Norwich Beta Kappa
Northfield, VT 05663
In the Fall of 2016, Norwich mechanical engineering senior Joana Athanasi expressed an interest in establishing a Pi Tau Sigma Chapter to Mechanical Engineering Department, Chair Dr. Jeffrey Mountain. Joana contacted the society secretary, Dr. Alex Moutsoglou, who provided her with the necessary forms, which she forwarded to Dr. Mountain. Dr. Mountain, originally a member of the Texas Sigma Rho chapter and the only Pi Tau Sigma member on the faculty at the time, prepared the petition documents, identified and contacted the eligible students and secured their signatures of support for a Norwich chapter. In addition, he secured the supporting signatures from all of the tenured and tenure track faculty, and letters of support from the David Crawford School of Engineering Director and the College of Professional Schools Dean. Dr. Mountain then included his own letter of support and donated the charter fee. The new chapter petition was submitted to the society secretary on November 9, 2016.
The Norwich University petition for a new chapter was overwhelmingly approved on November 28, 2016 and was designated the Norwich Beta Kappa chapter. Norwich Beta Kappa was officially chartered on February 25, 2017, at the 2017 Drexel Convention. Joana Athanasi and Jessey Heigh, a qualifying ME Junior, accompanied Dr. Mountain to the 2017 Pi Tau Sigma Annual Convention at Drexel University to be formally inducted into the Society. In addition, the group from Norwich received the Charter document for the Norwich Beta Kappa chapter. With the nucleus of the chapter membership established, invitations were sent to all of the remaining eligible students. Of the 14 additional students eligible for membership and listed on the charter, 11 were inducted into the Society at the first Pi Tau Sigma ceremony held at the Norwich Campus on April 13, 2017; becoming the true charter members of the chapter.
In addition to the eligible student members, Drs. R. Danner Friend, Karen Supan, and Brian Bradke were invited the join the Society and were inducted as Honorary Members.
ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORTS
2021-2022 Author: Onduwune Eli Ekoja, President 2021-2022
The Norwich Beta Kappa Chapter held two initiations for the 2021-2022 school year. The fall initiation took place on November 18th, 2021, and the spring initiation took place on March 24th, 2022. Pictures for the fall and spring initiation can be seen in Figure 1 and Figure 2 respectively.
Figure 1. Norwich Beta Kappa Fall Initiation. From left: Valentina Drown, Sarah Farnum, Maggie McNeil, Ryan Litch, Andrew Albano
Figure 2. Norwich Beta Kappa Spring Initiation. From left: Joshua Vannoy, Ingrid Berge
The chapter also participated in and hosted some activities during the 2021-2022 school year. These activities include:
- Graduate School Information Session: A graduate school information session was hosted by Pi Tau Sigma on November 3rd, 2021, from 1800 to 1900. Professor Karen Supan (Norwich Beta Kappa Advisor), Professor Scott Smith (Norwich ME professor) and Professor Cruz Lozano (Norwich ME professor) were present to talk about how to apply to graduate school, how to build a grad school resume and how to fund your graduate program. They also talked about undergraduate research internships/fellowships at Norwich University and outside Norwich University. The information session had a good turnout and pizza was served to attendees of the event.
- Norwich University Engineering Week: Pi Tau Sigma participated in Norwich University’s 2022 engineering week which the hosted by Tau Beta Pi. The event took place from February 20 to February 26. Due to the busy schedule of chapter members, only one member was able to host one event during engineering week. This event was Jenga, and it was held on February 22 from 7pm to 8:30pm.
- Career Series: The Norwich Beta Kappa Chapter helped host a series of career sessions during the spring semester which the Norwich University Engineering Board of Directors helped facilitate. The career sessions consisted of four sessions:
- Resume Writing and Review Session (January 26, 2022)
- Career advice for students commissioning into the military (February 16, 2022)
- Career advice for students looking to work with the government and how to apply for government positions (March 16, 2022)
- Career advice for students looking to go into the private sector (April 20, 2022) The sessions were conducted over Zoom and were open to all students within the engineering department. All sessions were held between 7pm and 8pm.
