History

Contrary to popular belief, Plumb Bob is not a mystical secret society made up of a few members all going by the name Robert Plumb. In truth, veterans of World War I formed the organization of Plumb Bob. These young men returned home as war heroes, but soon found that they had forgotten some of the knowledge they had gained in the pre-war times.

In spite of rigorous efforts by these brave veterans, University of Minnesota physics got the best of them. They failed the class and became destined to one more year of the course with an entirely different class of students. The young men who had failed together formed the society of Plumb Bob. New members were warmly welcomed if they met the requirement: to have failed a U of M math or physics course. The members of this group originally met at a bar on East Hennepin to discuss problems relating to their own lives and to the world in general. Over time the meeting places changed, but the kind of people in the society did not. The "failure" requirement was eventually dropped in favor of a GPA of at least 3.14, which is the value of pi. Thus, Plumb Bob became an Honorary Leadership Society.

Since the beginning, Plumb Bob has had the honor of guarding the sacred Blarney Stone. The Blarney Stone is the dearest of all things to a true engineer. The significance of the great Blarney Stone lies in its inscription and history. It is inscribed with the foundation of all engineering: "Erin go Braugh," which can be loosely translated as, "St. Patrick was an engineer!" This is why we pay homage to St. Patrick: he is the patron saint of all engineers.

During the early years of the society, the members of Plumb Bob would carry the Blarney Stone out of hiding and display it on their float in the Engineer’s Day parade. All of the engineers would pay tribute to the stone on this day, and in return would be granted the highest of all honors: to kiss the Blarney Stone. At the end of the parade the stone was presented to the gentleman lucky enough to have been dubbed St. Patrick for the knighting ceremony. At the end of the night, the Plumb Bobbers would steal off into the darkness to hide the Blarney Stone for one more year.

For many years the School of Mines was quite envious of the Engineers’ sacred Blarney Stone. They began a ritual of attempting to steal the stone from the Bobbers’ determined care. On many occasions they were even successful. This turned into an annual event that culminated in the Miners’ attempt to crush the stone at a local quarry. Fortunately, the members of Plumb Bob learned of this terrible event before it was to happen, and replaced the true Blarney Stone with a fake. Much to the miners’ chagrin, the sacred Stone was safe.

After the School of mines dissolved (many years ago), the Foresters and Law students took over this tradition of trying to steal the Blarney Stone. For decades the Foresters were the chief rivals of Plumb Bob and all engineers. Yet, the inevitable finally occurred: the strength of the Forestry Club waned, while Plumb Bob and Engineers remained strong. It is in this spirit that the early celebration of Engineers began, and in this strong spirit that we continue to celebrate what has become CSE Week.

2018-2019

Mitch Terrell*, Andrew LaFortune, Hannah Schutz*, Alex LaValley, Avery Loya, Jessica Lundquist, Matt Doberstein, David Nguyen, Kush Patel, Andrew Walker, Megan Walkenhorst, Drew Bartodziej, Michael Brown, Cole Stansbury

2017-2018

Mitch Terrell, Andrew LaFortune, Audrey Merit-Sebastian*, Hannah Schutz, Avery Loya, Drew Bartodziej, Alex Kafer

2016-2017

Elia Zanella*, Raeesa Kabir, Audrey Merit-Sebastian, Hannah Schutz, Avery Loya,  Alex Kafer, Kristin Tanner

2015-2016

Elia Zanella*, Raeesa Kabir, Audrey Merit-Sebastian, Hannah Schutz,

1999-2000

Jill Holewinski, Alissa Bruss, Rachel Johnson, Justin Femrite, Katie Ohotto*, Jim Lundberg, Catherine Shay, Carl Nelson, Ed Wakefield, Mark Weber, Ryan Wyszynski

1998-1999

Vijay Agarwal, Kim Bobbitt, Mark Bushey, Mohit Goyal, Aaron Heckel*, Jill Holewinski, Kristopher Luneau, Rachel Johnson, Sameer Neville, Katie Ohotto, Chung-Po Or, Catherine Shay

1997-1998

Jeremy Ecker, Vijay Agarwal, Ben Holmes, Mark Bushey, Ilya Khaykinson, Aaron Heckel, Jessica Lilja, Kristopher Luneau, Shannon Rudolph, Sameer Neville, Mary Pat Tubb*, Chung-Po Or

1996-1997

Andrea Carlson, Jeremy Ecker, Danette Decker, Ben Holmes, Jill Liska, Ilya Khaykinson, Anhkhoa Pham, Jessica Lilja, Jim Roberts, Shannon Rudolph, Mike Yamold*, Mary Pat Tubb

1995-1996

Mike Berg, Andrea Carlson, Mike DeBruin, Danette Decker, Steve Hauck*, Jill Liska, Blake Larson, Anhkhoa Pham, Catherine MacLeod,  Jim Roberts, Todd Nemoir, Mike Yamold

1994-1995

Drew Denker*, Mike Berg, Eric Engebretson, Mike DeBruin, Jeanne Hansen, Steve Hauck, Jodi Marshik, Blake Larson, Melissa Olson, Catherine MacLeod, Meena Khanchandani, Todd Nemoir, Kris Spong

1993-1994

Shane Anderson, Drew Denker, Scott Crowe, Eric Engebretson, Eric Haseman*, Jeanne Hansen, Mark Hendrickson, Jodi Marshik, Kevin Petz, Melissa Olson, Chris Root, Meena Khanchandani, Kris Spong

1992-1993

Sohrab Bharucha, Shane Anderson, Kriste Davenport*, Scott Crowe, Leah Frautschy, Eric Haseman, Chris Landegan, Mark Hendrickson, Mark Lindell, Kevin Petz, Brent Pearson, Chris Root, Linda Shudy

1991-1992

Tom Barnett*, Sohrab Bharucha, Steve Ebel, Kriste Davenport, Charles Hackerson, Leah Frautschy, Brian Heil, Chris Landegan, Dave Hendrickson*, Mark Lindell, John Tingerthal, Brent Pearson, Linda Shudy

1990-1991

Heidi Gilliam, Tom Barnett, Brian Honebrink*, Steve Ebel, Paula Peters, Charles Hackerson, Matt Rothstein, Brian Heil, Linda Weavers*, Dave Hendrickson, Kevin Wormuth, John Tingerthal

1989-1990

Scott Buss*, Heidi Gilliam, Maria Gust, Brian Honebrink, Jim Murray*, Paula Peters, Khanh Nguyen, Matt Rothstein, Linda Weavers, Kevin Wormuth 

1988-1989

Darin Hauer, Scott Buss, Linda Birnbaum, Maria Gust, David Schmiechen*, Jim Murray, Terri Schulke, Khanh Nguyen, Paula Zoromski

1987-1988

Jon Bovitz, Darin Hauer, Leong Keat Cheah, Linda Birnbaum, Jeff Graupman*, David Schmiechen, Jessie Sekhon, Terri Schulke, Mike Siegfried, Paula Zoromski, Shari Vigliaturo

1926-- Founding Chapter

Charter Members, Carl R. Liese*, Paul B. Nelson, Edward F. Young, Ray L. Christen, Paul C. Fenton, Franklin J. Halbkat, Clifford H. Anderson, Raymond R. Kelly, Percy H. Flaaten, Raymond F. Rasey, A. Barton Juell, George W. Bohannon, Kenneth W. Foster, Clyde W. Lighter, George W. Mork

 

*Denotes President