Gonzaga University

Awards and Rankings

In all of the West, ours is one of only four Jesuit universities with accredited engineering programs, and the only Catholic university with accredited engineering programs between Spokane and the Mississippi River. For more than 60 years, Gonzaga has provided engineering education for students from the Inland Northwest and beyond. As the methods for teaching and practicing engineering evolve, so have our programs and curriculum. This constant commitment to excellence is propelling our faculty, students and school to earn national recognition and awards, some of which are listed below.

National Recognition of Engineering Programs:

• Mechanical Engineering Program ranked 17th nationally (2002), in the same category

Regional/National Achievements of Students/Faculty:

National Student Safety Engineering Design Contest (Sponsored by ASME-Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis D8vision and NIOSH):

• 1999-1st Place "Explosive Delivery System for the Ore Pass Explorer"
• 2000-1st Place "Design of a Truck Mounted Concrete Mixing Drum Cleaner
• 2000- 2nd Place "Grizzly Clean-Off Device For Use in Underground Mining Operations"
• 2001- 1st Place "Concrete Mixing Drum Waterjet Cleaning Apparatus"
• 2002- 1st Place "Overhead Materials Handling System For Use in Underground Mines"
• 2003 - 1st Place ""Conveyor Monitoring System for Foreign Debris Detection"
• 2005 - 2nd Place tie "Tool Designs for the Safe Removal and Installation of Heavy Equipment Bucket Teeth," and "Design of a Driver's Seat Suspension System for Heavy-Duty Halage Vehicles"

National Old Guard Competition, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE):

• 2000 - 1st Place "Microchannel Recuperator For a Gas Turbine Engine"
• 2003 - Best Technical Presentation in Oral competition
• 2003 - 4th Place Overall

National Hydropower Contest, Student Division, Efficiency Category:

• 2000 - 1st Place
• 2001 - 1st Place
• 2002 - 1st Place
• 2003 - 2nd Place

Regional/National ASCE Student Chapter Steel Bridge Design Competition:

• 1998- 2nd Place (Regional)
• 1998- 8th Place (National)
• 2005 - 5th Place (Regional)
• 2006 - 1st Place (Regional)
• 2006 - Nationals - Weight (1st), Efficiency (11th), Overall (13th out 45 teams)

ASME Region VIII Student Paper Contest:

• 1999- 1st Place "The Design of the Cooling System For the Electronics on the Boeing 777"

IEEE Region VI Student Paper Contest:

• 2000 - 1st Place "Design of a Standard Phase Noise Test Source"
• 2003 - 3rd Place "Reliability Enhancement of the AVISTA Electric Power System"
• 2006 - 2nd Place "Theory & Design of a Portable, Quantitative, Airborne, particulate Matter Sensor"

Global Student Entrepreneur Awards Competition:

• Miles Mays, '04 Civil Engineering Grad, was one of fifteen finalists in the competition in November, 2003. He showcased his business Flying M Livestock and Washout.

National Environmental and Water Resources Institute Parsons Brinkerhoff Student Design Competition:

• 2002-3rd Place "Stormwater Sampling Device Installation and Calibration Testing"

SAE Aerowest Competition:

• 2003 - 22nd Place (first year in competition)
• 2004 - 12th Place
• 2005 - 7th Place

ASCE Concrete Frisbee/Bocce Ball Competition:

• 2004 - 3rd Place
• 2005 - 7th Place
• 2006 - 2nd Place (overall), 2nd Place (Technical Paper)

ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition:

• 2007 - Women's Endurance Race - 2nd Place
• 2007 - Men's Endurance Race - 2nd Place
• 2007 - Women's Sprint Race - 2nd Place
• 2007- Men's Sprint Race - 3rd Place
• 2007 - Co-Ed Sprint Race - 2nd Place
• 2007 - Technical Design Paper - 3rd Place
• 2007 - Overall - 4th Place 

 National Manufacturing Division Student Paper Contest, ASME, IMECE:

• 2002- One of seven finalists (for November 2002)
• 2004 - 2nd Place Student Safety Design Contest, "Tool Designs for the Safe Removal and Installation of Heavy Equipment Bucket Teeth," and "Design of a Driver's Seat Suspension System for Heavy-Duty Haulage Vehicles."

Engineers Without Borders:

• 2004/05 - Awarded US EPA grant for People, Prosperity and the Planet
• 2006 - Awarded Honorable Mention at the annual P³ Sustainable Design Competition in Washington, D.C.
• 2007 - Awarded Honorable Mention at P³ Sustainable Design Competition in Washington, D.C.

Alpha Sigma Nu National Jesuit Book Awards:

• 2001 - Extended Surface Heat Transfer by Dr. Abdul Aziz, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

ASME National Student Section Advisor Award for Top Faculty Advisor:

• 2002- Dr. Massimo Capobianchi, Chair & Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Local SME Student Paper Competition:

•  2007 - 2nd Place - Darcy Wagner "Plastic vs. Paper, A Manufacturing Perspective;" 3rd Place - Arlen Beers-Green "The Ideal Spacecraft Skin Material for a Manned Mission to Mars;" Consolation - Marie Gibbons "Product Standardization for the NCAA Basketball"