The 40th Annual National NSBE Convention was held in Nashville, TN on Wednesday, March 26-30, 2014. NSBE stands for “National Society of Black Engineers” and with more than 29,900 members, it is one of the largest student-governed organizations in the country. Founded in 1975, NSBE now includes more than 394 College, Pre-College, and NSBE Professional chapters in the United States and abroad. NSBE’s mission is “to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.”
The UTK chapter, founded and chartered in 1980, was recognized as “Regional Medium Chapter of the Year” (second year in a row). Also, the UTK chapter was recognized, for the first time, as the “National Medium Chapter of the Year” at the Golden Torch Awards on Saturday, March 29, 2014. Each year, NSBE recognizes and celebrates the achievements of chapters that advance the goals of the society, contribute to the community and the engineering profession. Chapter Excellence Awards are awarded to the chapters on the regional and national levels that best satisfy the criteria outlined in the Chapter Development Program (academic enhancement of its members, in scholarship, leadership and in the overall facilitation of programs and activities). The UTK president for the chapter is Diamond Wallace, a senior from Memphis, TN majoring in Biomedical Engineering.
NSBE also recognized three outstanding UTK engineering students as national scholarship recipients. The following scholars are listed below:
- Sierra Ellis (BCA Fellow Scholar), a freshman from Memphis, TN majoring in Mechanical Engineering
- Markyth Smith (Lockheed Martin Scholar), a sophomore from Nashville, TN majoring in Mechanical Engineering
- DeAnna Walker (Major Fellow Scholar), a senior from Chattanooga, TN majoring in Civil Engineering
Lastly, Tiffany Sithiphone, a senior from Nashville, TN majoring in Industrial Engineering has been elected to serve as chair for Region 3 NSBE Executive Board. Region 3 is made up of the southeastern states (Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida). Tiffany is the first UT female student to serve as chair for Region 3 NSBE. Trevor Williams was the first UT student to serve as chair for Region 3 NSBE in 2007.
For more information about the NSBE and 40th National NSBE Convention, please visit http://www.nsbe.org.