Welcome to the new reinstated and reinvigorated Charlotte Chapter of Sigma Xi centered at UNC Charlotte and its Honors College and extending out to the greater Charlotte region. You are receiving this email because you are a current inactive member of this chapter. Please renew your membership and become a partner in this community.
We are excited to bring Sigma Xi members and friends together in the coming months and years. I am currently serving as Chapter President with Lance Barton, PhD, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research at UNC Charlotte, serving as Treasurer. This Spring we will hold a reception and all member meeting when we can adopt Chapter Bylaws that include committee and officer duties and succession plans. We will also recognize our newest members including students and any awards or honors received by members and promote community. Please look out for your invitation to this event.
A new website dedicated to the Charlotte Chapter of Sigma Xi is currently under development and should go "live" by next week. Keep an eye out for the announcement and link. The site will provide news and announcements about upcoming chapter events and maintain chapter information. There will be a contact us link for all members to provide information that can be included on the site and any feedback. Your voice is an important part of the Charlotte Chapter community. In addition to a Spring reception, the chapter will have a presence at two upcoming student symposia at UNC Charlotte. The 23rd annual Graduate Research Symposium (GRS), will be held on March 22nd. GRS is a conference in which graduate students from all disciplines are invited to share their research through oral presentations or posters. The theme for this year's conference is "Evolving Research in Evolving Charlotte." The Undergraduate Research Conference will be held on April 12th 8:30-3pm in Popp Martin Student Union at UNC Charlotte. More information about these events will be posted as available.
Always check out the national Sigma Xi website for information and events https://www.sigmaxi.org/. Important current news and announcements include:
Sigma Xi is upgrading its website in March including the communities platform. The login function for the main Sigma Xi website will be unavailable from March 1st thru March 8th. After March 8th, members will be able to log in once again to the main website in order to update their profile or to pay membership dues. The new system that goes live after March 8th will require that all users reset their login passwords. The community platform login function will be unavailable from March 1st through the end of March at which time Sigma Xi will begin using a new community platform. Users will be able to continue to reply to posts or to start new message threads in the month of March by using the links provided in their community email notifications.
The Student Research Showcase virtual event will be held April 7-April 21. Registration is now open. https://www.sigmaxi.org/meetings-events/student-research-showcase . The Student Research Showcase is an online science communication competition in which students compete for awards and recognition of outstanding virtual research presentations. The competition is open to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students and most worldwide research disciplines are represented across thirteen categories.Participants submit websites containing three main components: a research abstract, a technical slideshow, and a video. The video component challenges participants to present their research to a general audience. During the judging period, more than sixty Sigma Xi members volunteer as judges to evaluate students' submissions and engage in digital conversations with presenters through their websites.
Grants in Aid of Research Applications are due March 15th. Since 1922, the Sigma Xi Grants in Aid of Research (GIAR) program has provided undergraduate and graduate students with valuable educational experiences. Sigma Xi Members: Award amounts for members range from $500 to $5,000 for graduate applicants and $500 to $2,000 for undergraduate applicants. Non-members: Award amounts for non-members, both graduate and undergraduate, are available up to $1,000.Both members and non-members are eligible for designated funds from the National Academy of Sciences that allow for grants of up to $5,000 for astronomy research and $2,500 for vision related research. See https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/grants-in-aid-of-research/apply for more details.
I look forward to serving the Sigma Xi community in the coming year. It will be an honor to engage in conversation with each of you and hear about your work and research in the scientific community.
Sincerely
Christine Richardson, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Biological Sciences UNC Charlotte
Chapter President
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Christine Richardson
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
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