During 2024, the ACEC Research Institute’s scholarship program grew from 12 scholarships totaling $85,500 in 2023 to 97 scholarships totaling nearly $700,000 in 2024. The new scholarship platform, AwardSpring, allowed the Institute to engage with over 4,100 students versus 169 students in 2023. The new partnerships include the following:
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying awarded one $5,000 scholarship in each state and the District of Columbia.
IMEG awarded $10,000 scholarships to 33 students nationwide.
Morrissey Goodale provided two $15,000 scholarships to students from groups that are underrepresented in the field of engineering.
POWER Engineers awarded two $5,000 diversity scholarships.
These new award opportunities were in addition to the 12 scholarships previously awarded by the Institute. When interest in the scholarships increased, the Institute launched a new platform to streamline the application process. Through this new process, engineering students are now automatically matched with opportunities based on their eligibility. The result: This year, more than 4,100 students across the country were presented with a suite of financial resources that are potentially available to them. Those 4,100 students represent the next generation of engineers.
One such future engineer is the University of Tennessee’s Deidra Anderson, who was selected as the ACEC College of Fellows Scholar of the Year. Accepting the award, the structural engineering graduate student noted that the $13,000 grant will lessen the financial burden of continuing her education. “It is with great pride that I accept this scholarship as a way to boost my confidence in the financial aspect of my life,” she said. “I feel a great sense of motivation, validation, and as though all my hard work has paid off.”
That’s the impetus behind the scholarship program—to help lower some of the financial barriers to pursuing a career in engineering. The continued success of the industry will depend on our ability to attract talented young people to the engineering field. Simply put: These scholarships are an investment in the future.
Ask engineering firm leaders for their sentiments on the state of the engineering economy and you’ll find that for the most part, optimism abounds—blue skies as far as the eye can see, with one caveat: the workforce shortage. In many ways, the engineering industry has become a victim of its own success: more work than it can handle with not enough qualified workers.
This shortage of engineers has implications beyond the industry’s bottom line, further highlighting the importance of the scholarship program. “Engineering is at the heart of solving many of today’s most pressing challenges,” said ACEC Research Institute Chair Mike Carragher. “These scholarships will help ensure that we have a robust pipeline of skilled engineers ready to tackle the complex issues of tomorrow.”
Scholarship winners will be recognized during ACEC’s Fall Conference on October 20-23 in New Orleans.
The ACEC Research Institute would like to thank the following for their generous contributions to the scholarship program:
Alain Gallet
Alan Pramuk
Amy Haugerud
Andrew Cummings
Andrew Dolan
Andrew McCune
Andrew Rauch
Ann Trappey
Anthony LoCicero
Arthur Barrett
BHC
Bob Barnett
Brandon Fortier
Bruce Sadler
Bryan Layman
Carl Munkel
Cathy Ritter
Charles Huddleston
Chuck Gemayel
Clinton Robinson
Corey Matsuoka
Dan Huntington
Daniel Williams
David Bills
David Kennedy
David Mykins
Dennis E. Ford
Desmond Baker
Donald Booth
Dr. Gary W. Raba
Dr. Sheryl E. Nojima
Eddie W. Kho
Edward Fraher III
Elizabeth Stolfus
Eric Flicker
Erik Peterson
G. Loesch
Gerald Stump
Gilbert Hantzsch
Greg Eisenmann
Greg Spagnolo
Herbert Parker
James Gombar
James Haynes
James R. Thomas
Jan Zander
Jane Rozga
Janice Marsters
Jason Matson
Jay Wolverton
Jeffrey Bolander
Jeffrey Geurian
Jeffrey Kronser
Jerry Lazenby
Jerry Wolverton
Jessica Ross
Joe H. Harman
Joel Ambrosino
Joel Goodmonson
John Carrato
John Olsson
John P. O’Neill
John Rathke
John Rauch
John Wilczynski
Jon K. Nishimura
June Nakamura
Justin Naser
KCE Structural Engineers
Kelly Altes
Ken Urbanek
Kenneth W. Smith
Kenneth Williams
Kevin Chamberlin
Kevin L. Peterson
Kimberlee Bernson
Kunal Gangopadhyay
Kurt Evans
Kyle Anderson
Lamar Dunn
Lennox Nishimura
Leo F. Peters
Lowell Christy
Manish Kothari
Matt Hirst
Matthew Horne
Matthew Richards
Matthew Tondi
Melvin Williams
Meredith Houston
Michael Klingner
Michael Matsumoto
Michael Planer
Michael Zorich
Michel Simpler
Narender Kumar
Oliver Pollard
Orrin MacMurray
Patrick Eikenberry
Paul VanDuyne
Peter Moore
Peter Strub
Philios Angelides
Philip Beer
Ralph Guida
Ralph Junius
Richard Wells
Rick Fauteux
Rick Vern
Robert Close
Robin Greenleaf
Roger L. Ball
Rosalie Morgan
Ryan Blaskovich
Sandra Morris
Scott Martin
Sergio Pecori
Stacy Bartoletti
Stephanie A. Wagner
Stephen Boswell
Stephen C. Lane
Steven Speaks
Ted C. Williams
Thomas Mosure
Timrod A. Groover
Vernon Meyer
Vicki LaRose
William Anderson
William Hoffman
William R. Toole