Pi Tau Sigma () is an international

honor society In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy S ...

in the field of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

, with most chapters established in the United States. It honors mechanical engineering students who have exemplified the "principles of scholarship, character and service..." in the mechanical engineering profession.

History

Pi Tau Sigma came into being on March 16, 1915, at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

. A similar organization was formed November 15, 1915, at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. The two schools then met to join their societies, doing so in Chicago on March 12, 1916. To date, 167 chapters have been inducted into the organization throughout the United States, with 157 still active.Microsoft Word - PTS.Condenser.2.10.04.doc
/ref> Pi Tau Sigma, Georgia Institute of Technology

Pi Tau Sigma, Georgia Institute of Technology

Membership

Both

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

and

graduate student Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and s ...

s are eligible to join Pi Tau Sigma based on academic achievement. Juniors in the top 25% of their class and seniors in the top 35% of their class, based on grades, are invited to join. Membership fees are due at initiation, and membership lasts a lifetime. Pi Tau Sigma members are chosen on a basis of sound

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

ability, scholarship, personality, and probable future success in their chosen field of mechanical engineering. There are three grades of membership: Honorary, Graduate, and Active. Honorary members are technical graduates actively engaged in engineering work, or members of mechanical engineering faculties. Graduate membership is conferred upon persons who would have been eligible had Pi Tau Sigma been established earlier in schools not having chapters, or upon those continuing graduate study. Active members are selected from the junior and senior mechanical engineering classes at their respective schools whose mechanical engineering

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...

must be accredited by the A.B.E.T.

Insignia

The colors of the society are murrey and azure. The flower is the white rose.

References

{{authority control Association of College Honor Societies Honor societies Engineering honor societies Student organizations established in 1915 1915 establishments in Illinois