$50,000 in Prizes Given to Winners of Engineering for You 3 Video Contest

During its 2016 annual meeting, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced the winners of the Engineering for You Video Contest 3 (E4U3).  This theme of this year’s competition, the third in the E4U series, was Mega Engineering. The public was asked to submit 1- to 2-minute videos that introduced a particular mega-engineering project, highlight its importance and contribution to people and society, and suggest ways to develop it. Approximately 300 videos were submitted in four categories: middle school and younger (K-8); high school (grades nine-12); tertiary education (2-year college through graduate school, full or part time); and the general public.

A judging committee chaired by Rob Cook, Pixar Animation Studios’ emeritus vice president of advanced technology, selected the winning videos based on the following criteria: (1) creativity in the selection and presentation of content, (2) anticipated breadth of public appeal and interest, and (3) effectiveness in describing a mega-engineering project and its impact on people and society. The People’s Choice Award was chosen by the public through voting on the NAE website.

“It is so inspiring to see what students created for this year’s Engineering for You Video Contest,” said NAE President C. D. Mote, Jr. “The diverse projects and solutions touched the human spirit of engineering and its work on the world’s greatest challenges.”

The Best Video Overall Award was given to Nehemiah Mabry for his video, “Future Cities with Intelligent Infrastructure,” which also won in the People’s Choice category. The video was a poetic call to action for addressing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.  A grand prize of $25,000 was awarded to Mabry in addition to the $5,000 People's Choice prize.

All of the winning videos are available to watch on the Engineering for You website at nae.edu/e4u3  

Awards of $5,000 were given to the winners of the following categories:

Middle School and Younger Category Winner
“Wave Wings for the Future” by Catherine Tomasello

High School Category Winner
 “The Ocean Cleanup Project” by Alexander Li, Kyle Fuller, and Leonardo Ko

Tertiary Education Category Winner
“Systems Engineering and the Refugee Crisis” by Clara Stoesser and Rachel Andrade

Tertiary Education Honorable Mention
“Engineering for You: Colonizing the Moon” by Nathan Benson

The mission of the NAE is to advance the well-being of the nation by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and by marshalling the expertise and insights of eminent engineers to provide independent advice to the federal government on matters involving engineering and technology. The NAE is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, an independent, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to provide objective analysis and advice to the nation on matters of science, technology, and health.