Michael Chow, founder and owner of Metro CD Engineering in Powell, Ohio, was inducted into Tau Beta Pi as an eminent engineer during a ceremony held Nov. 9 by the Ohio Iota Chapter at Ohio Northern University.
Thirteen ONU undergraduates also were initiated into Tau Beta Pi by the Ohio Iota chapter, which was founded in 1973.
Chow, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 1992, was the first ONU engineer-in-residence, serving during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 academic years. The engineer-in-residence program was a joint venture between Ohio Northern and Marathon Oil Company. Chow is the managing principal for Metro CD Engineering, a firm he founded in 2004 in Worthington, Ohio, that specializes in electrical, HVAC, plumbing engineering and green building design. The firm’s vision is “Engineering a greener tomorrow ... today.”
Chow is a registered professional engineer in more than 20 states, including Ohio. He is also a LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional), knowledgeable and experienced in green building design and operation. Chow is the education and membership chairman in the Central Ohio IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America) Section.
He is an active member in the United States Green Building Council, Columbus Green Building Forum, Franklin County Chapter of the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He also is active as a member of the ONU alumni board and is a past alumni board president for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity chapter at ONU.
The eminent engineer category of Tau Beta Pi membership is used for candidates who were not initiated as undergraduates, who earned a degree from a recognized engineering college more than 10 years ago, and who have achieved distinction in the field of engineering. Eligibility is based on their attainments as a practicing engineer; he or she is the type of professional person all undergraduates should strive to emulate.
Tau Beta Pi was founded in 1885 to mark in a fitting manner those who have conferred honor upon their alma mater by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as undergraduates in the field of engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering, and to foster a spirit of liberal culture in the engineering colleges.
