To recognize extraordinary contribution to the field of engineering and applied science by a University of Virginia Engineering School African-American student, faculty member, or alumnus/alumna, or by a University of Virginia Engineering School student, faculty member or alumnus/alumna whose contribution to the field is of particular significance to African-Americans. This award is given in honor of the personal challenges and accomplishments of Robert A. Bland, EE’59, the first African-American to graduate from the University of Virginia and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Nicholas Garber received his PhD in Civil Engineering form Carnegie Melon University in 1971 and taught at the University of Sierra Leone and the State University of New York at Buffalo before coming to our Engineering School in 1980 as a visiting professor.

His visiting appointment quickly became permanent in 1981 and his contributions to the University and our Engineering School have been continuous and exemplary.

Nick has dedicated the majority of his career to the University where he has served the longest of any African-American as a faculty member…and as a department chairman in the history of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. During his first ten years at the University of Virginia, he was the only tenured African-American faculty member in the Engineering School.

He served for many years as the advisor to the UVa student chapter of the then Black Engineering Society, or now the National Society of Black Engineers. Recognizing the dearth of minority graduate students in the engineering programs, he developed an action plan for recruitment and retention of minority students which resulted in him traveling across the nation to recruit students from under-represented groups at other universities.

Nick continues to do it all...to quote his present department chair, “Nick receives some of the highest teaching evaluations in the department and he has maintained his externally funded research for 28 years now and he is currently supporting and advising 5 graduate students.”

The excellence of his contributions to academia and the civil engineering profession continue to be recognized and he is internationally known for his work in traffic operations and safety:

• He is registered professional engineer in Virginia and a chartered engineer of the United Kingdom.
• He is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineering and the Institute of Civil Engineering of the United Kingdom.
• He is the recipient of the Transportation Research Board’s D. Grant Mickle Award, the American Road and Transportations Builders Association’s Steinberg Award, the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ Edmund R. Ricker Transportation Safety Award.
• Most recently, Nick has received the highest recognition that can be awarded to an engineer in the United States…his election to the National Academy of Engineering.

To quote another National Academy member and collegue of Nick, “Dr. Garber’s contributions have been outstanding by any measure; they are especially noteworthy in that they reflect the talent, energy and wisdom of an African-American born in Sierra Leone who became a citizen of the United States. He has been a mentor, advisor, leader and friend to his students and colleagues throughout his career.”

For his exemplary contributions, dedication, and leadership, the School of Engineering and Applied Science recognizes Professor Nicholas J. Garber with the 2008 Robert A. Bland Award.