Alpha Chi Sigma

Alpha Chi Sigma
ΑΧΣ
Founded	December 11, 1902 (1902-12-11) University of Wisconsin–Madison
Type	Professional
Affiliation	PFA
Scope	National
Colors	Prussian blue   Chrome yellow
Publication	The HEXAGON
Chapters	Collegiate: 56 active; 1 pending Professional: 7 chapters; 15 groups
Headquarters	6296 Rucker Road Suite B Indianapolis, IN 46220 USA
Website	www.alphachisigma.org

Alpha Chi Sigma (ΑΧΣ) is a professional fraternity specializing in the fields of the chemical sciences. It has both collegiate and professional chapters throughout the United States consisting of both men and women and numbering more than 78,000 members. The fraternity aims to bring together students and professionals pursuing a wide variety of chemistry-related careers.

History

Founding

The Alpha Chi Sigma fraternity was organized at the University of Wisconsin–Madison by a group of undergraduates who were fellow students in chemistry at that time. Later documents set the date of founding as December 11, 1902. The founders were:

• Raymond Tracy Conger
• Harold Everett Eggers
• Joseph Gerard Holty
• Alfred Emil Kundert
• Joseph Howard Mathews
• Edward Gustav Mattke
• Bart Eldred McCormick
• Frank Joseph Petura
• James Chisholm Silverthorn

Coat of arms

The blazon for the coat of arms is Azure on a bend Or between a wyvern in base and 3 molets 1 and 2 in chief argent symbols of Silver Mercury Copper Gold Iron Tin Lead sable above a wreath of or and azure the symbol of The Elixir of Life sable mantling of or and azure motto Alpha Chi Sigma.

The seven symbols that stretch the length of the coat of arms are the "seven metals of the Ancients": gold, silver, iron, mercury, tin, copper, and lead. These symbols correspond to planets, gods, and days of the week.

Metal	Gold	Silver	Iron	Mercury	Tin	Copper	Lead
God/celestial body	Sol/Sun	Luna/Moon	Mars	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus	Saturn
Day of the week	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday

Purpose

The Three Objects of Alpha Chi Sigma:

1. To bind its members with a tie of true and lasting friendship.
2. To strive for the advancement of chemistry both as a science and as a profession.
3. To aid its members by every honorable means in the attainment of their ambitions as chemists throughout their mortal lives.

The Five Obligations of a Member:

1. That a member will remember the Objects of the Fraternity and endeavor always to further them.
2. That a member will pay promptly all financial obligations.
3. That a member will so act so as never to be a reproach to Alpha Chi Sigma.
4. That a member will cheerfully fulfill any assigned fraternal tasks.
5. That a member will maintain as satisfactory a scholastic record as possible.

Notable members

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

• Carolyn Bertozzi, Sigma 2001 (2022), "for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry"
• Herbert C. Brown, Beta Nu 1960 (1979), "for [his] development of the use of boron-containing compounds into important reagents in organic synthesis"
• Elias James Corey, Zeta 1953 (1990), "for developing new ways to synthesize complex molecules ordinarily found in nature"
• Pete Debye, Tau 1940 (1936), "for his contributions to our knowledge of molecular structure through his investigations on dipole moments and the diffraction of X-rays and electrons in gases"
• Paul Flory, Tau 1950 (1974), "for his fundamental achievements, both theoretical and experimental, in the physical chemistry of the macromolecules"
• Richard F. Heck, Beta Gamma 1950 (2010), "for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis"
• Willard Libby, Sigma 1941 (1960), "for his method to use carbon-14 for age determination in archaeology, geology, geophysics, and other branches of science"
• William Lipscomb, Alpha Gamma 1939 (1976), "for his studies on the structure of boranes illuminating problems of chemical bonding"
• Alan MacDiarmid, Alpha 1951 (2000), "for the discovery and development of conductive polymers"
• Rudolph A. Marcus, Zeta 1955 (1992), "for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems"
• Robert Bruce Merrifield, Beta Gamma 1944 (1984), "for his development of methodology for chemical synthesis on a solid matrix"
• Lars Onsager, Chi 1950 (1968), "for the discovery of the reciprocal relations bearing his name, which are fundamental for the thermodynamics of irreversible processes"
• Linus Pauling, Sigma 1940 (1954), "for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances"
• Glenn T. Seaborg, Beta Gamma 1935 (1951), "for [his] discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements"
• Vincent du Vigneaud, Zeta 1930 (1955), "for his work on biochemically important sulfur compounds, especially for the first synthesis of a polypeptide hormone"

