Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Vincennes University receive $25,000 grand prizes

NCEES is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 NCEES Surveying Education Award. This annual award recognizes surveying programs that best reflect the organization’s mission to advance licensure for surveyors in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

NCEES awarded the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Geospatial Science program the $25,000 grand prize in the four-year program category. The university delivers core geospatial science coursework to high school students via dual enrollment. The award jury praised the program for offering the most transformational and replicable model in the competition.

NCEES awarded the Vincennes University Surveying Technology program the $25,000 grand prize in the two-year program category. The university has developed a tiered pipeline for bringing students into the surveying profession and providing them with the necessary tools to become professionally licensed. The award jury praised the program for transforming from a narrow, traditional pathway to a comprehensive hub serving a wider student population

The jury selected four additional winners to receive the following awards:

Four-year programs
$15,000 winners
East Tennessee State University
Surveying and Mapping Science program

New Jersey Institute of Technology
Surveying Engineering Technology program

$10,000 winners
Ferris State University
Surveying Engineering program

Oregon Institute of Technology
Geomatics program

The award jury of NCEES members and representatives from surveying societies met virtually June 4, 2026, to select the winners. The prizes were awarded to qualifying programs to assist with each program’s continued efforts to promote the importance and value of surveying licensure.

Profiles of the winning programs will be posted as available at ncees.org/surveyingaward.

News release

Download the news release (PDF)

Opus College of Engineering receives $25,000 grand prize for water distribution project

NCEES is pleased to announce that Marquette University is the grand prize winner of the 2026 NCEES Engineering Education Award. The university received the award for a project completed by the Opus College of Engineering. The award jury met virtually on June 2, 2026, to select the $25,000 grand prize winner.

For the school’s project, Cruz Chich y Chumisa Water Distribution System, Guatemala, students prioritized the health, safety, and welfare of the Cruz Chich and Chumisa communities. The students assessed regional needs by considering existing infrastructure, material availability, construction familiarity, and financial constraints. Additionally, students planned for the project’s long-term sustainability by appointing a local water committee, providing training in operational maintenance, and teaching important hygiene and public health practices.

The jury selected seven additional winners to receive awards of $10,000 each:

• Arizona State University
  Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
  EWB Kenya Solar Chapter

• California State University, Los Angeles
  College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology
  Design of a 3D-Printed Aircraft

• George Mason University
  Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering
  Chincoteague Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements

• Gonzaga University
  School of Engineering and Applied Science
  Re-imagining Hillyard

• Howard University
  College of Engineering and Architecture
  Kenya Water Supply Project

• Saint Francis University
  School of STEAM
  American Eagle Paper Mill Waste Management

• University of Alaska Anchorage
  Civil Engineering Department
  Pre-approved Accessory Dwelling Units

NCEES will honor 10 individuals for their dedicated service to the organization and the engineering and surveying professions at its 2026 annual meeting in Henderson, Nevada.

President’s Award

President’s Award recipients have made outstanding contributions to NCEES and the advancement of licensure and the professions. These recipients are selected by the current president.

Richard Moore, P.L.S.

Distinguished Service Award with Special Commendation

Distinguished Service Award with Special Commendation recipients have made outstanding contributions to NCEES, their board and/or zone, and the advancement of licensure and the professions. These recipients have also received the Distinguished Service Award.

James Riney, P.E., P.S.
Dennis Truax, Ph.D., P.E.

Distinguished Service Award

Distinguished Service Award recipients have made outstanding contributions to NCEES, their board and/or zone, and the advancement of licensure and the professions.

David Beasley, Ph.D., P.E.
Christopher Knotts, P.E.

Meritorious Service Award

Meritorious Service Award recipients have made outstanding contributions to NCEES and provided outstanding service as member board staff.

Kathleen Nosbisch
Jon Wilbeck

Distinguished Examination Service Award

Distinguished Examination Service Award recipients have made outstanding contributions to an NCEES examination program.

Michael Behnke, P.E.
Chun Lau, P.E., S.E.
Raymond Prestridge, Jr., P.E.

NCEES is seeking licensed engineers and engineering faculty to participate in a knowledge content review for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. The results of this online survey will be used to update the content of the FE exam, a process that occurs every six to eight years.

NCEES requires a cross section of licensed engineers and engineering faculty—including those working in industry, consulting, the public sector, and academia—to complete the survey. If you are a licensed professional engineer or engineering faculty, we would appreciate your input. The survey can be completed in approximately 25 minutes.

Click here for access to the online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FE_Survey_2026

The survey will be open until April 27, 2026. Please help us spread the word about this important study by sharing this email with any colleagues who are licensed engineers or engineering faculty. NCEES sincerely thanks you for your contribution to ensure that the FE exam is reflective of current practice.

For more information, contact NCEES Exam Development Engineer Cheryl Warren, Ph.D., P.E., at help@ncees.org.

