About UPE

UPE is the first and only international honor society in the Computing and Information Disciplines. The mission of UPE is to recognize academic excellence at both the undergraudate and graudate levels in the Computing and Information Disciplines. It has recieved endorsements from the two largest computer organizations in the world, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS). UPE is also a member of the Association of College Honor Societies.

Mission

The mission of Upsilon Pi Epsilon is to recognize academic excellence at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in the computing and information disciplines. This is accomplished through programs that:

• Enable outstanding students to obtain recognition of superior scholastic achievement that emphasizes the computing and information disciplines, as well as liberal arts, sciences, and other professional and interdisciplinary education in the context of individual and societal responsibilities.
• Assist in maximizing the personal and professional growth of students in UPE by financially supporting scholarships and other creative endeavors that include the discovery, integration, and application of knowledge.
• Establish significant partnerships with external constituencies interested in promoting and subsidizing high quality education in the computer and information disciplines.
• Seek opportunities to extend individual memberships and chapter activities into additional environments yet to be identified.

History

UPE was first organized at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, in 1967. The international organization now consists of chapters in various colleges and universities in North America and overseas. The past few years have seen the resurgence of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon chapter at Rensselaer. Members work hard to coordinate long term strategies which can often fade given the high member turnover. In 2008, the Rensselaer chapter of UPE established the Dr. Robert P. Ingalls award to recognize an outstanding graduating student member of Upsilon Pi Epsilon for his or her dedication and contributions to the society and its mission and need not be awarded every year. Members are recognized on a plaque displayed in the UPE display case in the Lally Building.

Past recipients of the Dr. Robert P. Ingalls award:

• 2008 - Suzanne J. Matthews
• 2009 - John E. Lazos
• 2010 - Robert Escriva
• 2015 - Josh Goldberg

Present

The chapter is working on a number of projects and services which it has established with the goal of bettering the educational experience at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. To learn more about these initiatives, please visit the projects and services pages.

Future

As with most institutions of motivated individuals, UPE often has more ideas than hands to implement those ideas. Some of our future goals for the chapter include:

• Peer reviews of resumes
• Mock interviews
• Establishing a UPE lecture series for interesting topics in the computing and information disciplines