University of California, Davis
Chapter of Sigma XiSigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, was founded at Cornell University in 1886 as an honor society for scientists and engineers. The Society now enrolls about 80,000 members in over five hundred chapters and clubs on college and university campuses and in government and industrial laboratories throughout the world. Over time, more than 180 of its members have been awarded the Nobel Prize. Sigma Xi has had a continuous formal presence on the Davis campus since 1925--first as a club sponsored by the Berkeley Chapter. In 1947 the campus organization became Chapter #99.The Mission of Sigma Xi is "To honor scientific accomplishments, to encourage and to enhance the worldwide appreciation and support of original investigation in science and technology, and to foster worldwide a creative and dynamic interaction among science, technology and society." In support of this Mission the Society, among other things, sponsors annual forums on topics at the intersection of science and society. The 2000 forum was entitled "New Ethical Challenges in Science and Technology.
There are two categories of membership: Full and Associate. Nominees for initiation or promotion to Full membership should have demonstrated research accomplishments such as publications, patents, or a dissertation (which either has been or will be submitted to the Graduate Division before the start of the year 2001 Fall quarter.)
Associate membership is appropriate for individuals who have shown "an aptitude for research". In practice this means graduate students in the early stages of their degree programs and graduating seniors who are eligible for Honors at graduation, have completed two or more quarters of undergraduate research, and/or have been nominated for Departmental Citations.
Full and Associate Members pay the same annual dues: $52 for salaried professionals or $20 for those who are full-time students at the time of their initiation. The dues include a subscription to the bimonthly publication "American Scientist," which contins feature articles written by established investigators from all disciplines, regular columns, and authoritative book reviews.
A portion of the dues revenue also goes to support the Society's program of Grants-in-Aid of Research. Since their inception, more than 25,000 of these competitive grants have been awarded to graduate and undergraduate students from all areas of science, mathematics and engineering. Students from the Davis campus have always been notably successful in this arena. Associate members of the Society are eligible to apply for these grants in their own right. Otherwise the faculty sponsor must be a Full, active Sigma Xi member.
UC Davis Sigma Xi
