TAC Young Professional and Student Awards

This award recognizes an employee of a TAC member organization who has made outstanding contributions to the transportation sector, and who is not more than 35 years old on December 31 in the year of the award.

Nominations may be made by any TAC member, and require a description (up to 500 words) of the nominee’s accomplishments in the following areas, plus a CV:

• Personal accomplishments including achievements in transportation practice, contributions in the workplace, ongoing professional development and education
• Industry and professional contributions including academic research and teaching, achievements within TAC and/or other professional or technical societies
• Leadership within the workplace, TAC and/or other professional or technical societies

Nominations are reviewed by TAC’s council chairs, and a limit of one winner each year is approved by TAC’s Board of Directors which reserves the right to not approve a winner.

Each winner receives an allowance of up to $2,000 to defray the costs of attending the TAC conference where the award is presented.

Submit a nomination

Key Dates

• January 31 – Deadline for nominations for that year’s award
• June – Winner announced
• Fall – Award presented at TAC Conference

Previous Recipients

This grant provides financial support (up to $4,000) to a young geotechnical engineer working in transportation to enable his/her participation in TAC’s spring technical meetings (online) and TAC’s fall technical meetings and annual conference (both in-person) in the year of the award. The recipient will attend the spring and fall meetings of the Pavements Committee and the Soils & Materials Committee, and is encouraged to attend other committee meetings and conference technical sessions.

Applicants must:

• Be not more than 35 years old on December 31 in the year of the award
• Hold at least a master’s degree in geotechnical engineering (or equivalent)
• Be employed by a TAC member organization
• Have at least three years of work experience in the transportation field
• Not be a full-time student

Applicants must submit a CV and a description (up to 750 words) of their work accomplishments, reasons for wanting to attend the TAC conference and technical meetings, and anticipated benefits of doing so. Applicants agree to write a one-page report following the spring and fall meetings, suitable for publication on TAC’s website and social media, with event highlights and comments about how participation will benefit her/his professional development.

Applications are reviewed by a selection committee, which reserves the right to not approve a winner. Previous grant recipients may re-apply, but will be considered only if they are presenting in a technical session at the TAC conference.

Expenses eligible for reimbursement include conference registration, hotel accommodations, economy air/train/bus fare or car mileage, and local transportation.

Submit an application

Key Dates

• January 31 – Deadline for nominations for that year’s award
• March – Winner notified
• Fall – Award presented at TAC Conference

Previous Recipients

All student papers accepted for the annual conference through TAC’s standard submission and review process are eligible.

These awards recognize the excellence of papers delivered by students at TAC’s annual conference, and are intended to encourage student participation in TAC. First prize is $500, second prize is $300, and third prize is $200.

All student papers accepted for the annual conference through TAC’s standard submission and review process are eligible. To be considered, a paper must be clearly identified as a student paper when submitted, and its principal author must be a registered full-time student at a recognized post-secondary institution.

After being accepted for presentation at the conference, each student paper is reviewed by members of TAC's Workforce Development Council. Papers are evaluated for their research methodology, observations and conclusions, and their overall quality and contribution to the topic.