April 23, 2018

Sigma Xi Affiliate Circle member Todd Boyette is director of the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

How did you learn about the Sigma Xi Affiliate Circle? 
Richard Watkins, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Sigma Xi Chapter president and Sigma Xi board member, contacted me about it and asked if he could nominate me for membership.

Why were you interested in joining? 
Sigma Xi is a well-respected organization that I have worked with in the past. This was an opportunity to align myself, formally, to an organization that does good work.

What is the biggest benefit of being part of the Affiliate Circle? 
I spend a lot of time encouraging greater engagement between the research community and the general public. Being a part of the Affiliate Circle provides another avenue to encourage this engagement.

How are you involved with the local Sigma Xi Chapter at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill? 
They partner with us on our monthly speaker series, the Carolina Science Café. We also work with many individual members on communicating their work to general audiences.

What would you like the Sigma Xi community to know about the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center? 
Morehead is dedicated to leveraging the unique resources of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to enhance the public’s understanding of science, technology, and health. We can’t do this without working with scientists. My staff and I are always looking for new and innovative partnerships with researchers to tell their stories in engaging ways.

The Sigma Xi Affiliate Circle is open to all individuals who value scientific research. Chapters are encouraged to invite science and engineering students and the public to the Affiliate Circle. Learn more at www.sigmaxi.org/affiliate.