Clemson University student named laureate of engineering society

Published: August 9, 2011

CLEMSON — Clemson University graduate student Jennifer A. Johnson has been named one of five laureates of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, in its annual program to recognize gifted engineering students who have excelled in areas beyond their technical majors.

Johnson, who earned her bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Clemson this spring, has begun her work toward her Ph.D. in the field at her alma mater.

A 2007 graduate of Hilton Head Christian Academy in Hilton Head Island, Johnson served in many student organizations at Clemson, including civil engineering honor society Chi Epsilon, the Society of Women Engineers, the Institute of Transportation Engineers and Tau Beta Pi.

She volunteered for the advisory board for the Clemson Transportation Continuity Council to address campus and community transportation needs and was head counselor for Clemson’s Women in Science and Engineering’s (WISE) summer camp and its project leader for its middle-school outreach events.

"To say that Jennifer is an outstanding student doesn't adequately describe her," said Nadim Aziz, chairman of Clemson's civil engineering department. "Her leadership skills and dedication to public service equal her academic achievement. She's an extraordinary young person and will no doubt will have a distinguished engineering career."

Along with engineering and science-related activities, she was volunteer basketball coach for Daniel High School’s varsity team and a volunteer for the Mason Dixon basketball tournament at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind.

Johnson is a Tau Beta Pi Fellow and Scholar and was the president of South Carolina Alpha chapter in her senior year at Clemson.

Johnson joins students from University of Notre Dame, Iowa State University, University of Arizona and the Stevens Institute of Technology among this year's Tau Beta Pi laureates.

END

Tau Beta Pi
Tau Beta Pi, the world’s largest engineering society, has initiated 525,000 members since it was founded in 1885. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., it has 237 active collegiate chapters and 20 active alumni chapters in the United States that encourage excellence in engineering education and in the ethical practice of engineering. Its laureate program exists to "foster a spirit of liberal culture in engineering colleges."