2013 Assembly of Delegates
Research & Doctoral Universities Director
Name: Frank Abrams
Present Positions:
Organization: North Carolina State University
- Scientific and Technical Consultant
Organization: Coats & Bennett Intellectual Property Law
- Professional Engineer and Owner
Organization: Frank Abrams, PhD PE Consulting
Chapter Affiliation: North Carolina State University
Candidate's CV
Candidate's Statement: It is important that there be a cogent, hard hitting, and clear case articulated that argues for those who have been initiated into Sigma Xi to continue as active members. It must be clear about what is required of a continuing active member, what are the responsibilities of active membership, what are the opportunities for active members, and that the responsibilities and opportunities are not in any way expected to demand significant time commitments from busy scientific researchers. Rather, the responsibilities and opportunities must be envisioned to facilitate, undergird, and amplify the individual scientific researcher's role in enhancing the research enterprise, fostering integrity in science and engineering, and promoting the public's understanding of science for the purpose of improving the human condition. In short, Sigma Xi must do what no other organization does: advocate for scientific research and scientific researchers across the board.
Much has been said about the "current generation" of researchers. Typical comments include that they: "are not joiners"; "have no interest in anything but their research"; "are too busy in their demanding careers"; "assign no value to honors bestowed on them"; "won't come to chapter events or serve as chapter officers"; "don't see what's in Sigma Xi for them". Certainly, there are those active researchers and others engaged in the research enterprise for whom any or all of these things are true. Indeed, such comments are somewhat distorted representations of the facts of professional life as a productive scientific researcher. The question is not as much how we might change those facts but rather how can we address advocacy for scientific research and scientific researchers in view of those facts.
So what might we do about it?
We might assume an honest and forthright posture that Sigma Xi is the lead advocate for the research enterprise and for those who form the heart and substance of the scientific research enterprise. To that end, we should understand the focus of our mission to be enhancing of the research enterprise. The mission should articulate and communicate that this central focus is necessarily and importantly enabled by advocating for the scientific research profession as well as fostering integrity in the conduct of scientific research and promoting public understanding of scientific research. Promoting the understanding of science and attracting youth into science-based careers is an important supportive element of the mission.
Advocating for the scientific research profession includes first acknowledging that such a profession exists and that real people prepare themselves for it, work and evolve their careers in it, and, in so doing, make crucial and substantial contributions to improving the human condition. Advancing the scientific research profession includes recognizing that preparation for and commitment to a career in scientific research requires a level of scholarly attainment in disciplinary areas that is in and of itself deserving of honor, and that honor bestowed is a very important form of encouragement and validation.
Advocating for the scientific research profession includes also recognizing that the profession is characterized by tough, hard—albeit exciting and satisfying—work. It requires work that is at times all-consuming, demanding of every element of human intellectual and physical strength that an individual can muster. Not only is the actual work difficult, it is incumbent on scientific researchers to justify their research to the extent that they can secure the funding required to pay for the space, equipment, assistance, travel, and even their own salaries.
Advocating for the scientific research profession includes awareness of the excitement and attractiveness of scientific research to young, bright, and inquiring minds. Indeed, the practice of the scientific research profession almost always includes participating or leading in preparing others to enter the profession. This includes attracting graduate students into doctoral programs, funding them, and guiding their educational and professional development. It includes creating training opportunities in industry and government for aspiring researchers during their formal education. It also includes attracting young people to the wonders of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Sigma Xi as an international society has done much to promote "science" and even to promote a public understanding of science and scientific research. It has done little—in comparison to its potential, however, to advocate for scientific researchers. The interesting aspect of this situation is that advocacy for the scientific research enterprise and for those who form its heart and substance—scientific researchers—across the board is the one area where Sigma Xi would have had and has little or no competition! Every science and engineering professional and scholarly society provides venues for debate and publication of research results by researchers at all levels, offers incitements to appeal to young people, seeks to acquaint the public with the wonders of science and engineering and what it does and can do for society. These programs are ample, well developed, and to some degree moderately, at least, successful. But there are only occasional "splash in the pan" activities and efforts that get at true advocacy for scientific research and scientific researchers.
True advocacy for scientific researchers and for the scientific research enterprise might include many things, among them,
- for scientific researchers:
- stimulating studies of work-life balance for scientific researchers
- addressing the unproductive "research vs. teaching" debates that run rampant in higher education, in particular, with insight and practical wisdom
- examining the rewards systems that exist for scientific researchers
- for the scientific research enterprise:
- bringing focus to new and emerging areas of scientific research
- cataloging scientific research accomplishments and interpreting them to the public
There are no doubt many, many more items that could be added to these lists. We must as a Society come to grips with having such lists and committing to them. Further, we must acknowledge the present structure of the scientific research enterprise and seriously and pointedly engage with it. That means that Sigma Xi must find ways to communicate in meaningful ways with university, government, and industry research officers. It is these people who lead, hopefully serve, and surely impact in the strongest way the professional health and well-being of scientific researchers. They deal in the most fundamental way with the recruitment, professional development, and support of scientific researchers in their respective organizations. Finding ways to listen to these servant (we hope) leaders will enlighten Sigma Xi and its leadership about ways the Society can become a seriously meaningful force in promoting, enhancing, and ensuring the health and vitality of the scientific enterprise. The conversation will become two-way, but Sigma Xi must first listen.
