Nomination Deadline: October 1st

This award and lecture is established to honor Shamsher Prakash, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, Dist.M.ASCE for his contributions to geotechnical engineering and soil dynamics. It is established under the auspices of the Geo-Institute and funded by an endowment created through donations from Professor Prakash’s estate and family, mentees, friends, and colleagues. The award was established by the Society on October 4, 2021.

Recent winner

  • 2025: John Scott McCartney, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE

View all winners

Rules

  1. The Shamsher Prakash Award and Lecture will be presented annually to a younger geotechnical engineer (50 years of age or less by the entry deadline) for outstanding research or professional practice contributions in the area of geotechnical engineering or soil dynamics.
  2. The award will be bestowed for cumulative distinguished contributions. In exceptional cases, it may be awarded for a single contribution of outstanding merit.
  3. The award is not restricted to members of the Society.
  4. The Shamsher Prakash Lecture will be delivered by the award recipient in the year following his/her selection at Geo-Congress or other appropriate Society conference.
  5. The selection committee shall be the Awards Committee of the Geo-Institute. The recipient of the award, if any, will be submitted to the ASCE Executive Committee for final approval.
  6. Nominees not selected in a given year will be held over for consideration through the next 2 selection cycles, provided they meet the age requirement. At the end of the third cycle, nominees not chosen will no longer be eligible for consideration, except that nominators who wish for their candidate to be considered for another 2-cycle period must produce a new nomination package.
  7. The award consists of a plaque and cash prize determined annually by and subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the ASCE Board of Direction based on the income from the award endowment.
  8. The award recipient shall submit a paper accompanying his/her lecture, to be included either in the conference proceedings or a geotechnical special publication.

Nominations

To nominate, submit the following:

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

ASCE Honors & Awards
1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, VA 20191-4400