The goal of the SOM Foundation is to advance the design profession鈥檚 ability to address key topics of our time by bringing together and supporting groups and individuals, each with the highest possible design aspirations. Each year, the SOM Foundation defines a topic to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research. This year鈥檚 topic, 鈥淓nvisioning Responsible Relationships with Materiality,鈥 seeks to explore materiality from the micro- to the macroscale, including resource extraction, greenhouse emissions, stakeholder responsibilities, waste, and community impacts.
The impact of building materials is particularly relevant to the structural engineering community, which has committed to net-zero embodied carbon footprint structures by the year 2050 through the SE 2050 Commitment Program. Research proposals for the Structural Engineering Fellowship should aim to build on the emphasis on embodied carbon footprint, studying whole lifecycle aspects of materials and the impact they have on communities.
The $20,000 Structural Engineering Fellowship is awarded annually to a graduating student (bachelor鈥檚 degree, master鈥檚 degree, or PhD) based in the United States who specializes in structural engineering to conduct independent travel and research that contributes to the SOM Foundation鈥檚 current topic.听Applications for the fellowship will open in January 2022 and the deadline for applications is March 14, 2022. Additional information about the fellowship, application requirements, and eligibility can be found at the SOM Foundation website:听.