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

• Edward Adelbert Doisy, Zeta 1943 (1943), "for his discovery of the chemical nature of vitamin K"
• George H. Hitchings, Omicron 1929 (1988), "for [his] discoveries of important Principles for Drug Treatment"
• Robert W. Holley, Zeta 1940 (1968), "for [his] interpretation of the genetic code and its functions in protein synthesis"
• Paul Lauterbur, Gamma 1949 (2003), "for their discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging"
• E. L. Tatum, Alpha 1930 (1958), "for [his] discovery that genes act by regulating definite chemical events"

Nobel Prize in Physics

• Raymond Davis Jr., Alpha Rho 1935 (2002), "for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos"

Nobel Prize in Peace

• Linus Pauling, Sigma 1940 (1962), "for warning of the dangers of radioactive fallout in nuclear weapons testing and war"

Priestley Medal

• Roger Adams, Zeta 1912, (1946), developed Adams' catalyst, president of the American Chemical Society, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• James B. Conant, Omicron 1912, (1944), an early contributor to physical organic chemistry, president of Harvard University, oversaw the Manhattan Project, winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Farrington Daniels, Beta 1908, (1957). 1953 president of the American Chemical Society, solar and nuclear energy pioneer
• M. Frederick Hawthorne, Beta Delta 1949 (2008) noted boron chemist who was the director of the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine at the University of Missouri.
• Joel Henry Hildebrand, Sigma 1913, (1962), replaced nitrogen in scuba tanks with helium and oxygen, winner of virtually every chemical award except the Nobel Prize.
• Darleane C. Hoffman, Sigma 1988, (2000), also a winner of the ACS Award in Nuclear Chemistry and the US Medal of Science
• Warren K. Lewis, Alpha Zeta 1925, (1947), the "Father of Modern Chemical Engineering" who introduced the concept of the unit operation

Other notable brothers

• Arnold Beckman, Zeta 1921, inventor of pH meter and ultraviolet spectrometer, winner of the National Medal of Technology and the National Medal of Science
• Wallace Carothers, Zeta 1926, inventor of nylon and neoprene
• F. Albert Cotton, Beta Eta 1978, noted transition metal chemist
• Frederick Gardner Cottrell, Sigma 1917, director of the US Bureau of Mines
• Mary L. Good, Beta Phi 1976, 1993 Under Secretary of Technology, 1987 President of the American Chemical Society
• Gilbert N. Lewis, Sigma 1913, known for dot diagrams of bonding, thermodynamic activity, and acid/base theory
• Thomas Midgley Jr., Alpha Delta 1936, inventor of Freon
• Donna Nelson, Beta Nu 1982, 2016 American Chemical Society president and science advisor for the television show Breaking Bad

Chapters

Collegiate chapters

Main article: List of Alpha Chi Sigma chapters

Professional chapters and groups

In any geographic area, five or more Alpha Chi Sigma professionals may petition the Grand Recorder to establish themselves as a professional group. After the guidelines set up in the bylaws are fulfilled, the group can petition the Supreme Council to grant it chapter status. Each chapter draws its name from the city or area in which it exists.

Atlanta Professional Group Bluegrass Professional Group Boston Professional Group Chicago Professional Chapter Cincinnati Professional Group Delaware Valley Professional Chapter Detroit Professional Group Indianapolis Professional Chapter Kansas City Professional Chapter Las Vegas Professional Group Los Angeles Professional Group

Mid-Missouri Professional Group New Jersey Professional Group Northstar Professional Group Omaha Professional Group Pittsburgh Professional Group Research Triangle Park Professional Chapter San Diego Professional Group Southwest Virginia Professional Group St. Louis Professional Chapter Washington, D.C. Professional Chapter Wisconsin Professional Group

See also

• Professional fraternities and sororities