2020-2021 Author: Brielle King, President 2020-2021
The fall semester proceeded with business as usual and initiations were carried out in the Spring. The candidates completed a take-home exam and were each given a key to shine. Members attending the ceremony included: Ian, Nick, Shaeleigh, Eli, Chad, and Heather.
A series of Professional Development workshops were held with participation from the David Crawford School of Engineering Board of Fellows in addition to other discussions with the BOF.
Lastly, the Chapter President, Brielle King, attended the National Convention representing Norwich Beta Kappa.
2019-2020 Karen Supan - Advisor
The fall semester proceeded with business as usual with fall initiations. The candidates completed a take-home exam and were each given a key to shine. The spring initiation was held virtually. Members attending the virtual ceremony included: Jerad, Brielle, Jordan, Andrew, and advisor Karen Supan.
2018-2019
In the fall our chapter began the first semester initiations which entail a take-home exam, which familiarizes the initiates with Pi Tau Sigma, and shining the individual Pi Tau Sigma keys which helps spread knowledge of the society. To complete the exam, initiates must explore different parts of campus. To shine the key, students use different equipment in the campus machine shop, some of these pieces they would not normally see without this project. These activities are meant to spark curiosity and encourage conversation about Pi Tau Sigma within the campus community.
During National Engineers week (E-week), which began on February 18th, 2019, Norwich University held its annual E-week competitions. The engineering honors societies collaborate with the engineering faculty and staff to host a variety of competitions from egg drop to dodgeball to professor bowling. The different engineering disciplines at Norwich compete for bragging rights for the following year. This friendly competition promotes interdisciplinary relationships and a collaborative atmosphere between the different classes within the disciplines. This year, The Norwich Beta Kappa chapter of Pi Tau Sigma assisted in hosting multiple events, however the chapter planned the box stacking competition. The object is to stack as many boxes as possible without the tower falling. The competition worked on a points system within categories. The tallest would receive 3 points, the next tallest would receive 2 points, then next would receive 1 point and the shortest tower would not receive points. The other category was the number of boxes used, which was scored in a similar fashion. The event was quite popular even by many of the passer buyers wanted to participate. The mechanical engineers took home the gold both in this event and at the ceremony at the conclusion of E-week.
The year concluded with the spring initiation that followed the same patterns as the fall initiation.
2017-2018
The 2017-2018 academic year began with the fall initiation activities. These activities consist of a Pi Tau Sigma exam and the shining of individual bents. These activities serve the purpose of not only familiarizing the initiates with Pi Tau Sigma, but also spreading knowledge of the society. During the shining of the bent students are actively in the campus machine shop using various pieces of equipment to complete the task. In addition, when completing the exam, students must travel to parts of the campus to complete the exam. Both of these activities spark a curiosity in the campus community and force conversations of who and what Pi Tau Sigma is. This was also the case for our Engineers week activity.
During National Engineers week, which began on February 18th, 2018, Norwich University holds its annual Engineers Week competitions. The week consists of various activities from egg drops to dodge ball and professor bowling. These allow the various engineering disciplines at Norwich (mechanical, electrical, civil, and construction management) to compete for bragging rights as the best engineering class of that year. In doing so, an awareness for the importance of engineering and other stem majors is spread. This year, The Norwich Beta Kappa chapter of Pi Tau Sigma was able to host their own event. The event was called Toxic Waste. The object of the game is to take a bucket of “toxic waste” and drop in into a larger bucket. There is a slight catch though. No team member could enter the 4-foot radius circle that the toxic waste bucket was enclosed in, nor could they touch either of the toxic waste buckets. If one of the rules was violated a time limit where all work must stop was imposed, and that particular groups station would be reset. The materials that each group was given were an assortment of rubber bands, pipe cleaners, paperclips, tape, and string. The competition was conducted in one of the busiest places on campus during the evening hours in order to attract the most attention. The event was likened by all that participated, and even by many of the passer buyers that wanted to participate. Unfortunately, in this event, the mechanical engineers suffered a loss to the construction management team, but the event was a success. The year was concluded with one more initiation and a pizza party for the members and staff of the Norwich Beta Kappa Chapter of Pi Tau Sigma.
