BESSA and BGESS honor Black History Month

In celebration of February’s Black History Month, UC Berkeley Black Engineering and Science Students Association (BESSA) and Black Graduate Engineering and Science Students Organization (BGESS) would like to share a profile of a pioneering African-American in the fields of science and engineering.

A fter making Berkeley history as the first black student to graduate from the College of Engineering, Howard P. Grant (CEE ’48) made his mark not only as a respected civil engineer but as an inspiration and mentor to minorities throughout California and the entire country.

Grant also broke down racial barriers as the first known black member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, past president and treasurer of the California Society of Professional Engineers, and the second African-American civil engineer to be licensed by the state.

In 1970, Grant hosted the first meeting of Northern California's black engineers at his home. The group evolved into today's 300-strong Northern California Council of Black Professional Engineers, an organization devoted to encouraging African American youth to consider careers in engineering. Grant served as the Council's president from 1971 to 1973.
For more the full story go to www.coe.berkeley.edu/labnotes/0202/history.html

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