James Enderby Bidlack

2026 Sigma Xi Fellow

Statement

“The UCO Sigma Xi Chapter is traditionally the main conduit through which scientists collaborate and communicate their research to collegues.  We engage biologists, chemists, computer scientists, mathematicians, physicists and othter scientists, both young and old, in undergraduate and graduate research.  My involvement in Sigma Xi started in the early 1990s when I was invited by the Sigma Xi Chapter to present a seminar on current research.  I soon became a Life Member of Sigma Xi and have been Secretary / Treasurer for the Chapter for about 15 years.”

Biography

James Enderby Bidlack completed his BS from Purdue Universiity in 1984, MS from University of Arkansas in 1986, and PhD from Iowa State University in 1990.  He only interviewed for one job after completing his education, and that was at University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), where he has been for 36 years.  His research continues to focus primarily on plant physiology, although that has recently explanded to interdisciplinary investigations in chemistry and physics.  Dr. Bidlack’s doctoral research was on cell-wall chemistry and enzymes related to lignin biosynthesis in forage plants.  He continued that work at UCO and still does, as well as projects involving nitrogen fixation in legumes and weed control in alternative cropping systems.  He is known for involving Undergradute Students in his research – hundreds of them over the years, as well as about a dozen Master’s Students, many of which have continued their education in doctoral programs throughout the country.  At the same time, Dr. Bidlack worked with Dr. Shelley Jansky and the notable botanist, Dr. Kingsley Stern, to publish the popular textbook, Introductory Plant Biology, now known as simply, Plant Biology, which is distributed worldwide by McGraw-Hill Publishers for High School and College Students.  Most recently, Jim Bidlack has been working with a team of Undergraduate Students on dye-sensitized photovoltaic cells, which use photosynthetic pigments to produce electricity.  His involvment with many professional organizations include Editorial Leadership in the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) as well as Life Membership in Alpha Chi Sigma and the Oklahoma Academy of Science.  And, of course, a lifelong commitment to Sigma Xi, which Dr. Bidlack calls the “greatest Scientific Society dedicated to Research in the World.”  In addition to Research and Teaching, Dr. Bidlack is Managing Partner for Bidlack Farms in Shelton, Nebraska and stays active with his son, Charles, in Boy Scouts and many Bigfoot Expeditions.