Seattle University wins 2014 NCEES Engineering Award

Electrical and computer engineering department takes $25,000 prize for microgrid system

NCEES is pleased to announce that the Seattle University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is the grand prize winner of the 2014 NCEES Engineering Award for Connecting Professional Practice and Education. The award jury met June 3, 2014, in Clemson, South Carolina, to select the $25,000 grand prize winner.

The department received the top prize for its submission, Microgrid System for a Wind and Solar Farm Located in Rural Kenya. For the project, electrical engineering students worked as part of a team that also included faculty, professional engineers, and other professionals to design a hybrid wind- and solar-power microgrid system to provide electricity to a school and surrounding community in Muhuru Bay, Kenya.

The jury praised the project for its strong interaction with professional engineers as well as its applications for communities in the United States and abroad.

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

• The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Wave Dissipation System
• North Carolina State University
  UNC/NCSU Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering
  Creating a Better Way to Locate Vasculature for Intravenous Therapy
• Seattle University
  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Historic Landmark Incline Lift Structural Evaluation and Retrofit
• University of Evansville
  College of Engineering and Computer Science
  Fairfield Reservoir and Dam
• University of Notre Dame
  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
  Innovative Housing Solutions for Post-Quake Haiti

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. The 11 jury members considered criteria such as

• Successful collaboration of faculty, students, and licensed professional engineers
• Benefit to public health, safety, and welfare
• Multidiscipline and/or allied profession participation
• Knowledge or skills gained

“It is imperative that students preparing to enter the engineering profession understand the vital importance of technical competency and ethical practice,” said NCEES President Patty Mamola, P.E. “These projects, which represent a variety of engineering disciplines, are great examples of innovative ways to prepare students for professional practice. We hope they will inspire other engineering programs to incorporate similar collaborations.”

Profiles of the winning submissions are available here.