Tau Beta Pi Names Jill S. Tietjen, P.E., as 2004 Distinguished Alumna

Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, has named the 2004 winner of its Distinguished Alumnus Award. Now in its eighth year, the award was established to recognize alumni who have demonstrated adherence to the ideals of Tau Beta Pi (integrity, breadth of interest, adaptability, and unselfish activity) and to fostering a spirit of liberal culture on local, national, and international scales.

Jill S. Tietjen, P.E.,Virginia Alpha’76, independent engineering consultant, is the 2004 Tau Beta Pi Distinguished Alumna and will be honored on October 9, 2004, at the 99 th annual national Convention to be held in Orlando, Florida. Tau Beta Pi President Matthew W. Ohland, Ph.D., will present a commemorative plaque, and a $2,000 scholarship will be given in her name to a deserving student member of Tau Beta Pi.

Tietjen’s selection as 2004 Distinguished Alumna is a testament to her exemplary leadership, integrity, and service. For nearly 25 years, as an engineer, mentor, author, and speaker, she has passionately encouraged girls and women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and has promoted recognition of their accomplishments.

Tietjen graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in applied mathematics and minor in electrical engineering. She completed her M.B.A. at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte while working as a planning engineer for Duke Power Company. Prior to establishing her motivational speaking firm, Technically Speaking, LLC, she was assistant vice president with Stone & Webster Management Consultants, managing its Denver office. Previous employers include Mobil Oil Corporation and Hagler Bailly Consulting.

Tietjen served as national president of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) in 1991-92 and received its distinguished service award in 2002. After becoming an independent consultant, Tietjen directed the Women in Engineering program (WIEP) at the University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB) during 1997-2000. She revolutionized its programming to include scholarships, networking opportunities among students, departmental lunches, energy education workshops, and engineering career days for middle and high-school girls and women. She also instituted science, technology, engineering, and math badge days for Girl Scouts and continues to work to help integrate STEM into scout programming.

Her published books include an introductory textbook, Keys to Engineering Success, co-authored with Kristy Schloss, (Prentice Hall, 2001), two volumes of the Setting the Record Straight series (co-authored with Betty Reynolds), and the 1995 book She Does Math!, to which she is a contributing author. She has co-authored several IEEE papers and had technical papers published.

Tietjen serves and has served on the boards of: Girl Scouts Mile Hi Council (metropolitan Denver), Arapahoe Library District, WIEP at UCB, AAES, Virginia Engineering Foundation, IEEE (Spectrum editorial board), Rocky Mountain Electrical League, ABET (Engineering Accreditation Commission), the Engineering Advisory Council at UCB, and the Georgia Transmission Corporation of Tucker, GA. She was a gubernatorial appointee to the Colorado State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, which she served as chair, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering’s steering committee for the Celebration of Women in Engineering.

Among other honors, Tietjen was named a SWE Fellow in 1994 and IEEE Spectrum 2000 Advisor of the Year. She is active in the International Women’s Forum and in NCEES as vice president of the western zone, is a senior member of the IEEE power engineering society, and is a reader for Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. She has been a mentor in the Goodwill school-to-work program and is a graduate of Leadership Denver. She also serves as an expert witness before public utility commissions and other governmental agencies.

Tau Beta Pi is proud to name Jill S. Tietjen as the 2004 Distinguished Alumna.