The Odebrecht Organization is introducing its award for sustainable development to American universities through two of its subsidiaries - Odebrecht USA, the North American division of a global leader in engineering and construction services, and Braskem, the largest manufacturer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas. By writing and submitting a paper on contributions to sustainability, undergraduate students have an opportunity to engage in a challenging exercise to develop engineering and chemical solutions.
Whether related to new building techniques, new chemical and petrochemical processes, or alternative uses of sustainable materials, projects should explore innovative practices, methods, and ideas that can be implemented on a variety of real-world ventures. Award entries will be judged on content, technical contribution, applicability, clarity/presentation and reasoning/depth. Currently, the sustainable award is also presented in six other countries.
"We are excited to bring the Odebrecht Award to students in the United States, and we look forward to sharing their innovative ideas with our judging panel of experts, as well as potentially turning these burgeoning ideas into realities," said Gilberto Neves, President & CEO of Odebrecht USA. "This is a great opportunity for students, universities and industry organizations to engage in a healthy competition, encouraging and supporting the future engineers, scientists and architects of America."
The award is open to any undergraduate or group of students enrolled at a U.S.-accredited university, with at least one student seeking a degree in engineering, architecture, building and construction management, or chemistry. Entries will be accepted from January 2, 2012 through May 31, 2012 at www.odebrechtaward.com. Meanwhile, participants are encouraged to engage on Facebook and Twitter.
Prizes will be awarded as follows:
First Prize: $20,000 to the student (s), $10,000 to the advising professor and $10,000 to their university
Second Prize: $7,000 to the student (s), $4,000 to the advising professor and $4,000 to their university
Third Prize: $5,000 to the student (s), $2,500 to the advising professor and $2,500 to their university
Additionally, participants of all shortlisted entries will be invited to participate in the process to become an Odebrecht Young Partner or a Braskem Associate. These are trainee and internship programs where young talents will experience first hand what it is like to work for a global leader in engineering and construction, and chemicals and petrochemicals.
"We're inviting young visionaries to join our revolution - to take this opportunity and contribute to positive change," said Ricardo Lyra, VP HR & Communications for Braskem America. "We anticipate groundbreaking ideas from American students and we can't wait to see what they come up with."BD+C
Related Stories
Building Team | Mar 6, 2017
AEC firms: Your website is one of the most important things you'll build
Don’t believe it? You’d better take a look at the research.
Architects | Mar 3, 2017
Hoffmann Architects’ Leadership Elected President of Three Industry Organizations
Maureen Dobbins, Lawrence Keenan, and Arthur Sanders to lead chapters of BOMA, AIA, and ICRI.
Office Buildings | Mar 2, 2017
White paper from Perkins Eastman and Three H examines how design can inform employee productivity and wellbeing
This paper is the first in a planned three-part series of studies on the evolution of diverse office environments and how the contemporary activity-based workplace (ABW) can be uniquely tailored to support a range of employee personalities, tasks and work modes.
Building Team | Mar 1, 2017
Intuitive wayfinding: An alternate approach to signage
Intuitive wayfinding is much like navigating via waypoints—moving from point to point to point.
Architects | Mar 1, 2017
Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta receive the 2017 Pritzker Architecture Prize
2017 marks the first time that three architects together are honored with the prize.
Architects | Feb 27, 2017
AIA selects four individuals to receive the 2017 Associates Award
The AIA Associates Award is given to individual Associate AIA members to recognize outstanding leaders and creative thinkers for significant contributions to their communities and the architecture profession.
Architects | Feb 24, 2017
14 architects selected to receive the 2017 Young Architects Award
Young Architects are defined as professionals who have been licensed 10 years or fewer regardless of their age.
Architects | Feb 20, 2017
Take an architecture class taught by Frank Gehry
The starchitect will be teaching a course for MasterClass, an online education platform.
Architects | Feb 16, 2017
16 design trends from Gensler’s 2017 Design Forecast
Gensler examines how design will shape the human experience in the next year and beyond.
Architects | Feb 14, 2017
NCARB streamlines path to certification for architects
Architects without a degree from an accredited program can pursue NCARB certification through a new path.