Editing Sigma Xi

{{Short description|Honor society for science and engineering}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox Fraternity
| name = Sigma Xi
| letters = {{lang|grc|ΣΞ}}
| motto = Companions in Zealous Research
| member badge = [[File:Sigma Xi badge.png|90px]]
| crest = SigmaXi.JPG
| image_size = 120px
| founded = {{start date and age|1886}}
| birthplace = [[Cornell University]]
| affiliation = HSC
| former_affiliation = ACHS
| status = Active
| type = Honor
| scope = International
| emphasis = Science and Engineering
| colors = {{color box|#0F52BA}} [[Sapphire (color)|Blue]] and {{color box|#FFD700}} [[Gold (color)|Gold]]
| publication = ''[[American Scientist]]''
| members = 
| flower = 
| symbol = 
| chapters = 370 active, 170 inactive
| address = 3200 East NC Highway 54<br>Suite 300
| city = [[Research Triangle Park]]
| state = [[North Carolina]]
| ZIP code = 27709
| country = United States
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.sigmaxi.org}}
| lifetime = 60,000<ref name="members">{{cite web| url = http://www.sigmaxi.org/member/overview/index.shtml | title = Members - Overview |publisher = Sigma Xi|access-date = March 10, 2011}}</ref>
}}
'''Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society''' ('''{{lang|grc|ΣΞ}}''') is an international [[non-profit]] [[honor society]] for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at [[Cornell University]] by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest honor societies.<ref name="history">{{cite journal|url=http://www.sigmaxi.org/about/organization/history.pdf| title=Companions in Zealous Research, 1886&ndash;1986|journal=[[American Scientist]]|volume= 74 | year = 1986|page= 486&ndash;508|author =Michael M. Sokal| issue=5| bibcode=1986AmSci..74..486S}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baur |first=James |date=2006 |title=Vital Sigma Xi Chapters |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1511/2006.60.290 |journal=American Scientist |volume=94 |issue=4 |pages=290 |doi=10.1511/2006.60.290 |issn=0003-0996|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Membership in Sigma Xi is by invitation only, where members nominate others on the basis of their research achievements or potential.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Membership: Sigma XI: Purdue University |url=https://www.purdue.edu/research/sigmaxi/membership.html |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=www.purdue.edu}}</ref> Sigma Xi goals aim to honor excellence in scientific investigation and encourage cooperation among researchers in all fields of science and engineering. Many of the world's most influential scientists have been members of Sigma Xi, such as [[Albert Einstein]], [[Linus Pauling]], [[Barbara McClintock]], and [[Sally Ride]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.sigmaxi.org/about |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=www.sigmaxi.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sigma Xi Members Hold the Key |url=https://www.sigmaxi.org/news/keyed-in/post/keyed-in/2018/11/28/sigma-xi-members-hold-the-key |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=www.sigmaxi.org}}</ref>

==Overview==
Sigma Xi has nearly 60,000 members<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sigmaxi.org/about/history|title=History }}</ref> who were elected to membership based on their research achievements and potential. It has more than 500 chapters<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sigmaxi.org/chapters|title=Chapters|website=www.sigmaxi.org}}</ref> in North America and around the world. In addition to publishing ''[[American Scientist]]'' magazine, Sigma Xi provides grants<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/grants-in-aid|title=Grants in Aid of Research|website=www.sigmaxi.org}}</ref> annually to promising young researchers and sponsors a variety of programs supporting [[ethics]] in [[research]], [[science]] and [[engineering]] [[education]], the public understanding of [[science]], international research cooperation and the overall health of the research enterprise. The Society is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Sigma Xi was one of six honor societies that co-founded the [[Association of College Honor Societies]] (ACHS) on {{dts|1925|12|30}}.<ref name="moore" /> Its participation was short lived, with the decision to withdraw and operate again as an independent society made just over a decade later, effective in {{dts|1933}}.<ref name="moore">{{cite web |author=Maurice L. Moore |title=Historical Information |url=https://achs.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/ACHS%20Historical%20Overview%20%20-%20As%20related%20by%20Maurice%20L.%20Moore%2C%20March%2015%2C%201983.pdf |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=February 7, 2025 |website=Association of College Honor Societies}}</ref> It resigned from ACHS because "it had decided to devote itself to research primarily, that it no longer considered itself a strictly college organization, and hence was somewhat outside of the field occupied by the Association, and that for these reasons it felt constrained to withdraw from the Association."<ref name="moore" />

