Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award
OCEA Awards 2008 Entry Guidelines
Eligibility
Any civil engineering or construction project is eligible. There are no restrictions as to locale--a project may be national or international--but the project must meet at least one of the following requirements:
The jury will determine the eligibility of projects not categorized above. If a project wins an OCEA award, the project or any of its components may not be re-entered or renominated in a subsequent year.
Judging Criteria and Procedures
- Contribution to the well-being of people and communities
- Resourcefulness in planning and solving design challenges
- Pioneering in use of materials and methods
- Innovations in construction
- Impact on physical environment
Beneficial as well as adverse effects of the project, including aesthetic value Entries are judged by a volunteer jury composed of civil engineers including the immediate past president of ASCE, design professionals and journalists covering civil engineering issues. The editor in chief of Civil Engineering serves as the jury chair. Jury members serve for one year. Individuals may be asked to continue serving on a jury, but jury composition is reviewed annually.
Individual jurors review all of the entries, which are forwarded to them by the staff of Civil Engineering magazine, and then convene in January to select the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement finalists and any projects they deem worthy of merit awards.
All entries should include the following, in this order:
- Completed entry form (PDF)
- Brief description of the project, not to exceed 250 words
- At least one color photograph or color photocopy of project. (More photos or slides are encouraged. ASCE may use photos for publicity purposes.)
- Summary describing how project meets judging criteria, not to exceed 1,000 words
- Attachments such as articles from local papers or trade journals, if available
Submit eight copies of the entry by December 1. Entries will not be returned, and will become the property of ASCE.
Preparation Guidelines
Entries should identify unusual aspects of the project. Describe key challenges and solutions, and new technology used. Consider all phases of the project, including the plan, design, construction, operation, and maintenance. The project's environmental, political, economic, social, and legal aspects also may be significant.
Present most technical information in lay terms. OCEA jury members have diverse backgrounds in civil engineering. Entry descriptions will be read by general media reporters who cover such civil engineering topics as transportation and the environment, but who may not have engineering backgrounds. Also, the engineers and design professionals on the jury may have expertise in structures, for example, but not in environmental remediation projects.
Notification Procedures Once the project is designated as a "finalist" and the projects selected as merit award winners are chosen, the jury chair notifies all finalists of their status in writing following the jury's review.
Each finalist will be asked to provide a short video of the project, which will be presented during the OPAL dinner.
ASCE Directors and Leadership Involvement
Directors are encouraged to nominate winners of local OCEA competitions held at the Section or Branch levels. Directors may nominate an unlimited number of entries from their districts. View ASCE District Directors by geographic region.
ASCE Section and Branch OCEA Competitions, Award Presentations and Dedications
ASCE Sections and Branches are encouraged to hold their own OCEA competitions conducted along the lines of national OCEA rules. Bronze plaques for OCEA winners should be ordered through the Communications Department. ASCE National will provide $150 toward the cost of a Section or Branch OCEA plaque.
The local OCEA award consists of a permanently displayed bronze plaque supplied by ASCE National. The plaque is presented to the owner of the project in a ceremony by the local ASCE Section or Branch in which the project is located. The Section or Branch should coordinate the ceremony with the OCEA coordinator in ASCE's Communications Department. The Section or Branch should invite the ASCE president and other ASCE leaders as appropriate. Additional bronze plaques may be ordered through the Communications Department. These plaques will be invoiced to the individual(s) ordering the plaque.
ASCE Official Register Available Online Download EJCDC Contract Documents Earn PDHs/CEUs without leaving the office with ASCE Distance Learning Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Coalition (NEHRP) The Infrastructure Security Partnership
Water Infrastructure Security Enhancements Wind Hazard Reduction Coalition
22 - 24
Engineering Solutions for Sustainability: Materials and Resources
10 - 14
33rd International Association of Hydraulic Engineering & Research (IAHR) Congress
16 - 19
Pipelines Conference 2009
16 - 19
Pipelines Conference 2009
30 - 02
14th Conference on Cold Regions Engineering Conference 
Seminar 