New York Alpha Eta

In December, 1992, faculty and students at the State University of New York at Binghamton, in Binghamton, New York submitted a petition to Pi Tau Sigma for a charter. Twelve students endorsed the petition. The petition was also endorsed by Dean L.D. Feisel, Associate Dean D.M. Green, Departmental chairman J.A. Fillo, and Professor G.L. Lehmann.

On April 21, 1993 New York Alpha Eta was officially installed by President, Dr. S. P. Kezios and National Secretary Treasurer, Dr. Edwin Griggs. Thirty students were initiated as charter members. Drs. John Fillo and Veeramani Prakash were initiated as honorary members. Dr. Prakash assumed the duties as the first faculty advisor.

The installation of New York Alpha Eta on April 21, 1993 coincided with a campus-wide focus on honor. An impressive ceremony on this first "Honors Day" was held in the Anderson Center Concert Theater.

ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORTS

2022-2023, Sharyn Gerber, President

The 2022-2023 school year saw a great amount of students involved in different classes and activities at Binghamton University, and the New York Alpha Eta chapter hosted many events to bring members and the general engineering body together. Aside from social events, activities included community service and professional development opportunities to help members grow and exhibit the core values of Pi Tau Sigma.

The Fall 2022 initiations saw the chapter’s largest number of initiates since before Fall 2019. Eleven new members were inducted in each ceremony with the current members and advisor in attendance. A dinner followed each ceremony that allowed new members to meet current members and give suggestions for activities they would like the chapter to host. There was also a bent polishing contest with a prize awarded to the initiate with the shiniest bent (polished prior to the ceremony).

Various social events, including donut breakfasts, a bowling night, and a board game destress event, were hosted during the year to encourage camaraderie amongst members. These event had a large turnout, especially from the junior class. The donut breakfasts were open to all
eligible candidates each semester so they could learn about the group before receiving specific information regarding the initiation and  membership process.

The chapter also hosted impactful community service events. In the Fall, members went to an elementary school to teach at-risk students about engineering and lead an egg drop activity. At the end of the Fall semester, the chapter hosted two help sessions open to all juniors for their
final projects. The sessions had a larger than expected turnout and were simultaneously an opportunity to spread awareness of Pi Tau Sigma. In the Spring, the chapter participated in Binghamton’s Annual Community Day event. The school’s engineering student groups hosted numerous different activities for local children and their parents to attend. Pi Tau Sigma led its traditional egg drop activity and provided all the supplies for children to build a contraption that would protect their egg from a second floor fall. Over 200 students participated and it was
chosen as the most favorite activity. Finally, at the end of the year, the chapter hosted another help session for all juniors for their vibrations exam. These activities fulfilled members’ community service requirement if they had not satisfied it with in-person activities and was a great way to directly help the student body.

The final two events of note from the year are the career fairs. We encouraged members to go to the career fair and network with other companies and each other. We also made sure to meet up with various students and help them with their resumes and cover letters. We hope to keep many of these events as semesterly traditions that, in addition to the social and service activities, will keep the spirit of Pi Tau Sigma alive in prospective and current collegiate members and graduated members.

2021-2022 Carrie Hathaway, President 

The 2021-2022 school year saw a return of in-person classes and activities at Binghamton University, and the New York Alpha Eta chapter hosted many events to bring members and the general engineering body together. Aside from social events, activities included community service and professional development opportunities to help members grow and exhibit the core values of Pi Tau Sigma. 

The fall 2021 and spring 2022 initiations were the chapter’s first in-person initiations since fall 2019. Three new members were inducted in each ceremony with the current members and advisor in attendance. A dinner followed each ceremony that allowed new members to meet current members and give suggestions for activities they would like the chapter to host. There was also a bent polishing contest with a prize awarded to the initiate with the shiniest bent (polished prior to the ceremony). 

Various social events, including donut breakfasts, a bowling night, and a roller skating event, were hosted during the year to encourage camaraderie amongst members. These events had a large turnout, especially from the junior class. The donut breakfasts were open to all eligible candidates each semester so they could learn about the group before receiving specific information regarding the initiation and membership process. 

Being able to have in-person activities also allowed the chapter to host impactful community service events. In the fall, members went to two elementary schools to teach at-risk students about engineering and lead an egg drop activity. At the end of the fall semester, the chapter hosted two help sessions open to all juniors for their final projects. The sessions had a larger than expected turnout and were simultaneously an opportunity to spread awareness of Pi Tau Sigma. In the spring, the chapter participated in Binghamton’s annual Commnity Day event. The school’s engineering student groups hosted numerous different activities for local children and their parents to attend. Pi Tau Sigma led its traditional egg drop activity and provided all the supplies for children to build a contraption that would protect their egg from a second floor fall. Over 140 students participated and it tied as the most favorite activity. Finally, at the end of the year, the chapter hosted a canned food drive for the campus food pantry. This fulfilled members’ community service requirement if they had not satisfied it with in-person activities and was a great way to directly help the student body. 

The final two events of note from the year are the alumni panels. The events coordinator organized a virtual alumni panel each semester to bring recent graduates and current members together to discuss life in industry and research. Nine alumni from across the country participated in the panels, which were open to all engineering students at Binghamton. We hope to keep the panels a semester tradition that, in addition to the social and service activities, will keep the spirit of Pi Tau Sigma alive in prospective and current collegiate members and graduated members. 

2020-2021 Catherine Swail, President

Despite the challenges faced of transitioning to entirely virtual events, the Binghamton University NY Alpha Eta Chapter of Pi Tau Sigma had an incredibly successful year. We have maintained our chapter activity and offered numerous opportunities and services for our members and our local community.

Our main focus this year was to provide numerous service opportunities for our members. We were able to attend and provide representation for Pi Tau Sigma at Binghamton Watson college events such as an internship panel and student organization fair. This allowed us to increase exposure for Pi Tau Sigma and ignite interest in potential future members. Our chapter also hosted multiple events where members provided underclassmen help with their coursework. This included a review session for a difficult concept covered on an upcoming exam, as well as a help session for one of their major final computer aided design projects. 

Perhaps the most notable service event run by our chapter is the annual Egg Drop event we host during Binghamton University’s Engineering week. This year with the event entirely virtual, chapter members gave an interactive presentation about engineering to local Binghamton children and then directed the activity for kids to do at home with their families, sharing the results via their webcams. The event was so successful that it garnered the attention of the local Binghamton mentorship program who invited us to host it for their students. Volunteers from our chapter then held the event twice more for those children, forging a beneficial connection with the mentorship program that will remain for our succeeding members. 

In addition, we also held and participated in numerous professional development and social events both within our chapter and in the company of the Watson college and other engineering organizations. We connected with alumni at networking events and internship panels to aid members in their career prospects, and held virtual game nights to foster relationships and help members de-stress during midterm and final exams. This year we also connected with Tau Beta Pi for a few professional and social events, including a programming workshop to introduce the coding language Python, and virtual game events where members could establish new connections with fellow engineering students. 

Our focus on service events rounded out with our professional and social events this year strengthened connections within the Watson college department and students, as well as created new lasting relationships within the Binghamton community that will be fruitful for years to come. 

Spring 2021 Initiation