Scientific research society Sigma Xi, US, has announced the appointment of Phillip K. Cates as director of organisational advancement. This new department combines the society's development and membership departments.
Cates comes to Sigma Xi from Compassionate Capital, a capacity building and resource development consulting firm he founded, which is focused on public, private and faith-based organisations. He is a former director of partnerships and strategic initiatives for the Public School Forum of North Carolina. He was also a consultant and trainer for SERVE, the southeastern regional federal education laboratory located at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has also served as executive director of the Chatham Education Foundation, one of North Carolina's leading rural local education funds.
Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi is the international honour society of research scientists and engineers, with more than 500 chapters at colleges and universities, government laboratories and industry research centers. Over the years, more than 200 Sigma Xi members have received the Nobel Prize. In addition to publishing the American Scientist magazine, the non-profit society awards hundreds of grants annually to student researchers and sponsors a variety of programmes that support science and engineering.
