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Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference 2026 (EMI 2026)

Boulder, Colorado | –

EMI Objective Resilience Student Paper-Presentation Competition

8th EMI Objective Resilience Student Paper-Presentation Competition 
Sponsored by: EMI Objective Resilience Committee (ORC) 


Purpose 

The Objective Resilience Committee (ORC) is hosting its eighth annual student competition for graduate students to present their research findings within the broad field of structure, infrastructure, and community resilience. The competition spans various types of structures and infrastructure systems under a suite of single or multiple hazards, involving advanced techniques to model the mechanical characteristics of the built environment under hazards. Additionally, it utilizes AI-enabled techniques to assess the resilience of large-scale structures and infrastructure systems, as well as optimization techniques to enhance the resilience of infrastructure and communities.

Requirements 

  • The lead author must be a graduate student and be present/registered at the 2026 EMI conference at the University of Colorado Boulder.
  • The submission must include only one student as the first co-author, along with the student's advisor or co-advisors. The work should primarily be the student's own, without assistance from other graduate students or post-doctoral fellows.
  • The paper needs to be accepted to a regular session (or mini-symposium).
  • The graduate student should present the submission at the ORC student competition session (date to be announced).

Process 

  • Submit an abstract in the thematic area of objective resilience through the conference paper management system by the stated conference deadline (Jan 15, 2026).
  • Within one week of receiving the abstract-acceptance notification (expected around Feb 15, 2026), forward the abstract acceptance notification and express interest in the competition to Prof. Milad Roohi at [email protected].
  • Submit an eight-page full paper to Prof. Milad Roohi at [email protected]. by April 1, 2026. Please use the following format for the paper.
  • A panel of expert judges will review the papers for overall quality and relevance to the topic of competition. Selected papers will be invited to present at the EMI Conference at the University of Colorado Boulder.
  • A statement of contribution should be included at the end of paper, highlighting that most of the research and writing was conducted by the graduate student, with guidance and support from the advising faculty. Papers lacking this statement will be rejected without any further review.
  • Register for the EMI conference and present at the student competition session.
  • Following the special session presentation, a panel of expert judges will choose the top three winning papers. Criteria will be based on the overall quality and relevancy of the written paper to the committee’s work (50 pts), presentation quality (30 pts), and following the Q&A period with judges (20 pts). Judges with any conflicts of interest will recuse themselves from evaluating submissions that are affected by those conflicts.

Prizes 

  • The committee will award up to three cash prizes to the top presentations/publications. Only student authors are eligible for monetary prizes.
  • Awards will be presented to the competition winners during a ceremony specifically for student competitions.
  • Student finalists will be invited to submit an extended version of their papers for a by-invitation-only special collection in the Journal of Engineering Mechanics- Example from previous years.

Contact 

Learn More- ORC (.PDF)

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