NOVEMBER 3, 2023 — UTSA has created a chapter of Sigma Xi, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious research honor societies for scientists and engineers. The installation of UTSA’s Sigma Xi chapter follows the university’s 2021 designation as a Tier One research institution, which aligns UTSA to the top 4% of research universities in the U.S.
Sigma Xi members are nominated to the society and include Nobel Prize winners, National Academy members and American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows. In all, the organization has nearly 60,000 individual members in 500-plus chapters around the world.
Ten UTSA faculty are founding members of the honor society. Their individual membership in Sigma Xi was pivotal in the creation of UTSA’s own chapter, an effort led by the UTSA Academy of Distinguished Researchers (ADR).
“We are honored to establish a Sigma Xi chapter at UTSA and join a community of our peers of the highest caliber,” said JoAnn Browning, interim vice president for UTSA Research, Economic Development, and Knowledge Enterprise. “The UTSA Sigma Xi chapter formally recognizes the many distinguished members on our campus and represents UTSA’s broad and diverse research ecosystem.”
UTSA is a Tier One research university and a Hispanic Serving Institution specializing in cyber, health, fundamental futures, and social-economic transformation. With an emphasis on transdisciplinary collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship, the university is leveraging its research and development capabilities to benefit the San Antonio community and the world beyond.
The university’s Sigma Xi chapter will include UTSA students, postdoctoral fellows, active research faculty and independent scientists. In addition to facilitating mentorship, collaboration and professional development, the society will facilitate engagement with other leading researchers from around the world with access to prestigious venues for scientific research presentations.
In the coming months, the UTSA chapter will select its inaugural leadership, comprised of current Sigma Xi members. The chapter will also nominate new members and will contribute to the professional development of UTSA’s research community.
“Sigma Xi has a lengthy and distinguished history in promoting excellence in scientific research and scholarship across the country, and indeed throughout the world,” said Hamid Beladi, chair of the ADR and organizing member of UTSA’s Sigma Xi chapter.
Rena Bizios, biomedical engineering and chemical engineering
James Chambers, molecular microbiology & immunology
Michael Doyle, chemistry
Mark S. Jones, counseling
Sandy Norman, mathematics
(Anson) Joo L. Ong, electrical & computer engineering
George Perry, neuroscience, developmental and regenerative biology
Marissa Wechsler, biomedical engineering and chemical engineering
Alan Whittington, earth & planetary sciences
Jason Yaeger, anthropology
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Día en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza, Main CampusCovidence is a systematic & scoping review tool used to streamline the process of screening and reviewing articles. Using this software, research teams can easily import studies, perform automatic deduplication, and extract data using templates. This workshop will show attendees how to start a review in Covidence, add collaborators, and get started on screening.
Virtual (Zoom)In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to Pandas, a Python tool for working with data easily. It makes it simple to organize and analyze information when data is organized and categorized, like spreadsheets or tables.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryEach fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.
UTSA Convocation Center, Main CampusJoin the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusCelebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the graduates from the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
