Nomination Deadline: February 1st
This prize was established and endowed in 1939 by Daniel W. Mead. The prize was established and endowed in 1939 by Daniel W. Mead, Hon.M.ASCE, a Society past president.
Recent Recipient
2026
- Marionne Lapitan, EIT, M.ASCE
2027 Topic
Engineering for the Unprecedented: Evaluating the Civil Engineer's Professional and Ethical Duty to Design Infrastructure Beyond Minimum Standards
In recent natural disasters, such as the 2023 Türkiye-Syria earthquake catastrophe and the 2025 Camp Mystic tragedy in Hunt, Texas, infrastructure designed to meet standard code was overwhelmed by extreme conditions - intense earthquakes and flash flooding, respectively. In both cases, technical compliance did not prevent loss of life or catastrophic risk to vulnerable populations and infrastructure. The ASCE Code of Ethics states that engineers must "hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public." However, engineers often face intense pressure to balance the level of design risk with strict client budgets, political timelines, and the minimum legal standards of local building codes.
Discuss whether a civil engineer has an ethical and professional obligation to model, plan and design infrastructure for conventional design standards and regulations AND events that exceed standards, even when those designs exceed current legal requirements, client preferences, or budgetary constraints. Please include specific infrastructure projects and/or failures - recent or historic - that support your claims.
Authors are encouraged to develop and apply their own original thoughts. The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing models (NLP) such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT© are neither encouraged nor discouraged. However, if such models are used, all instances shall be cited as work completed by the respective generative AI/NLP. Failure to cite all instances of generative AI/NLP use will be considered plagiarism.
Citation information can be found starting at the references section of this page.
Questions should be directed to ASCE Younger Member Services.
Rules
- The Daniel W Mead Prize for Younger Members may be awarded annually on the basis of papers on professional ethics. Each year the Committee on Younger Members shall select the specific topics of the contest for the forthcoming year.
- Younger Members of the Society who are in good standing at the time their papers are submitted are eligible, unless they have previously received the national award for which they are competing. For the purpose of this prize, Younger Members are defined as Members 35 years of age or less on February 1 on the year of the award.
- Papers for the national contest shall (a) not exceed 2,000 words in length; (b) be written by only 1 person; and (c) not have previously been published in Society publications.
- Papers shall be judged by the Committee on Younger Members (CYM). The Committee shall select one nominee as the national winner. Certificates of Commendation may be given to other deserving nominees. The nominations, if any, shall be presented to the Executive Committee of the ASCE Board of Direction for approval.
- The recipients of Certificates of Commendation shall receive an appropriate certificate recognizing their achievements. The national winner shall receive a plaque and an honorarium determined annually by and subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the ASCE Board of Direction based on the income from the award endowment. The papers written by the national winners shall be forwarded to an appropriate Society journal for consideration to print.
- Active voting members of CYM shall not be eligible for the award. Corresponding Members of CYM are eligible.
Nominations
To nominate, submit the following via the nomination form:
- A cover letter, signed by the nominator.
- 1 copy of the paper as it appears in print
For questions, or concerns regarding the nomination process, please reach out to Awards & Honors at [email protected].