Nomination Deadline: August 15th

The Harry Schnabel Jr. Award was established by the Geo-Institute in 2006. This is a memorial award in recognition of Harry Schnabel's accomplishments in the field of earth retaining structures. This award encourages continued excellence and innovation by those making a career in the earth retaining structures industry.

The award is funded by an endowment from the Schnabel Foundation Company.

Recent winner

  • 2025: Thomas Denis O'Rourke, Ph.D. 

View all winners

Rules

  1. The Award will consist of a suitably inscribed plaque with a cash prize determined by the income from the endowment.
  2. The Award will be given on a 3 year rotating basis, to an academic, a constructor/contractor, and a practicing engineer or geologist, in the order stated above.
  3. Recipients must have demonstrated a commitment to service, excellence and innovation in the earth retaining structures, and have at least 20 years experience. This includes excavation support, permanent walls, and underpinning. Evidence of this commitment includes: an appropriate undergraduate degree with increasing responsibility in academia, construction or consulting, support of the profession by serving on committees, professional registrations, membership in the Geo-Institute or other related professional organizations. Demonstration of excellence and innovation in the field will include inventions and patents, published papers, articles or books, introduction of improvements to the industry, attainment of acknowledged leadership positions within the industry. Innovations incorporated into the practice are to be preferred to theoretical or suggested improvements that have not been implemented.
  4. The practicing engineer (or geologist) designation includes engineers in private practice, in government, or in military service.
  5. The Award will be made annually and to one person. No one may receive the Award more than once every 20 years. Should a qualified nomination not be made, the award shall not be given that year; and the award shall rotate to the next industry area. Nationality and Geo-Institute membership is not a consideration.
  6. The Award will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Geo-Institute. It is desirable that the recipient's career be observed at the meeting, and appear in an appropriate G-I publication.
  7. A nomination must include a curriculum vitae for the nominee and a clear description of the basis for the award, including a 20-words-or-less citation. The nomination shall be no longer than ten pages.
  8. The recipient must be approved by the Geo-Institute Board of Governors. One copy of the nomination, accompanied by the appropriate supporting statements (i.e. letters of recommendation), must be received by G-I headquarters by August 15.

Nominations

To nominate, submit the following:

You can submit your nomination electronically to [email protected], or by mail to:

ASCE Honors and Awards
1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, VA 20191

Questions?

For any questions regarding the Harry Schnabel Jr. Award, please contact the Geo-Institute.