Americas

NAFEMS Americas Student Awards 2025

Rules and Regulations

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 U.S. higher education institution during the 2024-2025 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.

Award Guidelines

  1. Simulation Technology: The project must demonstrate significant use of engineering simulation technologies, such as Electromagnetic Simulation, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), 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 January 31, 2025. If it is a group project, all communication will go through the lead submitter.
  • Finalists will be notified by March 31, 2025. Finalists must submit a 3-5 minute video explaining the project by May 15th and grant permission to use the video.
  • Winner(s) will be notified by June 30, 2025.

Judging Criteria

  1. Evaluation Metrics: Award winners will be selected based on their demonstration of:
  • Practical application of simulation, including validation of results and acknowledgment of limitations.
  • Comparison with physical experiments, theoretical solutions, and reflection on uncertainty.
  • Effective communication of the value and impact of simulation on the project.
  1. Finality of Decisions: The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the outcomes.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.