NAFEMS Americas Excellence in Engineering Simulation Student Competition

The NAFEMS Americas Excellence in Engineering Simulation Student Competition recognizes outstanding undergraduate engineering projects that demonstrate the effective application of engineering simulation. Students submit a short abstract describing their work, with selected finalists invited to submit a short presentation video.

Eligibility for Participation

1. Nomination Criteria: Open to all undergraduate students in their second-to-last or final year of study, enrolled at any accredited higher education institution during the 2026–2027 academic year.
2. Degree Requirements: Eligible degrees must be accredited by a recognized engineering body (e.g., ABET) and can be either B.S. or B.Eng. degrees. M.S. or Ph.D. programs are not eligible.
3. Exclusions: The competition is not open to employees of NAFEMS or any individual directly involved in the organization or administration of this competition, including their immediate family members.
4. Verification: The project supervisor must confirm that the contestant is a registered undergraduate student for the academic year and that the submitted work is the nominee's own.
5. Repeat Submissions: No previous submissions or closely related content to previous submissions will be accepted.

Award Guidelines

1. Simulation Technology: The project must demonstrate significant use of engineering simulation technologies, such as Electromagnetic Simulation, Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), or Multi-Body Dynamics (MBD).
2. Ongoing Projects: If the project is part of a larger ongoing project, it may be eligible if it introduces a significant new feature or a major modification. The student(s) must clearly articulate their contribution and achievements.
3. Publicity Participation: Winners give consent to their name and photo being used for promotional purposes. Winners may be invited to attend a NAFEMS event and would be reimbursed for reasonable expenses.
4. Submission Guidelines and Deadlines:

• Abstract Submission: A 300-word description of the project must be submitted through the NAFEMS website by 26 February 2027. If it is a group project, all communication will go through the lead submitter.
• Finalists: Finalists will be notified during March 2027. Finalists must submit a 3–5 minute video explaining their project by 7 May 2027 and grant permission for the video to be used by NAFEMS.
• Winner Notification: Winners will be notified no later than 30 June 2027.

Judging Criteria

1. Evaluation Metrics: Award winners will be selected based on their demonstration of:
2. Finality of Decisions: The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the outcomes.
3. Acceptance of Awards: Awards must be accepted as offered. Winners must notify the organizers by the specified deadline if they do not intend to accept the award.
4. Communication Restrictions: Only finalists will be contacted directly. Project supervisors and nominees should refrain from contacting NAFEMS personnel regarding the awards.

Cancellation

1. Organizer Rights: The competition organizers reserve the right to cancel the competition at any stage if deemed necessary.

General Provisions

1. Compliance: No responsibility is accepted for entries that do not comply with the competition rules.
2. Acceptance of Rules: Entrants are assumed to have accepted these rules and agree to be bound by them upon entering the competition.
3. Final Authority: The decision of the organizers is final in all matters, including those not explicitly covered in these rules, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Need more information? Please contact kathy.elliott@nafems.org.

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Sponsors

Past Winners

2​026

1^st Place

Aria Wang (Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science), ‘Simulation-Guided Design of a Scanning Mutual Inductance Microscope’.

▶ Watch presentation

2^nd Place

Marcus Miller and George Rupe (Iowa State University), 'Low Speed Wind Tunnel CFD Showcase'.

▶ Watch presentation

2025

Winner: UT25 Adams Car Multibody Dynamics Development by Ajay Anand, University of Toronto

2nd place: AI/ML-assisted Robust Shock Processing for CFD Applications by Sharat Val, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

3rd place: Composite Chassis Optimization for a Solar Racing Vehicle using Computational Structural Mechanics by Will Asproth, University of Minnesota

2020

Winner: Tubular Flow Reactor App

by Vasilios Halkias, New Jersey Institute of Technology