What is Tau Beta Pi?

Tau Beta Pi is the oldest national engineering honor society in the country. TBP recognizes exceptional engineers and individuals who are scholastically accomplished and have exemplary character from all engineering disciplines.

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History of Tau Beta Pi

When the academic honor society Phi Beta Kapp restricted its membership to students of the liberal arts and sciences in the late 19th century, Edward H. Williams Jr., the founder of Phi Beta Kappa and head of the mining department at Lehigh university, formulated the idea of an honor society for those studying technical subjects. On June 15th, 1885, he realized this idea with the initiation of Andrew Heikes, a valedictorian of Lehigh University and thereby formally activating the Tau Beta Pi Honors Society. The TBP CA Eta Chapter (San Jose State University), was founded on March 14, 1964. Tau Beta Pi currently consists of 251 collegiate chapters & 46 active alumni chapters, with over 600,000 lifetime members.

The Bent

The Bent, the official badge of Tau Beta Pi. The badge was initially a watch key that resembled the bent of a trestle (hence the name), which is the load-bearing part of the bridge. The bent provides integrity to the structure and represents our creed Integrity and Excellence in Engineering. The bottom stem was added to fit a watch-winding shaft, and the top stem and ring allowed for the key to be worn as a pendant, thus easily used as a watch key.

Notable Members

Nobel Laureates
Winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Honorees in the National Inventors Hall of Fame
Recipients of the National Medal of Technology
Recipients of the National Medal of Science
Members of the National Academy of Engineering
Draper Prize Winners
Postage Stamp Honorees
Corporate CEOs & Academic Leaders
State Governors Olympic & Professional Athletes
Super Bowl winners

Buzz Aldrin Tau Beta Pi Member MA Beta 1962

Clarence L Kelly Johnson Tau Beta Pi Member MI Gamma 1932

David Packer Tau Beta Pi Member CA Gamma 1934

Jeff Bezos Tau Beta Pi Member NJ Delta 1986

Mary T Barra Tau Beta Pi Member MI Zeta 1985

Mildred S Dresselhaus Tau Beta Pi Member SC Gamma 1951

Nick Holonyak Jr. Tau Beta Pi Member IL Alpha 1950

Robert L Behnken Tau Beta Pi Member MO Gamma 1992

Yvonne C Brill Tau Beta Pi Member SC Gamma 1945

TBP CA Eta - Events

Our chapter organizes various social events that allows members to interact with various other engineering disciplines. Throughout the semester we also organize industry events that allow students to network with professionals from countless backgrounds. In the past our chapter has provided opportunities to tour factories & companies.

Affilated Companies

Upcoming Events

Officers

President - Bernice Webber
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Vice President - Alisha Limbu
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Initiation Coordinator
Vamishidar Parupally
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Treasurer
Wilson Kosasih
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Industry Lead
Maxim Vovenko
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Chapter Secretary
Karan Agrawal
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