STEM Clubs & Organizations

Beta Beta Beta (Tri Beta) is an honor society for students, particularly undergraduates, dedicated to improving the understanding and appreciation of biological study, and extending boundaries of human knowledge through scientific research. Since its founding in 1922, more than 2,000,000 people have been accepted into lifetime membership, and more than 626 chapters have been established throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

Students majoring or minoring in Biology, Environmental Science, Neuroscience or Bio-Chemistry

• Volunteer opportunities
• Picnics
• Parties
• Game nights
• Participate in regional and national research conferences
  
• and more!

Meeting Frequency: Ususally once per month

Cost to Join: Because Tri Beta is a National Honor Society, there are some requirements to becoming a “regular” lifetime member, but all undergraduate students interested in life sciences are welcome to join as “associate” members.

• Regular “lifetime” membership fee is $65.00.
• Associate membership fee is $55.00, with a $10.00 fee to become a regular member
  when requirements are met in accordance to national rules.

Organization Email: tribeta@nku.edu

Faculty Advisors:

• Patty Kappesser
• Dr. Rick Boyce
• Steve Castellano

Additional Resources:

• Tri Beta Biological Honor Society Registered Student Organization page
• Biological Sciences Student Organizations
  

• To teach members to participate in citizen science, including eBirding
• To teach members how to identify local birds and provide members with opportunities to practice identifying birds
• Practicing birding and meeting new people
• Connect with those in the community
  

Anyone, regardless of major or grade, is welcome to join! Whether you already have an interest and love for birds, or you want to learn more, we would love to have you in our club!

• Field trips to see different birds and practice birding, such as:
  - visiting Raptor Inc. Rehabilitation Center (a non-profit organization dedicated to birds of prey)
  - visiting Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
  - birding as a group
  - October Big Day (a big day of eBirding)                 
  
• Conservation
• Fundraising for conversation efforts
• Outreach and education on birds and birding

• Meet new people
• Learn about birds
• Go on fun field trips
• Help with bird conversation
• Discover leadership opportunities
• Participate in Citizen science
  

Meeting Frequency: Tuesdays at 7:00 pm (every other week)

Meeting Location: Zoom (virtual)

Cost to Join: $5 per member. The fee goes toward the NKU organization, and any money left over goes toward club fees, like gas for trips, etc..

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lindsey Walters

Additional Resources:

• Birding Club Registered Student Organization page
• Biological Sciences Student Organizations
  

The mission of ECOS is to raise awareness about local and global environmental issues and to actively work on sustainability initiatives through projects, events, and educational campaigns on campus and in the community. ECOS will teach students, faculty, staff, and community members about sustainable practices in an effort to create a healthy and more equitable planet for everyone.

ECOS is a club of students who care about the planet. All majors are welcome!

We work to raise awareness about environmental issues on campus and in the community through a wide range of events. Educational and volunteer events can include:

• River clean-ups
• Invasive plant removal projects
• Touring recycling facilities to learn how the process works
• Participating in activities during Earth Week
• Cleaning up vacant lots and planting native plants
• And so much more! (New ideas are welcome.)

Meeting Frequency: Wednesdays at 4:00 pm (every other week)

Cost to Join: FREE

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Allison Parker

Staff Advisor: Tiffany Budd

Organization Email: ECOS@nku.edu

Additional Resources:

• ECOS Registered Student Organization page
• Biological Sciences Student Organizations
  

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Greg Dahlem

Please check back later for more information.

The HPC's mission is to help students learn about and prepare for a career as a health professional and provide them with community service opportunities.

Anyone who is interested in a career as a physician, physician assistant, pharmacist, or dentist might consider joining.

• Service projects once per month on a weekend
• Meet representatives from health profession schools and learn about their programs
• Meet health professionals, learn about their experience and advice

Meeting Frequency: Tuesdays (every other week)

Cost to Join: $10

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Guy

Additional Resources:

• HPC Registered Student Organization page
• Biological Sciences Student Organizations
  

Nu Rho Psi is an organization focused on providing academic, social, professional, and financial opportunities to students while serving the community.

Full student members:

• should have completed three (3) semesters of college courses, demonstrating an interest in neuroscience and brain research (e.g. taking at least three neuroscience-related courses), and
• should have a minimum 3.2 GPA, and a minimum 3.5 GPA in neuroscience-related courses.

Associate members may participate in all activities until they reach full membership status.