NCEES is seeking nuclear engineers to participate in a professional activities and knowledge study, or PAKS, for the PE Nuclear exam. The results of this online survey will be used to update specifications for the exam, which is used throughout the United States for licensing purposes.

NCEES requires a cross section of engineers practicing nuclear engineering—including those working in industry, consulting, the public sector, and academia—to complete an online survey about the tasks and knowledge required of a nuclear engineer with four to six years of experience to practice in a manner that safeguards the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The survey can be completed in approximately 20-40 minutes and is open to licensed and non-licensed engineers.

“These studies help NCEES ensure its licensing exams remain relevant to current professional practice,” explained Chief Officer of Examinations Lehmon Dekle, P.E. “The value of this PAKS depends on the number of people who participate, so NCEES is eager to get a large response from engineers across all areas of nuclear engineering.”

For access to the online survey, visit ncees.org/NuclearPAKS.

The American Nuclear Society has agreed to award a professional development hour (PDH) for time spent taking the survey. The survey results will remain anonymous, but the survey will allow participants to opt in by entering an email address where the PDH certificate can be sent.

The survey opened March 6, 2026, and will remain open until June 8, 2026.

Download the news release (PDF).

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Interorganizational Council on Regulation (ICOR)—comprised of design profession regulatory associations including the Council for Interior Design Qualification (CIDQ), the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)—has released landmark guidance to address longstanding challenges related to overlapping and incidental practice among the licensed and certified design professions. This guidance was developed through an unprecedented, multi-organization collaboration to help regulators and professionals understand the roles and responsibilities of the different professions and where they overlap.

“What makes this effort truly significant is the level of collaboration behind it,” said Wendy Ornelas, Chair of the ICOR Practice Overlap Task Force. “Regulatory leaders and subject matter experts from across the design professions worked together to identify where practice legitimately overlaps and where clear boundaries are necessary. Grounded in recognized standards, this collaboration helps ensure the guidance reflects real-world practice while upholding our shared commitment to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public.”

Launched in 2022, the Practice Overlap Task Force is the first coordinated, multi-profession effort to bring clarity, consistency, and transparency to areas where the scopes of architecture, engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, and surveying intersect. The goal is to support defensible regulatory decision-making while encouraging appropriate interdisciplinary collaboration to protect public health, safety, and welfare.

Guided by a steering committee and informed by dozens of volunteer subject matter experts from across 27 jurisdictions, the initiative analyzed licensure and certification standards across all five professions—including definitions of practice, education, experience, and examination requirements. The review identified 53 topic areas where overlap may occur, which were organized into several groups, outlining tasks where shared involvement is appropriate and does not create regulatory conflict and where clear delineation and regulation is required to ensure competent practice.

The resulting Practice Overlap Guidance offers shared benefits across professions by:

• Providing a clearer, more consistent understanding of who is qualified to perform specific tasks
• Supporting interdisciplinary work without unnecessary restrictions
• Strengthening the credibility and value of licensure
• Highlighting areas where qualified professionals may be underrecognized
• Reducing conflict by identifying logical overlaps based on competence to practice safely

Click here to view the full news release.

NCEES is seeking industrial and systems engineers to participate in a series of two anonymous online surveys: one for the FE Industrial and Systems exam, and one for the PE Industrial and Systems exam.

Every 6–8 years, NCEES reviews its exam content for each exam we offer. This year, the FE Industrial and Systems exam has entered into a knowledge content review, and the PE Industrial and Systems exam has entered into a PAKS (professional activities and knowledge study) at the same time.

NCEES requires a cross section of engineers practicing industrial and systems engineering—including those working in industry, consulting, the public sector, and academia—to complete the surveys. Specifically, the FE Industrial and Systems exam survey is open to licensed engineers as well as non-licensed faculty members, while the PE Industrial and Systems exam survey is open to licensed engineers only. Each survey is estimated to take 20–30 minutes. It is important that we have as much participation as we can in both surveys and would appreciate your input.

• FE Industrial and Systems Exam Survey Link: https://ncees.org/FEcontentreview
• PE Industrial and Systems Exam Survey Link: https://ncees.org/IndustrialPAKS

The FE Industrial and Systems survey will be open until April 27, 2026, while the PE Industrial and Systems survey will be open until June 12, 2026. Please help us spread the word about these important studies by sharing this email with colleagues who are industrial and systems engineers. NCEES sincerely thanks you for your contribution to ensure that the FE Industrial and Systems exam and the PE Industrial and Systems exam are reflective of the current practice of industrial and systems engineering.

The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE.org) has agreed to award a professional development hour (PDH) for time spent taking the surveys. The survey results will remain anonymous, but each survey will allow you to opt in by entering an email address where your PDH certificate can be sent.

For more information, contact NCEES Exam Development Engineers Cheryl Warren, Ph.D., P.E., for the FE survey, or William Bowen, P.E., for the PE survey at help@ncees.org.