CMU Welcomes Early Phi Beta Kappa Inductees

On Jan. 25, Carnegie Mellon University celebrated 16 students, who have been selected for early initiation into the university's chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. The early class includes four students affiliated with the Mellon College of Science.

Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest honors society, celebrating high achievement in the liberal arts and sciences. There are only 290 chapters affiliated with top universities across the country, and each of those chapters select 10 percent of their school's arts and sciences students to join.

"Being initiated into the Phi Beta Kappa Society at any time is a great honor," said Joseph Devine, associate dean for Undergraduate Studies in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and secretary of the CMU Phi Beta Kappa chapter. "Early election in the senior year is even more distinctive in that the eligibility criteria are considerably more competitive than the general election held in the spring for a larger number of seniors."

The early initiates affiliated with MCS include:

Sanjana Krishna
Primary Major: Neuroscience
Minor: Machine Learning

Ryan J. Raikman
Primary Major: Physics/Astrophysics Track
Minor: Machine Learning

Mackenzie E. Riley
Primary Major: Chemistry/Biological Chemistry Track

Amy Xiao
Primary Major: Computational Finance
Minor: Computer Science