Tau Beta Pi Awards 35 Fellowships

The Fellowship Board of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, announces the selection of 35 young engineering graduates from 195 applicants for graduate fellowships in 2003-04. Eighteen of this year’s winners will receive cash stipends of $10,000 for their advanced study; the others do not need financial aid from Tau Beta Pi. More than $3,900,000 in stipends will have been given by the Society when this 70th group of scholars completes its graduate work. All Tau Beta Pi Fellowships are awarded on the competitive basis of high scholarship, campus leadership and service, and promise of future contributions to the engineering profession. All fellows are members of Tau Beta Pi and may do their graduate work at any institution they choose.

These awards bring the total to 1,156 fellowships granted since the program was inaugurated in 1929. The 2003-04 Tau Beta Pi Fellows are introduced on the following list.

Eight of the winners will study electrical engineering, six mechanical engineering, three chemical engineering, two bioengineering, two biomedical engineering, two civil engineering, two geotechnical engineering, and two industrial engineering. The others have chosen to study computer science and aerospace, arctic, computer, electrical/computer, metallurgical, structural, and systems engineering.

Tau Beta Pi was founded at Lehigh University in 1885. It has collegiate chapters at 226 engineering colleges in the United States and active alumnus chapters in 16 cities. It has initiated more than 460,000 members in its 118-year history and is the world’s largest engineering Society.

Given for the 18th time, the Centennial Fellowship honors the Society’s most outstanding fellow.

The Charles H. Spencer Fellowship is given for the 48th time. Named for Tau Beta Pi’s national president in 1936-47, it is awarded to that winner whose contributions to his or her collegiate chapter are judged worthy of commendation.

The Harold M. King Fellowship, awarded for the 42nd time, honors the 1954-58 president of Tau Beta Pi and is given to that winner whose participation in his or her technical society is judged worthy of special mention.

Four Tau Beta Pi-James Fife Fellowships are presented in memory of the father of the late member William Fife, CA A ’21.

The Tau Beta Pi-Sigma Tau award, given for the 30th time, perpetuates the name of Sigma Tau, national engineering honor society founded at the University of Nebraska in 1904 and merged into Tau Beta Pi in 1974. It also commemorates Sigma Tau’s former national president and secretary-treasurer, Clarel B. Mapes.

The Donald A. Stark Fellowship is supported by a gift from a charitable trust named for the man who contributed much to progress in the fluid-power industry.

The Edward H. Williams Jr. Fellowship honors the founder of Tau Beta Pi and is given to a winner who plans to earn a doctoral degree and become a professional engineering teacher, as was Dr. Williams. It is awarded for the 24th time.

The Walter E. Deuchler Sr. Fellowship, IL A ’10, also presented for the 24th time, is given to a student of civil, urban, or environmental engineering.

The Tau Beta Pi-Maddox Fellowship, awarded for the eighth time, honors Arthur Maddox, OK A ’30, who bequeathed a significant gift to the Society.

The Matthews Fellowship is awarded in honor of R.C. “Red” Matthews, IL A ’02, who served as Secretary and Secretary-Treasurer in 1905-47 and as Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus in 1947-78. The Nagel Fellowship is given to honor Robert H. Nagel, NY D ’39, for his service as Editor and Secretary-Treasurer during 1942-82 and as Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus in 1982-97.

The Astronauts Fellowship is being given for the fifth time, this year, in honor and memory of member Rick D. Husband, TX B ’80, who, along with his crew, lost his life on the space shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003.