Nu Rho Psi will be committed to community service, but current pandemic conditions have slowed planning for these outreach opportunities.

Meeting Frequency: It is anticipated that Nu Rho Psi will have monthly meetings as well as regular activities throughout the academic year.

Cost to Join: A one-time $50 fee covers both national dues ($40) and local chapter dues ($10).

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Chris Curran

Student Contact: Katie Clough

Additional Resources:

• Nu Rho Psi Registered Student Organization page
• Nu Rho Psi website

To promote education and awareness of SCUBA diving and aquatic recreation among the NKU community. The SCUBA Club focuses on all recreational underwater activities, including, but not limited to:

• SCUBA, snorkeling, free-diving
• Dive physiology
• Ocean ecology and conservation
• Path to Diver Certification
• Career opportunities

The SCUBA Club welcomes students from any major at NKU. Consider joining if any of the following applies to you:

• You have a passion for marine life and ocean conservation
• You have previous diving/snorkeling experience
• You would like to learn how to get SCUBA certified
• You would like some snorkeling experience, or would like to try it once to see if you like it
• You would like to network and make friends with like-minded people

• Snorkeling and/or diving with whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium
• Behind-the-scenes, discounted group trips to the Newport Aquarium
• Trips to local diving schools for introductory dive courses
• Trips to local quarries for dive courses

Meeting Frequency: Usually once per month

Cost to Join: There could be a small one-time fee of up to $10. The fee goes toward pizza/drinks for meetings, and funding for field trips. Field trips costs are an additional cost for each student.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Charles Acosta

Additional Resources:

• SCUBA Club Registered Student Organization page
• Biological Sciences Student Organizations
  

Once per year, Chemistry and Biochemistry Department faculty nominate students for membership in the Gamma Sigma Epsilon Honor Society. The Society is governed by a National Executive Council of elected officers and meets in biennial conventions for the purpose of governance, fellowship, and scientific exchange.

The society is open to chemistry and biochemistry majors who have a:

• GPA higher than 3.0 overall and in chemistry courses, and
• GPA higher than 3.0 in General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry courses.

Biennial Conventions at colleges and universities across the country

Local chapter members are initiated into the national society via an initiation ritual. There is a one-time initiation fee of $40. Local chapters may also charge their own local dues.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. KC Russell

Additional Resources: Gamma Sigma Epsilon website

Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS) is a campus organization that provides professional and social interaction for NKU chemistry majors and other students. The local chapter creates a peer group for students to discuss class work, plan events and share their professional development.

Anyone who likes chemistry and wants to learn more about it can join SAACS. You don't have to be a chemistry major to be part of SAACS. 

The American Chemical Society provides valuable information about careers in chemistry, graduate school opportunities, summer employment and more. Students can attend local, regional and national meetings of the ACS where they learn from prominent chemists and make contacts with potential employers. Members also receive publications specifically addressing the needs of the chemistry student.

SAACS also hosts community outreach events and social events such as:

• Study sessions
• Volunteer at the Cincinnati Children's Museum
• Halloween chemistry demos for elementary school students
• Yearly potluck
• Ice Cream Social
• Donuts for Finals

Cost to Join: FREE! There are no registration fees or dues involved with SAACS. A student can sign up at any of the campus meetings or events.

Organization Email: nkusaacs@gmail.com

Additional Resources: NKU SAACS Facebook page

The main purpose of this club is to connect Data Science students and other interested NKU students with each other, recent alumni, local data science experts, and with the resources they need to grow beyond what they learn in the classroom.

All skill levels and majors are welcome! This club is designed for students interested in pursuing Data Science or Analytics as a potential career, as well as students just wanting to learn more about the field.

• Discussion sessions
  
• Conduct networking sessions and resume review sessions
• Projects based on Data Science, so students have experience on real-world projects
• Analyzing data sets
  

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Seth Adjei

Additional Resources: Data Science Club Registered Student Organization page

A group of students dedicated to promoting learning, knowledge, and skills in information security, cyber defense, and offensive security.

Members of NKCyber will take part in various competitions, including:

• Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition,
• Cyberwars,
• Capture the Flag Competitions,
• and any others that revolve around cyber security or information security.

Contact the NKCyber Faculty Advisor to request information on fees and meeting/event details.

