For the second time in four years, and fourth time since 2009, the Charles W. Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the grand prize recipient of the 2025 NCEES Engineering Education Award, the premier national honor recognizing collaborative, real-world engineering education programs.
No other program in the country has received this honor more than twice.
The award, presented by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), recognizes academic programs that demonstrate meaningful collaboration between students and licensed professional engineers. The Durham School's win sets a new standard for excellence in engineering education, with the program lauded as a national leader in industry partnership and student engagement.
Led by Durham School faculty Iason Konstantzos and Clarence Waters, the two-semester capstone experience (Team Design AREN 8030-8040) involved four major student presentations with live Q&A, detailed design documentation, and review by 28 professional evaluators.
Waters, Aaron Douglas Professor, noted that the real story is industry involvement, with between 50 and 60 professionals volunteering an estimated $400,000 of billable time to the project. “Nebraska AE is blessed with the best industry involvement in the country,” he added.
The winning project, Carson Headquarters, challenged a team of architectural engineering students, working alongside 52 industry professionals that included 43 licensed professional engineers, to design and integrate the structural, mechanical, acoustic, electrical and lighting systems for a six-story office building in Omaha. The proposed facility included open and private offices, conference rooms, training rooms and employee lounge spaces.
Selected from 21 national entries, the winning project was judged by a jury of NCEES members, engineering society representatives and academic leaders based on successful collaboration between students, faculty, and licensed professional engineers; protection of public health, safety, and welfare; multidiscipline and allied professional participation; skills and knowledge gained by students; and quality and clarity of project documentation and presentation.
The jury praised the Durham School's project for its exceptional alignment with real-world engineering standards and for promoting public health, safety, and welfare. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and adherence to industry codes and standards, the student-professional teams produced a high-performing, cohesive design that met the requirements for WELL Silver Certification, emphasizing health, wellness, and environmental sustainability.
“This exposure builds both technical excellence and critical soft skills like leadership, communication, and adaptability,” noted Konstantzos, assistant professor of architectural engineering and director of the Human-centered Integrated Building Operation Laboratory. “It’s a transformative experience that not only prepares our students for success in the industry but also strengthens the profession by shaping work-ready, collaborative engineers.”
The NCEES Engineering Education Award jury includes representatives from all U.S. state licensing boards and administers the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and Professional Engineer (PE) exams.
