Dayton Delta Nu

During the fall of 1975, under the direction of Dr. John N. Crisp, a group of outstanding mechanical engineering students recognized the need for a Fraternity that. represented the Mechanical Engineering ideals. This group petitioned the National Council of Pi Tau Sigma for a chapter to be installed at the University of Dayton. The Dayton Delta Nu Chapter was formally installed March 25, 1977 by National President Dr. E. W. Jerger, former National President Professor J. W. Bayne, National Vice President Dr. Whitehouse, and National Secretary-Treasurer Professor H. Hewitt, Jr.

In order to promote the goals upon which the Fraternity was established, the Dayton Delta Nu Chapter plans an extensive tutoring program, initiation of outstanding faculty and engineers in the Dayton area, and to promote closer student-faculty relationship both through engineering and extra curricular activities.

ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORTS
 

2022-2023

Grant Eifert, Chapter President

Over the course of the 2022-2023 school year, the University of Dayton Delta Nu chapter of Pi Tau Sigma hosted a variety of different events. These included activities within our chapter, general meetings, faculty presentations, and involvement with other clubs. Additionally, these events also helped our chapter engage with members of the community.

Our chapter partnered with a chapter from Tau Beta Pi to put on a pumpkin carving contest during the Halloween season. This was a great success in brining together students from different organizations to get to know one another and have a fun time carving pumpkins. During the event, members from both clubs got to vote on who had the best designed pumpkins. Fortunately, members from Pi Tau Sigma took home 1^st and 3^rd place in voting. 

Our chapter put on an activity during a school wide event that brought kids from local Dayton public schools to the campus for a night of Christmas fun. The event we put on focused on a fun engineering activity that allowed the kids to build structures made from spaghetti and marshmallows. Each student was paired with a member from our chapter, and they got to work on the tower together and get a prize. This was a great opportunity for members of Pi Tau Sigma to give back to the Dayton community by interacting with local kids. Spending time with the kids was a great way in giving them a fun Christmas Experience.

During the Spring semester, our chapter hosted officer elections for the 2023-2024 school year. These elections were a great opportunity for members of the chapter to explain why they wanted to be in a leadership along with hearing new ideas for the upcoming year. These elections are always a great way to hear new perspectives while transitioning leadership to the next class of students. In total, we elected four rising seniors to be on the executive leadership team.

In the Fall and Spring semester, our chapter held initiations where we brought in a total of 14 new students. For these initiations, our entire chapter was present, and we went through the necessary rituals and initiation ceremony activities. On the Friday following the new member initiation, our chapter would have a meet and greet event in the campus plaza where the new members got to meet the current members. Overall, this was a great activity in welcoming in the new members so that they feel comfortable getting involved in the organization. The pictures of the Fall and Spring new members can be seen below.

2021-2022

Noelle Mach, Chapter President

The University of Dayton Delta Nu chapter had a very challenging and successful 2021-2022 school year. The challenging part was figuring out how to obey school guidelines facing Covid-19 while being involved in the Dayton community. The year began with our first meeting in September where the chapter established goals for the year. The two (2) main goals of the year were decided to be community outreach and getting to know everyone in the chapter since the past two years prevented that. We initiated twelve (12) new members during the Fall 2021 semester. In addition to Fall initiation, two (2) Pi Tau Sigma informational sessions for eligible students were held prior to initiation. The first community service project the chapter volunteered for was Christmas on Campus. During this event, the goal was to teach children about the importance of structure and shapes while using marshmallows and sticks (dry pasta). There was a competition to see who could make the tallest tower.

At the beginning of Spring 2022, a social event was held so all members would be able to get to know each other. This social event included bringing in past members to share about their careers. This doubled as a social and networking event. In the middle of the spring semester, members volunteered as judges for the St. Charles Borromeo Science Fair. This was really fun because the chapter was able to see how excited the kids were about STEM. Each member judged five to eight science fair projects and left feedback so the child would be able to improve for next year. Scoring was based upon the grading rubric and scorecard provided by the school. Unfortunately, The University of Dayton did not allow Fraternities to travel, so we were not able to attend the Pi Tau Sigma Convention in Chicago. In April, a new class of twelve (12) members was initiated into Pi Tau Sigma. There was one (1) informational meeting held prior to initiation. In May, the chapter got together for one last meeting of the year. In this meeting, we discussed the goals we achieved and decided upon the future leadership of the Delta Nu chapter. Finally, members of Pi Tau Sigma continued their annual tradition of selecting the University of Dayton’s Mechanical and Aerospace Professor of the Year. During this process, Pi Tau Sigma members were asked to submit nominations for the award. Then, these nominations were combined into one form and sent to all students studying Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UD. After receiving more than 150 votes, Dr. Carson Running was voted as the Mechanical and Aerospace Professor of the Year. Dr. Running will receive a certificate for this award and will have his name engraved onto the Mechanical and Aerospace Professor of the Year plaque. Overall, this year was a great bounce back from the pandemic year because we added twenty-four (24) new members, we were able to gather, and make an impact on our community for the better.

