Four Knox Students Inducted into Scientific Honor Society

Four Knox College students have been inducted as associate members into Sigma Xi, the international scientific honor society.

They are Corinne Butzen of Libertyville, Illinois, Akina Nagata of Tokyo, Japan, Tara Orech of Saint Charles, Illinois, and Angela Zinn of Topeka, Kansas.

Butzen, a biology major, graduated from Knox in June. Her research project was titled, "Factors Affecting the Ability of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncate) to interpret Human-Given Social Cues."

Nagata, a biochemistry major, graduated from Knox in June. Her research project was titled, "Determination of the Molecular Volume for the Dimeric GrpE Protein Using Fluorescence Anisotropy."

Zinn, a psychology major, graduated from Knox in June. Her research project was titled, "Relationships Between Nail Biting, Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, and Anxiety in Pre-Schoolers."

Orech, who has majors in chemistry and creative writing, will begin her senior year in the fall. Her research project was titled, "Separation of Chiral D,L-Valine by High Performance Liquid Chromatography."

Associate members of Sigma Xi must be nominated by two full members of the society after presenting research results at an off-campus forum. A full membership requires a Ph.D. in a scientific field of study.

There typically are about five to 10 active student members of Sigma Xi at Knox College, where the chapter began in 1959. The society exists to honor scientists as well as to provide a forum for discussing topics over multiple scientific disciplines.

Sigma Xi was founded in 1886 at Cornell University and has more than 60,000 members internationally. More than 200 members have received Nobel Prizes.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 45 states and 48 countries. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.