Today, Sigma Xi participates in a more loosely coordinated lobbying association of four of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honor societies, called the [[Honor Society Caucus]].  Its members include [[Phi Beta Kappa]], [[Phi Kappa Phi]], Sigma Xi, and [[Omicron Delta Kappa]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Honor Society Caucus {{!}} Honor Society|url=https://www.phikappaphi.org/join/why-join/the-phi-kappa-phi-difference|access-date=2021-10-22|website=www.phikappaphi.org}}</ref>

==History==
Sigma Xi originated in 1886 at [[Cornell University]]. Founded by engineering students and Cornell faculty member, Frank Van Vleck, the society's primary objective was to acknowledge significant scientific research and foster cooperation among scientists from various disciplines.

By 1888, Sigma Xi included five female members and established chapters at educational institutions such as [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]], [[Union College]], [[Stevens Institute of Technology]], and [[Rutgers University|Rutgers College]]. By the end of the 19th century, the society consisted of over 1,000 members in eight chapters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.sigmaxi.org/about/history |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=www.sigmaxi.org}}</ref>
[[File:Portrait of the attendees of a Sigma Xi dinner, Yale University (12483540544).jpg|left|thumb|300x300px|Sigma Xi dinner at Yale University circa 1911]]
In the early 20th century, following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]], Sigma Xi's [[Stanford University|Stanford]] and [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]] chapters were involved in reconstruction and public health initiatives. The society later introduced the publication ''[[American Scientist]]'', which discusses scientific and technological developments. During [[World War I]], the [[National Research Council (United States)|National Research Council]] collaborated with Sigma Xi to organize research facilities. The society expanded significantly after the war, and by the 1930s, it had chapters at prestigious institutions like [[Harvard University|Harvard]], [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]], [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]], and [[Princeton University|Princeton]].

Sigma Xi initiated the Distinguished Lectureships Program in the late 1930s, aimed at promoting its activities and research findings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Distinguished Lectureships |url=https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/lectureships |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=www.sigmaxi.org}}</ref> By 1950, the society's membership numbered 42,000. In 1947, the Scientific Research Society of America (RESA) was created to support research in various settings. The two societies combined in 1974 under the name Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. In 1989, Sigma Xi revised its mission statement, emphasizing the importance of science and its role in society. Currently, Sigma Xi has approximately 60,000 members in over 500 chapters worldwide. The society remains committed to recognizing scientific achievements and promoting global collaboration in science and technology. Notable past presidents of Sigma Xi include [[Frederick Chapman Robbins|Frederick Robbins]], a Nobel Prize recipient, and [[Rita R. Colwell|Rita Colwell]], the former [[National Science Foundation]] Director.

==Motto and name==
The [[Greek letters]] "[[Sigma]]" and "[[Xi (letter)|Xi]]" form the acronym of the Society's motto, {{lang|grc|Σπουδῶν Ξυνῶνες}} or "Spoudon Xynones," which translates as "Companions in Zealous Research." The word 'Honor' was added to the name of the Society at the 2016 Annual Meeting.<ref name="name">Guidotti, TL. [https://www.sigmaxi.org/news/keyed-in/post/keyed-in/2016/12/13/sigma-xi-the-scientific-research-honor-society ''Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society''] Keyed In Blog. 13 December 2016.</ref> According to Sigma Xi President Tee L. Guidotti,