Club President: Jakob Banta

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shahid Noor

Additional Resources:

• Learn more about the Cyber Defense Team
  
• Join NKCyber
• NKCyber website
• NKCyber Registered Student Organization page

WiCys is a group that supports women in advancing and retaining positions in Cybersecurity. WiCys offers unique training, networking, and scholarships to its members. WiCys is open to all students.

Not just women, but anyone interested in helping build a strong and diverse cybersecurity environment.

• Workshops for technical and soft skill-building
• 4-day Annual Conference which features speakers, networking opportunities, workshops, and a career fair (Wicys chapter members can apply for scholarships to attend the conference.)

Visit the WiCys Registered Student Organization page to request information on fees and meeting/event details.

Club President: Alex Lisa

Additional Resources:

• WiCys Registered Student Organization page
• WiCys Facebook page
• WiCys Website and Forum
  

NKU Wii's mission is to diversify STEM fields and prepare women for entering a STEM profession. This organization strives to promote growth, support, and opportunity for women in the three departments of the College of Informatics:

• Business Informatics
• Communication
• Computer Science

Anyone can join, especially women who are majoring in a STEM field!

• Scholarship opportunities
• Conferences targeted to women in cybersecurity and informatics
  

Meeting Frequency: Bi-weekly to monthly, depending on when people are available.

Cost to Join: FREE

Club President: Elise Stromberg

Faculty Advisor: Sarah Mann

Additional Resources: NKU Wii Registered Student Organization page

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Brooke Buckley

Additional Resources: Math & Stats webpage

Please check back later for more information.

The Geology Club is all about making friends, relaxing together, sharing experiences and stories, participating in outdoor activities, and learning more about Earth sciences. The Geology department is small, so students help and mentor one other, and club member are like family.

This club focuses on schoolwork, going out in the field, and preparing for a career and grad school.

Any student is welcome to join regardless of grade or major. The Geology Club is for anyone interested in Earth, rocks, minerals, fossils, any animals that previously lived on the Earth’s surface, natural disasters, or other areas of Earth Sciences.

Club members have opportunities to participate in camping, field trips, rock climbing, movie nights, and meeting speakers from the different areas of industry and academia. Some examples of the types of field trips this organization takes are:

• Hiking at Red River Gorge
  
• Canoeing on the Little Miami
• Clifton Gorge
• Linville Falls, NC
• Diamond field trip in Arkansas
• Geodes field trip in Lake Cumberland, KY

Meeting Frequency: Several times each semester

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nilesh Dixit

NSBE's mission is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.

• Innovative projects
• Study sessions
• Program outreach
• Seminars
• Interview and Resume workshops

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Tsetse

Additional Resources: NSBE Registered Student Organization page

The purpose of the Physics and Astronomy Club (PAC) shall be to promote:

• an appreciation of physics and astronomy, especially in ways that physics and astronomy play a productive role in our society;
• an understanding of education and career opportunities in physics and astronomy; and
  
• student scholarly achievements, such as student research and participation in professional societies in the areas of physics and astronomy.

The PAC hosts events like:

• physics demos
• observatory nights
• planetarium shows
• movie nights
• potlucks
• graduate school visits
• lab tours
• physics study sessions

For more information or to join this club, visit the PAC Registered Student Organization page.

Being a WIPE member creates a platform for female students in engineering and physics to:

• find research resources, internships, and job opportunities,
• support and encourage one another,
• exchange ideas, and
• gain advice and feedback from experienced female faculty members.

• Physics majors
• Engineering technology majors (such as MMET, EEET, EET, or MET)
• Pre-engineering majors
• Engineering physics majors

• Outreach to high schools and middle schools
• Find out and inform about special funding opportunities for female STEM majors

Cost to Join: FREE to students

Connect with this organization through the WIPE Registered Student Organization page.

P.I.C.K. STEM stands for Promoting an Inclusive Community with Kindreds in STEM. Their mission is to encourage and equip individuals within the NKU STEM community with the tools they deem necessary to enhance their careers at and after NKU.

P.I.C.K. STEM is an organization that is dedicated to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups in the STEM fields. Allies are also welcome.

The group rotates between activities that are centered on a student’s academic journey, career path, social STEM life, and shaping the club.

Meeting Frequency: There are [mostly] weekly meetings that rotate through the above-mentioned topics (academic, career, social, and general body).

Cost to Join: FREE

Club Email: pickstem@nku.edu

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Charlisa Daniels

Additional Resources:

• Instagram (@nkupickstem)
  
• Twitter (@nkupickstem)