Two SEAS students selected as Tau Beta Pi 2023 Laureates
By Elizabeth Egan
Published November 14, 2023
Maxine Dupuis, a graduate student studying biomedical engineering, and Alexander Francisco, an electrical engineering student, were selected as 2023 Tau Beta Laureates by Tau Beta Pi. The award recognizes engineering students who have excelled outside of their majors in the categories of arts, athletics, diverse achievements and service.
The students from the University at Buffalo’s New York Nu chapter were chosen as two of the four laureates from 255 chapters. Two laureates have not been chosen from the same chapter since 1993.
Dupuis, UB’s chapter president, was selected as a laureate for athletic achievements. She ran Division 1 cross country and track-and-field at UB and competed in the International School Sport Federation World School Cross-Country Championships. Representing Canada, she competed in Budapest in 2016 and Paris in 2018. She has promoted initiatives related to the LGBTQIA+ community, international students, and mental health within the UB athletics department and on her team. Dupuis also volunteers with Girls on the Run Buffalo, a chapter of the national non-profit for elementary and middle school-aged girls to learn to run and build life skills
Francisco, the chapter’s recording secretary, was selected as a laureate for the arts. He is a professional trumpet player, playing with groups such as the Amherst Symphony, Niagara Frontier Brass, the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra, the University at Buffalo Symphony, and the Williamsville East Chorale. Francisco also plays TAPS at veterans’ funerals.
The awards were presented at the Tau Beta Pi National Convention in Atlanta on Oct. 14.
Tau Beta Pi is the nation's second-oldest honor society and is the only engineering honor society to recognize individuals from all engineering disciplines. UB's chapter was started in 1967 and has over 3,700 members.