<blockquote>"Sigma Xi, of course, is our basic name and has been since the organization was founded in 1886 as the scientific and engineering counterpart to Phi Beta Kappa. Like all "Greek letter" societies, whether professional or social, it is an acronym for the motto of the organization, {{lang|grc|Σπουδων Ξυνωνες}} (Spoudon Xynones), which translates as "companions in Zealous Research." For many years, we were referred to as "Society of the Sigma Xi." In the early twentieth century, some in the leadership wanted "Sigma Xi" to be dropped altogether in favor of some formulation such as "Scientific Research Society of America." In a strange quirk of history, both names survived because the organization split in the 1940s into an academic honor society (Sigma Xi) and an honor society for applied research and engineering (the Scientific Research Society of America, called RESA). RESA was a separate entity, wholly owned by Sigma Xi, and represented engineers and scientists at non-academic institutions, such as government and industrial research laboratories. In an even stranger development, Sigma Xi and RESA merged back together in 1974 and eventually began calling itself Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society."<ref name=name/></blockquote>

==William Procter Prize==
[[File:William Procter Prize awarded to Rita Colwell by Sigma Xi (cropped).jpg|thumb|William Procter Prize awarded to [[Rita R. Colwell|Rita Colwell]] by Sigma Xi]]
The [[William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement]] is an award presented by Sigma Xi. This prestigious prize is given to a scientist who has made an outstanding contribution to scientific research and has demonstrated an ability to communicate the significance of this research to scientists in other disciplines.

The prize was established in 1950 in honor of [[William Procter (industrialist)|William Procter]], a distinguished business leader and philanthropist who had a strong commitment to scientific research and development.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-07-13 |title=Ann Skalka Wins 2018 William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement |url=https://www.foxchase.org/news/2018-07-13-Skalka-2018-Procter-Prize |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=www.foxchase.org |language=en}}</ref> Procter was an heir to the [[Procter & Gamble|Procter & Gamble Company]] and served as its president and chairman.

Recipients of the William Procter Prize are recognized for their achievements in both research and communication, reflecting the dual emphasis of Sigma Xi on promoting both scientific excellence and interdisciplinary communication.<ref>{{Cite web |last=University |first=Carnegie Mellon |date= |title=Fischhoff awarded Sigma Xi William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement - Engineering and Public Policy - College of Engineering - Carnegie Mellon University |url=http://www.cmu.edu/epp/news/2021/fischhoff-awarded-sigma-xi-william-procter-prize-for-scientific-achievement.html |access-date= |website=www.cmu.edu |language=en}}</ref> Along with the recognition, the awardee also delivers a lecture at the society's annual meeting or another appropriate occasion.

Over the years, the William Procter Prize has been awarded to many notable scientists from a wide range of disciplines, underscoring the prize's commitment to honoring and promoting interdisciplinary research.

==Chapters==
{{main|List of Sigma Xi chapters}}

As of May 4, 2023, 350 chapters are active in the United States, 170 are inactive, and the society has chartered over 20 chapters in other countries.

==Notable members==
{{main|List of Sigma Xi members}}
More than 200 winners of the [[Nobel Prize]] have been [[List of Sigma Xi members|Sigma Xi members]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sigmaxi.org/about/history/nobel-laureates|title=Nobel Laureates|website=www.sigmaxi.org}}</ref> including [[Albert Einstein]], [[Enrico Fermi]], [[Richard Feynman]], [[Linus Pauling]], [[Francis Crick]], [[James D. Watson|James Watson]], [[Barbara McClintock]], [[John Goodenough]], and [[Jennifer Doudna]].

==See also==
*[[Alpha Chi Sigma]], a professional fraternity specializing in the fields of the chemical sciences

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.sigmaxi.org/}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080402095327/http://water.sigmaxi.org/ Sigma Xi's Year of Water H2008 Blog]
*[https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00246 Guide to the Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society Records 1928-2003]

{{Association of College Honor Societies}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:International scientific organizations]]
[[Category:Scientific societies based in the United States]]
[[Category:1886 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Scientific organizations established in 1886]]
[[Category:Former members of Association of College Honor Societies]]
[[Category:Student organizations established in 1886]]
[[Category:Honor Society Caucus]]
[[Category:Engineering honor societies]]