2020-2021 

Kylie Moellering, Chapter President 

The University of Dayton Delta Nu Chapter of Pi Tau Sigma was proud to expand our member size from 14 to 59 members during the 2020-2021 school year. In addition to virtual Fall and  Spring Initiations, three (3) Pi Tau Informational sessions for eligible students were held prior to both initiations. In the Fall of 2020, there was an initial Fall PTS Welcome and Presentation for current, returning members of Pi Tau Sigma. During this meeting, students discussed their interests in Mechanical Engineering, professional development, and volunteering. The first presentation held by Pi Tau Sigma for Fall of 2020 was a University of Dayton Grad School Application presentation held by Dr. Kim Bigelow, the Graduate Program Director for the Department of  Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, as well as the Advisor to Pi Tau Sigma. During this presentation, Dr. Bigelow provided an overview of UD’s graduate application process, details of the graduate programs available through the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace  Engineering, tips for students applying to graduate programs, and an opportunity for students to engage in Q&A afterward. 

In the Spring of 2021, members volunteered as judges for the St. Charles Borromeo Science Fair. Volunteers reviewed 6 to 8  pre-recorded presentations and scored per the grading rubric and scorecard. In addition, an event was held for students to learn more about the Notre Dame ESTEEM Program by a recent UD  alum, Nathan Brown. During this meeting, students were provided an overview of the program and engaged in a Q&A session afterward. In the next Spring 2021 Pi Tau Sigma event, Dr.  Myszka, a professor at the University of Dayton and employee at Emerson, presented a  Mechanical Design and Emerson overview presentation along with a Q&A presentation afterward. During this presentation, students learned about the mechanical design work being completed at Emerson, co-op opportunities, mechanical design overview, testing procedures, and discussion regarding the benefits of CAD applications and system simulations as mechanical engineers. Lastly, members of Pi Tau Sigma continued their annual tradition of selecting the  University of Dayton’s Mechanical and Aerospace Professor of the Year. During this process, Pi  Tau Sigma members first submitted up to three (3) nominations for the award. Then, these nominations were combined into one form and sent to all students studying Mechanical and  Aerospace Engineering at UD. After receiving more than 200 votes over a week period, Dr.  Rydge Mulford was voted as the Mechanical and Aerospace Professor of the Year. Dr. Mulford will receive a certificate for this award and will have his name engraved onto the Mechanical and  Aerospace Professor of the Year plaque, which resides year-round in the Mechanical  Engineering Department.

2018-2019

Osvaldo Garnica

Pi Tau Sigma at the University of Dayton is tasked with running an event during Engineering week. The purpose of this event is for young engineers to meet one another and have fun. Dayton Delta Nu chapter teamed up with the Flyer Foam Club in order to hold a NERF war battle in the basement of Kettering labs. The Flyer Foam Club provided all NERF gun and darts as well as barriers. Participants had the option of playing in a two team NERF war or simply doing some casual target practice. This event ended up being a great way for underclassmen engineers to get to know one another
The Dayton Delta Nu President attended the National Convention in Fort Collins Colorado. There he was able to network with other Pi Tau Sigma members from across the country. Keynote speakers discussed new technologies and initiatives in the engineering world and had the opportunity to share their experiences as engineers. Members of Pi Tau Sigma had the opportunity to tour Colorado State Universities engine and renewable energy research center.
Pi Tau Sigma and its members held a vote for mechanical engineering professor of the year. A google survey was sent out to all engineering students to vote for eligible professors and had the option to leave a further comment to explain why they picked that professor. Once the professor was selected their name was put on a plaque that recognizes former winners as well. This is a great way to show appreciation to our professors and to recognize a professor that has done a great job mentoring young engineers.

2017-2018 

President: Allen Armstrong  Vice President: Tyler Adgalanis

The Dayton Delta Nu chapter of Pi Tau Sigma participated in some events both on campus and further reaching to engage the current members, spread awareness to potential members and encourage the values and ideals of the organization as a whole.

To ensure proper organization and involvement of our chapter we felt it was important to stay connected with the greater School of Engineering (SOE) and attended leadership panels with the Dean of the school. Representing PTS and SOE leaders, President Allen Armstrong and Vice President Tyler Adgalanis eagerly responded to the Dean’s request to chair UD’s participation in National Engineering Week as leaders of an engineering organization. By taking on this role, we proudly contributed to the recognition and involvement of PTS within the SOE and followed in the previous Dayton Delta Nu’s President and Vice President’s footsteps as they led it last year. We coordinated the chapter’s sponsoring of a major event of the week. E-Week is a national event that celebrates the engineering profession with friendly competition between Engineering Departments while spreading passion and admiration for engineering as a whole. Specifically to celebrate E-Week at UD, with the help of a small committee, we incorporated and directed over student organizations to plan several events involving service, engineering mentorship, faculty involvement, networking and physical competitions. As the planning began, we were able to encourage our PTS chapter members to increase participation in E-Week and influence a greater student group. We worked hard to reignite the strong tradition of E-Week at UD where hundreds of students and faculty enthusiastically participated. The leadership gave us the ability to indorse fraternity ideals of friendship, respect and elevation of mind by engaging the entire SOE faculty, staff and students to participate in E-Week and gain a further appreciation of our academic and career focus. It managed to become a great opportunity to work with the highly intelligent and motivated employees within the office of SOE and the bright and encouraging fellow peer leaders of the other engineering organizations. We helped to continue campus recognition of E-Week and saw an increase in event participation as well as left notes for next year’s planning committee to help with problems and successes we noticed. One of the main events that our chapter sponsored was a Nerf Gun Battle of Capture the Flag. We partnered with our on-campus Flyer Foam League to borrow their supplies and asked for their support in the setup and running of the event. It was a huge success deemed by how much fun the students had who came to play.

After having the great privilege of attending the National Conference in Miami, Florida the executive board was encouraged and eager to share the new information gained with the rest of the organization.