SigEp seniors at Worcester Polytechnic have notched a stunning accomplishment. Each year, every senior participates in a Major Qualifying Project (MQP), the capstone project of their tenure at WPI. Hundreds of small teams complete these projects, with high stakes for their grades and career prospects.

This year, five graduating seniors received awards for a top MQP. With a wide variety of majors within the chapter each year, brothers complete MQPs in virtually every department at WPI. In 2017-2018, SigEps across all disciplines had some of the most impactful and in-depth MQPs on campus.

Mechanical engineering majors Mike Morlock, ’18, and Reid Billings, ’18, worked together with three other students on a project with the goal of optimizing the design of collapsible temporary housing. Their hard work paid off, and their project was awarded the Provost Award.

Charles DeWitt, ’18, and Ian Smith, ’18, both chemical engineering majors, worked with two other students to complete a project on the analysis of nanosilver interactions with supported lipid bylayers in the presence of natural organic matter. Their work on this project earned them a first-place award out of all the chemical engineering MQPs.

Conor Hoey, ’18, worked on the structural design of a pedestrian bridge near WPI’s athletic center with three other civil engineers. Their project received the Provost Award for Civil Engineering, and their designs may be used in future WPI construction projects.

The chapter’s facility boasts a library with high-quality space for study and academic improvement. It has a large space for collaborative work as well as two smaller spaces for individual study. These spaces undoubtedly have contributed to the chapters accomplishments with MQPs and academics in general.

The chapter’s success in academics and in leading positive culture change has been recognized by WP with back-to-back Fraternity of the Year Awards.

This year, the chapter also received the Outstanding Community Service Award, the Outstanding Alumni Programming Award and a risk management recognition. Billings also received the Greek Officer of the Year Award and a community service award, while Hoey was recognized as Fraternity Man of the Year.

The chapter recently voted to make its common spaces substance-free in August, with a complete substance-free policy going into effect in 2020. It joins the well over 200 SigEp chapters across the nation that have passed similar bylaws.