Tau Beta Pi

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The bent at Iowa Alpha (Iowa State University)

The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, ΤΒΠ, or TBP) is the engineering honor society in the United States and the second oldest collegiate honor society in America. It honors engineering students who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity. Specifically, the association was founded "to mark in a fitting manner those who have conferred honor upon their Alma Mater by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as students in engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering, and to foster a spirit of liberal culture in engineering colleges."^[1]

1 History
2 Insignia
3 Chapters
4 Membership
5 Notable members
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

When Phi Beta Kappa sought to restrict its membership to liberal arts in the late 19th century, Edward H. Williams Jr., a member of Phi Beta Kappa and head of the mining department at Lehigh University, formulated the idea of an honor society for those studying technical subjects. Irving Andrew Heikes, the valedictorian of his class at Lehigh was inducted as the first student member of Tau Beta Pi, at the Pennsylvania Alpha chapter on June 15, 1885. A statue on Lehigh's campus commemorates this event.

In 1892, a second chapter was established at Michigan State University. Since then, the association has grown to 230 student chapters across the United States and Puerto Rico. Tau Beta Pi was a founding member of the Association of College Honor Societies. The national headquarters of Tau Beta Pi are currently located in Knoxville, Tennessee on the campus of the University of Tennessee.

Starting in 1936, TBP awarded the women's badge to exceptional female engineers until 1969 when women were granted full membership.

In 1974, the Sigma Tau fraternity merged with Tau Beta Pi. Sigma Tau was an honor society for engineering much like Tau Beta Pi and was founded at the University of Nebraska in 1904. At the time of the merger, Sigma Tau consisted of 34 collegiate chapters and a total membership of 45,000. One difference between the two organizations was that Sigma Tau initiated female engineers as well as male engineers, whereas Tau Beta Pi's membership was restricted to men. The basis of the merger of Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Tau was the conviction that a single, strong honor society would better serve the engineering profession.

[edit] Insignia

The colors of Tau Beta Pi are seal brown and white, which are the school colors of Lehigh. The official badge is a watch key in the shape of the bent of a trestle (see picture). The trestle is the load-bearing part of the bridge, representing Tau Beta Pi's principle of Integrity and Excellence in Engineering. Originally the keys could be used to wind watches, but modern keys cannot, mainly because of the current lack of watches that require keys to wind.

The letters TBP stand for the organization's Greek motto, which is not made known to the public and is passed down through the initiation rituals.

[edit] Chapters

Main article: List of Tau Beta Pi chapters

As of January 2006, there are 237 chapters of which 230 are active. Each chapter is assigned a chapter name based on the state and order of initiation into the society. The order is designated by a Greek letter.

For example, the first three chapters of Pennsylvania are:

Lehigh University is "PA Α" or "Pennsylvania Alpha" (1885)
Pennsylvania State University is "PA Β" or "Pennsylvania Beta" (1912)
Carnegie Mellon University is "PA Γ" or "Pennsylvania Gamma" (1916)

California is the only state, thus far, to exceed 24 chapters and move into double letter indications. The 26^th chapter, University of California, Riverside, is named "CA ΑΒ" or "California Alpha Beta" (2005).

[edit] Membership

Both undergraduate and graduate students are invited to become candidates of Tau Beta Pi based on their academic qualifications. Juniors in the upper eighth of their class, in terms of grades, or seniors in the upper fifth of their class are invited to become candidates for membership in Tau Beta Pi. Others who have had a large impact on engineering and society through engineering are often invited to join individual chapters as honorary members.

After a candidate period, the current membership decides whether or not to invite candidates to become members based on their character. Only when initiated by members of Tau Beta Pi in a closed ceremony are students made members of the organization. Membership dues are payable the year a candidate joins and last a lifetime.

[edit] Notable members

Tau Beta Pi's membership includes some famous figures in engineering and technology, including:

Buzz Aldrin, second astronaut to walk on the moon
Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder
Wernher von Braun, rocket scientist
Frank Capra, movie director
Leon Cordero, former president of Ecuador
Seymour Cray, supercomputer pioneer
Ernie Fletcher, governor of Kentucky
Fred Haise, astronaut
Linus Pauling, two time Nobel prize winner

Seven astronauts who died on Apollo 1, Space Shuttle Challenger, and Space Shuttle Columbia (17 total) were also members of Tau Beta Pi. In their honor, a fellowship has been given out five times (1986, 1987, 1997, 1998, 2004). These astronauts and their chapters are: