Pi Epsilon Tau Explained

Pi Epsilon Tau () is an American honor society for petroleum engineering students. Its purpose is to maintain the standards and high ideals of the petroleum engineering profession and to build a bond between its members and the industry. The society was established in 1947 at the University of Oklahoma.

History

Faculty member Paul S. Johnson established Pi Epsilon Tau at the University of Oklahoma in November 1947 as an honor society for petroleum engineering students.^{[1] [2] [3]} It was officially recognized by the university of January 7, 1948. The honor society's purpose is to maintain the standards and high ideals of the petroleum engineering profession and to build a bond between its members and the industry.^[4]

Pi Epsilon Tau's founders planned to expand it to other campuses, creating a national honor society. Its Beta chapter was established at the University of Tulsa in 1948. Gamma was formed in 1949 at Texas Tech University in 1949. Other chapters were established at colleges across the United States.

It is governed through a national council of five membersand a national convention.^[5]

Symbols

The emblem or key of Pi Epsilon Tau is shaped like an oil derick, standing on the base of an isosceles triangle. Its flag features the emblem on top of a three-leaf clover that symbolizes Saint Patrick.

The society's colors are black and gold. Its flower is the red rose. Its pledges are called "roustabouts".

Membership

Membership in Pi Epsilon Tau is open to juniors, seniors, and gradaute students studying petroleum engineeing based on academic achievement, leadership, and sociability.^{[6] [7]} Pi Epsilon Tau has three class of members: active (students), honorary, and alumnus.

Chapters

Following are the chapters of Pi Epsilon Tau, with active chapters indicated in bold and inactive chapters in italics.^{[8] [9]}

Chapter	Charter date	Institution	Location	Status	Reference
Alpha	1947		Norman, Oklahoma	Active	[10]
Beta	1948	University of Tulsa	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Active
Gamma	1949	Whitacre College of Engineering, Texas Tech University	Lubbock, Texas	Active
Delta		Louisiana State University	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Active	[11]
Epsilon		University of Southern California	Los Angeles, California	Inactive
Zeta	1951	Marietta College	Marietta, Ohio	Active
Eta		University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley, California	Active
Theta		Pennsylvania State University	State College, Pennsylvania	Active
Iota		Louisiana Tech University	Ruston, Louisiana	Active
Kappa	1970	University of Texas at Austin	Austin, Texas	Active	[12]
Lambda		West Virginia University	Morgantown, West Virginia	Active	[13]
Mu		Missouri University of Science and Technology	Rolla, Missouri	Active
Nu		Mississippi State University	Mississippi State, Mississippi	Active
Xi		Montana Technological University	Butte, Montana	Active
Omicron		Texas A&M University	College Station, Texas	Active	[14]
Pi		New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	Socorro, New Mexico	Inactive
Rho		University of Louisiana at Lafayette	Lafayette, Louisiana	Active	[15]
Sigma		University of Wyoming	Laramie, Wyoming	Active	[16]
Tau		Colorado School of Mines	Golden, Colorado	Active	[17]
Upsilon		Texas A&M University–Kingsville	Kingsville, Texas	Active
Phi		University of Houston	Houston, Texas	Active	[18]

Notes and References

1. "Petroleum Fraternity Seeks National Rank". The Oklahoma Daily. Norman, Oklahoma. 1948-03-11. p. 22. – via Newspapers.com.
2. "National Fraternity Chapter Will Be Established at Tech". Lubbock Evening Journal. 1949-11-02. p. 19.– via Newspapers.com.
3. Book: Petroski, Henry . An Engineer's Alphabet: Gleanings from the Softer Side of a Profession . 2011-10-10 . Cambridge University Press . 978-1-139-50530-7 . 145 . en.
4. Web site: Pi Epsilon Tau (Petroleum Engineering) . 2024-10-19 . Marietta College . en.
5. Web site: October 23, 1995 . Pi Epsion Tau - The Honor Society of Petroleum Engineering National Constitution and By Laws . October 18, 2024 . University of Texas at Austin Horns Link.
6. Web site: About PET . 2024-10-19 . Pi Epsilon Tau at UT . en.
7. Web site: Student News & Organizations Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering . 2024-10-19 . Texas Tech University.
8. Web site: About . 2024-10-19 . Pi Epsilon Tau A&M . en.
9. Web site: Community . 2024-10-19 . Pi Epsilon Tau at UT . en.
10. Web site: MPGE Student Organizations . 2024-10-19 . University of Oklahoma . en.
11. Web site: Student Organizations Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering . 2024-10-19 . Louisiana State University.
12. Web site: Pi Epsilon Tau - Petroleum Engineering Honor Society Horns Link . 2024-10-19 . University of Texas.
13. Web site: Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Student Life . 2024-10-19 . West Virginia University . en-US.
14. Web site: Student Organizations Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering . 2024-10-19 . Texas A&M University . en.
15. Web site: 2014-06-03 . Student Chapters Department of Petroleum Engineering . 2024-10-19 . University of Louisiana at Lafayette . en.
16. Web site: Student Professional Societies . 2024-10-19 . UWYO Department of Energy & Petroleum Engineering . English.
17. Web site: McDonald . Rachel . 2023-08-16 . Fall 2023 Student Organization Officers . 2024-10-19 . Petroleum Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines . en-US.
18. Web site: Student Organizations UH Department of Petroleum Engineering . 2024-10-19 . University of Houston . en.