the start of our 2014 fiscal year on July 1st, 2013! For the rest of this email, when we say "fiscal year 2013," what we mean is the "year" as it spanned from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013. With us? Okay! We’ve got lots to share, so let's get to it… In fiscal year 2013, we inducted over 5,000 new members.  This is a 25% increase over our budgeted goal of 4,000 members and the highest increase in the past 5 years! In fiscal year 2013, we were able to offer two grants to our chapters—the Initiate Grant and the Delegate Grant. We're excited to announce that 158 chapters took advantage of the Initiate Grant using nearly $70,000 towards new member dues and initiation fees. Also, 28 chapters used the Delegate Grant to cover the cost of their delegate representation at the November 2012 Virtual Assembly of Delegates! We hope you'll keep an eye out for American Scientist's new iPad app, set to launch with the upcoming July/August issue! Researchers in the new millennium must be prepared to communicate their work to a diverse audience and through varied media.  On March 18-23, 2013, Sigma Xi hosted the first virtual Student Research Showcase.  This innovative competition featured student created websites that included personal videos, abstracts and technical slide presentations.  Students from six continents interacted with more than 400 Sigma Xi member–judges through discussion widget on the presentation websites. More information this year's winners can be found here. The 2013 fiscal year began the ten year countdown to the 100th Anniversary of the Grants-in-Aid of Research Program. These small student grants have helped launch more than 30,000 careers in all fields of science and engineering.  To celebrate our GIAR's centenary, and for Sigma Xi to truly represent an investment in the future of science and engineering, a Centennial Campaign is underway to double the endowment to $20 million by the year 2022. More information is available here. We've also begun a new Chapter Mentorship program pairing similar chapters together.  This allows our chapters to collaborate on program ideas and work together to make their respective chapters a success. Want more information for your chapter? Contact Tammey Bohle at tbohle@sigmaxi.org today! Our newly implemented Chapter Chats program gives us a chance to connect personally with our chapters.  Schedule a one hour phone call with your membership team at chapters@sigmaxi.org to discuss chapter needs and concerns and to brainstorm ideas for new chapter activities! Save the date! The 2013 Sigma Xi Virtual Annual Meeting will be held on November 9, 2013. We hope you'll join us from your home, office or favorite coffee shop as we discuss the important business of your Society. We will also welcome innovative scientists and engineers from around the world as keynote speakers. More information will be forthcoming from your Membership Team, so keep an eye out for the details soon! Save the date for the 2013 Student Research Conference, to be hosted in Research Triangle Park, NC, November 8th & 9th! Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to present their research, participate in mentoring and networking activities, tours research facilities, attend panel discussions, and other events. Commemorative medals will be presented for outstanding research presentations. For more information, please see our website here. We're also very excited to announce that our membership department has expanded!  Please welcome Tiffany Jones, your Membership and Chapter Services Coordinator.  If you have questions, concerns or would just like to say hi, you can reach Tiffany at tjones@sigmaxi.org. Fiscal year 2014 will be an even brighter year for us here at Sigma Xi—we look forward to sharing in the many successes with each of our dedicated members. As always, we thank you for your membership in Sigma Xi and look forward to working closely with you soon! Sincerely, Your Membership Team     Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society P.O. Box 13982 • Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Phone: 800-243-6534 or 919-549-4691 E-mail: chapters@sigmaxi.org Privacy Policy | Copyright ©2013. All Rights Reserved.