Florida Atlantic University wins 2012 NCEES Engineering Award

NCEES is pleased to announce that the Florida Atlantic University Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering is the grand prize winner of the 2012 NCEES Engineering Award for Connecting Professional Practice and Education. The award jury met May 31, 2012, in Clemson, S.C., to select the $25,000 grand prize winner.

The department received the prize for its submission, Dania Beach Nanofiltration Plant Expansion. For the project, civil engineering students collaborated with faculty, professional engineers, and city officials to find innovative and cost-effective solutions to designing a new water treatment facility for the city, resulting in the construction of the world’s first LEED Gold-certified water treatment plant.

The jury praised the project for incorporating many aspects of civil engineering and renewable energy, noting the student contributions from concept through construction and obtaining LEED Gold certification.
The jury selected five additional winners to receive awards of $7,500 each:

• Oklahoma State University School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Roadway and Water Feature Design at the Botanic Garden

• Seattle University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Design of an Orphanage, Learning and Community Center in Ethiopia

• Seattle University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Historic Dam Guard Rail and Vehicle Barrier Retrofit for Public Safety

• University of Texas at El Paso Department of Civil Engineering
  Multidisciplinary SMART Design of Fire Station 513

• Valparaiso University College of Engineering
  Maji for Masaera: Rehabilitation of a Man-Made Irrigation Canal

The NCEES Engineering Award recognizes engineering programs that encourage collaboration between students and licensed 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.

“We’re excited to see such innovative approaches to teaching students about professional practice,” said NCEES President Dale Jans, P.E. “Emphasizing the importance of technical competency and ethical practice is critical to educating the next generation of professional engineers; we hope this award will inspire other colleges to introduce similar collaborations.”