Alli M. Antar

Present Position

Chapter Affiliation

Background Information

Statement

Membership in Sigma Xi has meant a lot to me, even since childhood, as my aerospace engineer father and theoretical physicist mother were both active members of their local chapter of Sigma Xi and spoke highly of the organization. Since my induction in 2007 as a graduate student by the Vanderbilt University Chapter and subsequent move to Houston, I have been an active member of my own local chapter, the Rice University-Texas Medical Center (Rice-TMC) Chapter. In 2012, I joined our chapter’s Board of Directors, and since 2016, have served as Chapter Vice President. Since 2018, I have also served as Associate Director of the Southwest Region. My time serving on the Rice-TMC Chapter’s Board and as Associate Director of the Southwest Region has given me greater insight into the way that Sigma Xi strives to fulfill its mission, both at the chapter and national levels.

My efforts for the chapter have focused on recruitment of graduate students, postdocs, and faculty to Sigma Xi, as well as in planning and executing events for our chapter. I am also interested in improving membership retention at both the chapter and national levels, with the hope that my experiences as a graduate student, then postdoc, then junior faculty, enable me to better target the next generations of scientists. Specifically, as Associate Director, I would like to focus on the following:

1. Identifying unique programs for Sigma Xi to offer that excite graduate students, postdocs, and faculty, so that their activity in our organization continues from year to year.
   
   
2. Increasing communication between chapters within the Southwest region, with the main goal of enhancing the experience of members (e.g. helping to organize regional programs open to members).
   
   
3. Promoting diversity in science and ensuring that Sigma Xi programs become career enhancing events for women, minorities, and other traditionally underrepresented groups.
   
   
4. Enhancing scientific communication to the broader community in order to improve scientific literacy, especially with regard to topics that directly impact human health and well-being, such as climate change, other environmental impacts of human activity, and infectious diseases.

In addition to my normal duties as Associate Director of the Southwest Region, I served as Installation Officer for the new Austin College Chapter in 2019 and was delighted to visit the campus, learn about student and faculty scientific activities, and tour the new research and science teaching facilities. I also was a member of the Program Committee for the 2019 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference on “Our Changing Global Environment,” a topic which I am particularly passionate about.

So far, my career has been entirely academic. However, I have many scientific colleagues and friends following their own career paths in private and government sectors and would very much like for the aforementioned programs to be accessible and career-enhancing for such individuals, as well. As the biologist daughter of two scientists in totally different fields of research, I admire how well Sigma Xi fosters collaboration and the exchange of ideas between various scientific disciplines and career sectors. Furthermore, as a new mother to a toddler and an infant, I also appreciate to the role that Sigma Xi can play in promoting science for future generations.