Cleveland State University wins 2013 NCEES Engineering Award

NCEES is pleased to announce that the Cleveland State University Civil and Environmental Engineering Department is the grand prize winner of the 2013 NCEES Engineering Award for Connecting Professional Practice and  Education. The award jury met June 4, 2013, in Clemson, S.C., to select the $25,000 grand prize winner.

The department received the prize for its submission, Design, Funding, and Construction of the August Pine Ridge School/Hurricane Shelter in Belize. For the project, civil engineering students from the university’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders collaborated with faculty, professional engineers, and allied professionals to design and construct a building that would not only provide additional classroom space for a Belize school but also serve as a  hurricane shelter for the local community.

The jury praised the project for demonstrating the value of collaboration and the challenge of finding improvised, local solutions.

The jury selected five additional winners to receive awards of $7,500 each:

• Northern Arizona University Department of Civil Engineering, Construction Management, and Environmental Engineering
  Paper Pulp Sludge Characteristics and Applications
• Seattle University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Design Options for a Creek Crossing for a Utility Company
• Seattle University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Structural Evaluation and Retrofit of a Warehouse
• University of Nevada, Reno Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Capstone Design Project—SouthEast Connector
• University of Texas at El Paso Department of Civil Engineering
  Multidisciplinary Design of a Sustainable, Environmentally Friendly, and Affordable House

The NCEES Engineering Award recognizes engineering programs that encourage collaboration between students and professional engineers. EAC/ABET-accredited programs from all engineering disciplines were invited to submit  projects that integrate professional practice and education.

The winners were selected by a jury of NCEES members and representatives from academic institutions and professional engineering organizations.

“Projects like these are innovative ways to teach students about the vital importance of technical competency and ethical practice in the engineering profession,” said NCEES President Gene Dinkins, P.E., P.L.S. “We hope they will inspire other engineering programs to introduce similar collaborations.”

Browse the profiles of the winning submissions.