Alpha Chi Sigma
ΑΧΣ
The official crest of Alpha Chi Sigma.
FoundedDecember 11, 1902 (1902-12-11)
University of Wisconsin–Madison
TypeProfessional
AffiliationPFA
ScopeNational
Colors  Prussian blue   Chrome yellow
FlowerRed carnation
MascotWyvern
PublicationThe HEXAGON
ChaptersCollegiate: 56 active
Professional: 7 chapters; 15 groups
ColoniesCollegiate: 1
Headquarters6296 Rucker Road Suite B
Indianapolis, Indiana 46220
United States
Websitewww.alphachisigma.org

Alpha Chi Sigma (ΑΧΣ) is a professional fraternity specializing in the fields of the chemical sciences.[1] 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

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.

Symbols

The fraternity's colors are Prussian blue and chrome yellow.[2] The colors were selected because of the history as chemical compounds.[2] Prussian blue consists of iron (III) ferrocyanide and was first created in 1704 by Heinrich Diesbach.[2] Chrome yellow was discovered by Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin in 1797 in the mineral croncoite and consists of lead chromate.[2] The fraternity's flower is the red carnation and its symbolic mascot is the Wyvern.[2]

The fraternity's badge is hexagon-shaped, symbolizing the basic structural symbol for aromatic compounds.[2] It features the Greek letters ΑΧΣ, with shaking hands below and a skull and cross bones and two stars above.[2] There is also a hexagon-shaped pledge pin with the symbol for lead (see the table below).[2] Its professional charm is a slightly larger version of the badge.[2] There is also a recognition pin for professional members that consists of a monogram of the Greek letters ΑΧΣ.[2]

Its coat of arms includes a shield with a Prussian blue background that is bisected by a diagonal chrome yellow bar that features the symbols of the seven metals of the Ancients. Above the bar are three stars arranged in a triangle. Below the bar is a Wyvern, a mythical creature. There is a motto ribbon below the shield in chrome yellow, with the fraternity's name in Prussian blue.[2] There is a lambrequin or mantling drapped on either side of the shield.[2] Above the shield is a torse with six knots in the fraternity colors and the crest which is an alchemical symbol.[2]

The seven metals of the Ancients are gold, silver, iron, mercury, tin, copper, and lead. These symbols correspond to planets, gods, and days of the week.[3]

MetalGoldSilverIronMercury TinCopperLead
God/celestial bodySol/SunLuna/Moon MarsMercuryJupiterVenusSaturn
Day of the weekSundayMonday TuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday

Member John Baer designed the Alpha Chi Sigma flag in 1946.[2] It has a field of Prussian blue and symbols in chrome yellow, including three stars that are arranged in a triangle in the upper left-hand corner, a central hexagon with letters ΑΧΣ, and the Greek letters for the individual chapter in the lower right corner.[2] The flag for the Grand Chapter features the ancient symbol for gold in the lower right corner.[2]

The fraternity also has a tartan that was designed by R. Scott Wilson.[2] The tartan includes a dark blue background and red, white, and yellow lines. The yellow lines are groups in threes to represent the Three Objects of the fraternity and in sixes to represent the six sides of the hexagon.[2] The red represents the fraternity's flower.[2] The combination of red and white recalls the school colors of the Alpha chapter at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[2] In addition, there is a grouping of two white lines to represent 1902, the founding year of the fraternity.[2]

Notable members

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

  • Carolyn Bertozzi, Sigma 2001 (2022), "for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry"[4]
  • Herbert C. Brown, Beta Nu 1960 (1979), "for [his] development of the use of boron-containing compounds into important reagents in organic synthesis"[5]
  • Elias James Corey, Zeta 1953 (1990), "for developing new ways to synthesize complex molecules ordinarily found in nature"[5]
  • 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"[5]
  • Paul Flory, Tau 1950 (1974), "for his fundamental achievements, both theoretical and experimental, in the physical chemistry of the macromolecules"[5]
  • Richard F. Heck, Beta Gamma 1950 (2010), "for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis"[5]
  • Willard Libby, Sigma 1941 (1960), "for his method to use carbon-14 for age determination in archaeology, geology, geophysics, and other branches of science"[5]
  • William Lipscomb, Alpha Gamma 1939 (1976), "for his studies on the structure of boranes illuminating problems of chemical bonding"[5]
  • Alan MacDiarmid, Alpha 1951 (2000), "for the discovery and development of conductive polymers"[5]
  • Rudolph A. Marcus, Zeta 1955 (1992), "for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems"[5]
  • Robert Bruce Merrifield, Beta Gamma 1944 (1984), "for his development of methodology for chemical synthesis on a solid matrix"[5]
  • Lars Onsager, Chi 1950 (1968), "for the discovery of the reciprocal relations bearing his name, which are fundamental for the thermodynamics of irreversible processes" [5]
  • 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"[5]
  • 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"[5]

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

  • Edward Adelbert Doisy, Zeta 1943 (1943), "for his discovery of the chemical nature of vitamin K"[5]
  • George H. Hitchings, Omicron 1929 (1988), "for [his] discoveries of important Principles for Drug Treatment"[5]
  • Robert W. Holley, Zeta 1940 (1968), "for [his] interpretation of the genetic code and its functions in protein synthesis"[5]
  • Paul Lauterbur, Gamma 1949 (2003), "for their discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging"[5]
  • E. L. Tatum, Alpha 1930 (1958), "for [his] discovery that genes act by regulating definite chemical events"[5]

Nobel Prize in Physics

  • Raymond Davis Jr., Alpha Rho 1935 (2002), "for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos"[5]

Nobel Prize in Peace

  • Linus Pauling, Sigma 1940 (1962), "for warning of the dangers of radioactive fallout in nuclear weapons testing and war"[5]

Priestley Medal

Other notable brothers

Chapters

Collegiate 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.[6]

  • 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

References

  1. ↑ "Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity". www.alphachisigma.org.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 The Alpha Chi Sigma Sourcebook: Academic Year 2023-2024 Edition (PDF). Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity. 2023. p. 47-49. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Fraternity – History-Symbols". Alpha Chi Sigma. 2013-03-15. Archived from the original on 2013-02-23. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  4. ↑ Alpha Chi Sigma Sourcebook Alpha Chi Sigma Awards p54-55
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Alpha Chi Sigma - Nobel Laureates
  6. ↑ "Professional Groups and Chapters - Alpha Chi Sigma". www.alphachisigma.org. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
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