May 26, 1995 Contact: Robert Irion (408/459-2495)

SCIENTIFIC HONOR SOCIETY INSTALLS CHAPTER AT UC SANTA CRUZ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Sigma Xi, an honor society of scientists founded in 1886, has conferred chapter status upon the Sigma Xi club based at UC Santa Cruz. The UCSC club was established in 1989; promotion to full chapter recognizes the group's active membership and its organization of events to foster public awareness of scientific research.

C. Kumar Patel, national president of Sigma Xi, presented the chapter's charter to Executive Vice Chancellor Michael Tanner of UCSC at an installation dinner on May 25 at the Chaminade restaurant. Patel is vice chancellor for research at UCLA.

Chancellor Karl S. Pister of UCSC, who marks his 50th anniversary as a member of Sigma Xi this year, could not attend due to a commitment in Hong Kong. In a letter read by Tanner at the event, Pister said the installation of a Sigma Xi chapter at UCSC "signals a level of achievement and maturity in the life of the campus for which we can all be proud. For those of us whose professional life is centered on science or its applications, it is a recognition of our mutual accomplishments, while for the public at large it is a sign that science on our campus is alive and well."

Sandra Faber, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC and a member of Sigma Xi, spoke after the ceremony about research with the Hubble Space Telescope.

The mission of Sigma Xi is to honor scientific accomplishment and to encourage and enhance the worldwide appreciation and support of original investigation in science and technology. There are more than 500 chapters of Sigma Xi, with about 115,000 members, in North America and abroad. Members of the Santa Cruz chapter include faculty in the natural and social sciences, outstanding graduate and undergraduate students, and recent alumni. The chapter's activities will include sponsoring public lectures by visiting scientists.

Officers for 1995-96 are Lynda Goff, professor of biology, president; Adrienne Zihlman, professor of anthropology, president- elect; Patrick Elvander, lecturer in biology, secretary; and Bruce Bridgeman, professor of psychology, treasurer. Jean Langenheim, professor emeritus of biology and past president of the Santa Cruz chapter, acted as presiding officer at the installation ceremony.

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