Phi Beta Kappa is considered the nation’s most prestigious honor society—only 10 percent of colleges shelter a chapter, and only 10 percent of students at those colleges receive the key representing the Greek phrase “Love of wisdom is the guide of life.” At UVM, the membership (now totaling less than 4500 students since 1846) becomes even more rare for CEMS students, as the majority of invitations typically go to traditional liberal arts majors.
This helps explain how Haley Warren ’20 reacted when she opened an email from the UVM Phi Beta Kappa chapter with some news. “At first I thought it was a mistake—I wasn’t sure how I would have gotten in as an engineering major,” she says. “It doesn’t feel entirely real.”
Warren’s studies focus on biomechanics and wearable robotics, inspired in part by her personal experience with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which weakens her joints and connective tissue. She’s been improving her own braces since she was 7 years old, learning how to dance fluidly with the right devices, and has brought her research skills not only to UVM but also to Rutgers and MIT. Love of wisdom—and not just knowledge—has guided her academic journey.
“It’s not just about learning, but also learning through experience,” says Warren, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering after graduation. “And it’s not just about questions, but understanding which questions to ask.”
Previously honored CEMS Phi Beta Kappa members, 1948 to 2019|
NAME |
UNDERGRAD DEGREE (includes some double majors) |
|
Rebecca Caroline Osborn |
2019 BSME Mechanical Engineering |
|
Colby J. Nadeau |
2015 BSM Statistics and Mathematics |
|
Flora Kathleen Su |
2015 BSEV Engr - Environmental |
|
Katherine Selby King |
2014 BSM Statistics and Mathematics |
|
Stephen Alaster Thompson |
2014 BSM Mathematics |
|
Benjamin Michael Rouleau |
2014 BSCE Civil Engineering |
|
Nathan Lee Powers |
2013 BSEE Electrical Engineering |
|
Anthony Eugene Lauzon |
2012 BSEE Electrical Engineering |
|
Ashley Butler McKhann |
2011 BSM Mathematics |
|
Anastasia Krymkowski |
2010 BSM Mathematics |
|
Robert Emerson Taylor Rohr |
2009 BSCS Computer Science |
|
Laura Burbank Balzer |
2008 BSM Mathematics |
|
Abby G. Frazier |
2008 BSM Mathematics |
|
Greggory Paul Carpenter |
2008 BSEE Electrical Engineering |
|
Alaina Skye Dickason Roberts |
2007 BSCE Civil Engineering |
|
Dr. Eitan Adam Pechenick |
2006 BSM Mathematics |
|
Christina Rose Strong |
2006 BSCS Computer Science |
|
Sarah E. Thyng |
2004 BSCE Civil Engineering |
|
Abigail Lynn Beck |
2003 BSCE Civil & Environmental Engineering |
|
Dr. Joshua Eli Steinhurst |
1999 BSCS Computer Science |
|
Sarah Phinney Meier |
1995 BSM Mathematics |
|
Patrick Alexander Tullmann |
1995 BSCS Computer Science |
|
Robert S. Gray |
1993 BSCS Computer Science |
|
Dr. Debra Susan Carney |
1991 BSM Mathematics |
|
Karen Moseson Phillips |
1991 BSM Mathematics |
|
Jonathan Charles Stavros |
1991 BSM Mathematics |
|
Beth Tropp Thompson |
1991 BSM Mathematics |
|
Deborah Fallon Lafreniere |
1988 BS Mathematics |
|
Beth Marie Quimby |
1988 BS Mathematics |
|
Lois Dickinson Foltan |
1988 BS Computer Science |
|
Celeste Margaret Catanese |
1987 BS Mathematics |
|
Holly Kingsbury Burns |
1987 BS Computer Science |
|
Gerald Patrick Cleary, Jr. |
1986 BS Mathematics |
|
Dr. Matthew David Gallagher |
1986 BS Engineering Physics |
|
James Peter Louderback |
1983 BS Mathematics |
|
Julia Frances Ragland, M.D. |
1983 BS Mathematics |
|
Peter George Roberts |
1983 BS Computer Science |
|
William Russell Schmitt |
1982 BS Mathematics |
|
Mark Christopher Harris |
1981 BS Mathematics |
|
Janet Lyman |
1981 BS Mathematics |
|
Robert Alan Driscoll |
1980 BS Statistics |
|
Bennett Eugene Law |
1980 BS Mathematics |
|
Patricia Kehr Farrah |
1977 BS Mathematics |
|
Dr. Mona Trempe Norcum |
1976 BS Engineering Chemistry |
|
Robert Maurice Houle |
1976 BS Electrical Engineering |
|
Wilson R. Jackson |
1975 BS Mathematics |
|
Michael G. Morse |
1975 BS Engineering Chemistry |
|
George Stephen Peredy, M.D. |
1973 BS Mathematics and German |
|
Barbara Allen Mullan |
1973 BS Engineering Chemistry |
|
Christopher N. Blair |
1972 BS Mechanical Engineering |
|
William Dana Flanders, III, M.D. |
1972 BS Mathematics |
|
Carol Webster Blair |
1972 BS Civil Engineering |
|
Wilma Gosliga Breiland |
1969 BS Mathematics |
|
Dr. Clifton W. Price, Jr. |
1967 BS Mathematics |
|
John E. Desautels |
1963 BS Mathematics |
|
Stanley Joseph Zielinski |
1963 BS Mathematics |
|
Morris A. Hicks |
1962 BS Mathematics |
|
Virginia Low Coolidge |
1960 BS Mathematics |
|
Anne Lee Knopf White |
1958 BS Mfg & Mgt Engineering |
|
Donald M. Crofut |
1954 BS Mfg & Mgt Engineering |
|
Robert Perkins |
1950 BS Electrical Engineering |
|
Louis Joseph Lauler |
1949 BS Electrical Engineering |
|
John Wilbur Carter |
1948 BS Mechanical Engineering |