Lawson W. Brigham

Present Position

Distinguished Fellow, Center for Arctic Policy Studies, University of Alaska Fairbanks;
Research Faculty, International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks;
Fellow, U.S. Coast Guard Academy's Center for Arctic Studies and Policy

Chapter Affiliation

Alaska

Background Information

Biosketch
Resume
Video: Lawson Brigham's report on the emerging International Maritime Organization's Polar Code
Video: Lawson Brigham answers questions about climate change in the Arctic

Statement

One of the great strengths of Sigma Xi is that it is an open, inclusive and multidisciplinary organization. Since my election to membership later in my career (2004) and my involvement with the Alaska Chapter, my understanding has grown of the Society’s importance as a professional network, honorary body, and educational community within our chapters in the U.S. and internationally. My many international trips for polar research and policy work have allowed me to come in contact with Sigma Xi scientists and engineers in other countries who have great respect and a fondness for our unique voice and advocacy of the scientific research enterprise. Every occasion I am away and see American Scientist being sold in a foreign land, as I have in recent trips to Tokyo and Helsinki, I remind myself that this vehicle for international outreach is the product of a remarkable institution that has had much foresight during its long history.

But certainly we cannot rest on our laurels and we must continue to build the membership base and our institutional relationships within and outside our country. With a large number of foreign students coming to the U.S. for a world class education, and research being more international and collaborative than ever before, the Society should be well positioned to capitalize on these opportunities. The Society’s leadership must develop a flexible, effective strategy to recruit young and old, early career scientists and engineers and those more well-established, inclusive of all cultures and backgrounds, from sectors including academe, industry, government and non-governmental organizations. This must be a top priority for the Society’s leadership as the future financial health, influence and robustness depend on our new members and exceptional diversity of talent. An integral element of this strategy must also be the continued mentoring, motivating and retaining of our young members by our local chapters, in many respects the bedrock of Sigma Xi.

It should not be surprising that as a polar oceanographer, environmental scientist and now Arctic policy researcher that I see anthropogenic climate change as one of humanity’s greatest threats and challenges. I am also deeply concerned about the health and vitality of the world’s oceans, hearing almost daily about complex stressors including acidification, intense human use, illegal fishing, coastal pollution, governance issues, and more. Sigma Xi’s has significant roles in the public understanding of these and other global challenges such as health care, literacy and the availability of fresh water. The Society must consistently articulate the importance and relationships of science and technology to our nation’s economic heath and security. The Society must play a leading role in better public understanding of the research enterprise itself, including freedom of inquiry and the peer review process. Sigma Xi has roles to play in the opening of science, not only responding to the challenges and opportunities of open access, but to many recent initiatives that foster less restrictive approaches to data sharing and exchanges of technologies. The Society should also explore ways it can foster computer science literacy in K-12 education throughout the nation; teaching computing to all our students is a national imperative.

Relevant Background

My pathway to Sigma XI and the research community has come later in life. I served as a U.S. Coast Guard officer aboard ships throughout the U.S. and the global oceans, on the faculty of the Coast Guard Academy (early in my career), and in Washington DC at Coast Guard Headquarters where in one senior position, I was the Chief of Strategic Planning for a large and complex organization. My good fortune during the past two decades has been to hold leadership and research positions within the U.S. and international polar research and policy communities. As captain of one of America’s polar icebreakers conducting expeditions at both ends of the world, to service in a leadership position responding to the diplomats of the Arctic Council, I have experienced a set of unique and challenging positions. Each required a broad understanding of the research enterprise (importantly aboard ship), the use of science in decision-making, international diplomacy, and strong leadership of diverse groups of stakeholders and actors.

Although I have been involved in a host of positions of responsibility throughout my career, some in the maritime world and others within the international environmental policy arena, two major studies stand out where I was the chair and leader of a complex and challenging assessment. I believe both experiences have relevance to Sigma Xi’s leadership. Both required extensive team building, transparency and effective communications with a broad range of clients and members of the relevant organization. In the early 1990s I was leader of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Work-Life Study which was a large and complex study of how the organization delivered its many services such as health care, housing, and more to its personnel and military families. The study also tackled a range of sensitive issues on how the Coast Guard related to its people, itself being one of world’s renowned humanitarian organizations. Institutional culture and leadership issues surfaced among a range of critical findings of the study. This study provided me with a deep understanding of human resources for an entire (large) organization and highlighted the many roles good leadership and effective communication play in all institutions.

During 2004-2009 I was chair of the Arctic Council’s Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) while also serving as the Vice Chair of the Council’s Working Group on Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment. AMSA was a complex assessment involving several hundred maritime representatives from 8 Arctic states, Arctic indigenous peoples, maritime industry experts, climate scientists, and more. AMSA evolved to be a baseline assessment of Arctic marine use, a strategic guide for a host of stakeholders, an importantly, a policy framework for the Arctic states to enhance marine safety and environmental protection. Strategic thinking was enhanced during AMSA by the application of a scenarios creation process that allowed everyone to realize the complexity of the future of Arctic navigation. The AMSA recommendations continue to be implemented today and the AMSA is considered one of the most successful studies undertaken by the Arctic Council. My experience in leading this international study provided unique perspectives on dealing with cultural differences, diverse skill sets, and orchestration of a complicated, lengthy negotiation process to reach consensus by the Arctic states.

Sigma Xi Issues of Special Interest

My commitment to the Society would be as an active and engaged President-Elect, President and Past-President. I am particularly interested in the Society’s strategic planning process and how the leadership and entire membership can enhance our collective vision of the future with the Society remaining as an effective and influential advocate for the research enterprise. What futures survey might we conduct among our talented and diverse membership, and what insights might such a harvest of information provide? I sense we should explore what our membership thinks about the future, especially changes in science, technology and our own environment. We need to evaluate how Sigma Xi should adapt and be more nimble to meet the many challenges we ‘see’ for the 21st century.

Influenced by my ongoing work in the polar research and policy communities, I would also seek ways to increase our international memberships. Are there more opportunities for outreach and mentorship of the many international students on our campuses? I believe there is also room to enhance the relationships Sigma Xi has with foreign scientific and honorary bodies, as well as strengthening our ties with the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and AAAS, for example, organizations where I have been a long-time member. The Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research program has been a pioneering funder of graduate and undergraduate students for nearly a century (1922). What are the strategies we must pursue to increase the program’s current and future endowment? Few organizations can match the excellence, longevity, membership draw, and mentor involvement of our Sigma Xi GIAR program. What private endowments are available and what public-private partnerships might Sigma Xi develop to build the long-term (financial) health of the GIAR program and one day expand substantially beyond our shores? I remain committed to the roles American Scientist  plays as our historic and flagship publication. As a board member of three professional organizations that each have a flagship journal or publication, I understand some of the complexities and challenges of this important publishing part of our mission. I would add my experiences to the leadership team to make sure American Scientist remains a highly visible national and international publication.

I am passionate about Sigma Xi, its compelling mission and bright future. My life has been spent in service to others, first as a career Coast Guard officer, next as a U.S. civil servant, and now as a polar researcher, graduate student mentor, and developer of Arctic marine policies. My experiences have shown that the leader of all organizations must be a team leader and if I was honored to be elected Sigma Xi’s President, team building would have first priority. Together we would embark on several special and focused initiatives that I believe we should pursue for our multi-faceted and successful organization.

Dr. Lawson W. Brigham
University of Alaska Fairbanks
26 May 2016

Key points for president-elect nomination