Pi Tau Sigma () is an international

honor society In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...

in the field of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

. The society was established in 1915 at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. It has 182 chapters.

History

Pi Tau Sigma was established on March 16, 1915, at the

.Robson, John, ed. (1963). ''Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities'' (17th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press, George Banta Company, Inc. pp. 595-596. A similar organization was formed on November 15, 1915, at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. The two groups met in Chicago to join their societies on March 12, 1916. Pi Tau Sigma was formed as a national honor society for men in the field of mechanical engineering. Oliver C. K. Hutchinson and John B. Wilkinson were its founding co-chairs. The society expanded to include six chapters in its first ten years. It became a member of the Association of College Honor Societies in 1947. By 1962, it had chartered 74 chapters and had 30,000 members. By 2010, it had initiated 118,404 members.'''' In 2025, its national address is in Ruston Louisiana.

Symbols

Pi Tau Sigma's key features the

Carnot cycle A Carnot cycle is an ideal thermodynamic cycle proposed by French physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, Sadi Carnot in 1824 and expanded upon by others in the 1830s and 1840s. By Carnot's theorem (thermodynamics), Carnot's theorem, it provides ...

. Its colors are Murrey and Azure. Its flower is the white rose. Its core values or pillars are Integrity, Service, and Leadership''.'' Its annual publication is ''The Condenser.''

Activities

Pi Tau Sigma presents the Outstanding Young Mechanical Engineer Award and Outstanding Mechanical Engineer Awards at the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

annual winter meeting.''''

Membership

Upperclassmen and graduate students studying mechanical engineering are eligible to join Pi Tau Sigma, based on academic performance.'''' Juniors must be in the top 25 percent of their class and seniors in the top 35 percent of their class.'''' Membership is lifetime.'''' There are three grades of membership: Honorary, Graduate, and Active.

Chapters

As of 2024, Pi Tau Sigma has 182 chapters in the United States, Mexico, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Pi Tau Sigma Chapter Roster. January 4, 2007..

Notable members

* Elayne Arrington,

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* James P. Bagian, physician, astronaut and engineer * Yvonne Clark, a pioneer for

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

and women engineers, professor at the College of Engineering and Technology at

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

* Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi, roboticist, engineer, and educator * Hans Albert Einstein, professor of

hydraulic engineering Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the move ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

* Halil Güven, dean of San Diego State University - Georgia * Yonggang Huang, professor of mechanical engineering at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. * Bohdan Kulakowski, professor of mechanical engineering at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

* Roger Linquist, chairman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Metro PCS * J. Wayne Littles, eighth director of the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Marshall Space Flight Center Marshall Space Flight Center (officially the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center; MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville postal address), is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government's ...

* Calvin Mackie, motivational speaker and entrepreneur * Charles Meneveau, professor of mechanical engineering and an associate director of the Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Mark Monmonier Mark Stephen Monmonier (born February 2, 1943) is a Distinguished Professor of Geography and the Environment at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University. He specializes in geography, geographic information syst ...

, professor of geography and the environment at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. * Jack Roeser, chairman and founder of Otto Engineering in Carpentersville, Illinois *

Jack Swigert John Leonard Swigert Jr. (August 30, 1931 – December 27, 1982) was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of A ...

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

, and

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

* John J. Uicker, professor of mechanical engineering at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, * Richard Leroy Walters, a jet propulsion engineer and philanthropist * Arthur Cutts Willard, President of the University of Illinois system

References

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