Sigma Xi has long tried to be a place for presenting and debating evolving scientific research while that is what is going on in scores of other organizations almost every day of the year! We've argued that Sigma Xi is an interdisciplinary scientific society while there is an active and constantly-evolving array of such groups. Meanwhile, most active scientific researchers have, as far as presenting and debating their evolving scientific research undertakings is concerned, been understandably oblivious to Sigma Xi. Starting right now, we can change that. Rather than trying to be one among the very many "scientific societies" doing what "scientific societies" do, let's do what they do not do. Let's help them and collaborate with them where doing so will advance the cause of advocacy for the scientific research enterprise and for scientific researchers. That can mean, for example, co-hosting events as their conferences on key issues in scientific research and its health.
The recent action by the Assembly of Delegates to directly enfranchise the individual members and associate members of Sigma Xi in the election of Society officers and directors is a very crucial and positive step in the direction of refocusing the Society as indicated above. Most of our active members still are scientific researchers and truly connecting them to the Society can be nothing but good. Our current elected and leadership has the energy and wisdom to step up and lead in a large and not small way. The realization of that leadership has already begun, with this crucial step taken by the Assembly, move us forward in a way we have not seen of late.
We must continually challenge ourselves to think more deeply and consider more clearly just what the scientific research enterprise is and how Sigma Xi can promote and protect it. We just might find that those dynamics which plague us as to sustaining membership will evaporate. Sigma Xi will be seen as important to its new members and remain that way as memberships mature. If we do that, Sigma Xi will still be here in another 125 years. If we do not, it will be soon be gone. I vote for 125 years!
Sigma Xi and Other Activities: I was initiated into Sigma Xi while a doctoral candidate in 1969, and I have remained a active member of the Society since. During the 36 years I served on the faculties of three universities, I have the great privilege of serving on advisory committees for and directing the research of many graduate students who were headed into research careers. It was my honor to nominate many of them for associate membership in the Society. It was also my honor to nominate young faculty researchers for Sigma Xi awards, and I have had the privilege of having colleagues who became Academy members tell me how important that award they received early in their career was. While on the faculty of North Carolina State University, I served on the executive committee and as president of the chapter for two periods: one in the first third of my career and another in the last third. During those times, my awareness of activities of the Society nationally and internationally was enhanced, but it was mainly in regards to support for initiating new members and support of chapters financially. My focus was on the research and educational program in which I was engaged, the students and research collaborators we had, and on keeping the program alive and productive. During the period beginning in 2003, after a nine year stint as a university administrator, I served as a delegate to Assembly and learned of the dire straits into which Sigma Xi had fallen. The situation that came into view was presented as a financial one, and the financial picture was indeed distressing. But the problem was more fundamental. To me, it was one of having become disconnected from the scientific research enterprise and the bulk those who comprised in its work. Bull headedly and clumsily, but with the support of my home chapter, I sought to address the issue by pressing for organizational change in Sigma Xi. There were others, many others, who had the same concerns as those with which I was fumbling, and fortunately their leadership and voices began to prevail in causing the recently made change in officer and board member elections. I am thankful to have been a very small part of that change.
Biographical Information: I am a North Carolina native, and all my formal education was received in North Carolina. Having grown up as a tenant farmer's son in rural eastern North Carolina, I became interested in improving farming. I was fortunate to study at North Carolina State University where I earned the BS, MS, and PhD degrees under the direction of the faculty of biological and agricultural engineering. After commencing an academic career as assistant professor of agricultural engineering at the University of Kentucky in 1970, I was recruited back to North Carolina State University where I was ultimately promoted to Professor. My teaching and research was initially focused on the design and development of agricultural machinery and agricultural products handling where both functionality and human operator safety and comfort were major issues. The research and teaching evolved into examinations of the effects of noise and mechanical vibration on human operators and on animals, which, through collaborations with medical researchers, led to work in biomechanics. This led to my involvement in the evolution of a biomedical engineering program that ultimately became a joint department between North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Faculty leadership and administrative service included director graduate programs for two terms, interim department head, and nine years as the senior vice provost for academic affairs for North Carolina State University. I retired from the University in 2006 but remain active in academic and engineering areas through volunteering and consulting. I continue involvement with my chapter as a volunteer consultant to our board and as chapter webmaster.