Purpose:
- To foster active participation of emerging professionals in EMI conferences, specifically in experimental analysis, instrumentation and sensing methods, and advanced materials.
- To facilitate young professionals' interactions with EA&I committee members and each other, promoting professional development, community bonds, and leadership roles.
- To enhance technical writing and presentation skills while encouraging high-quality submissions to the flagship journals of EMI, like Journal of Engineering Mechanics.
Requirements:
- Participant must be a current student and lead author of an abstract in EA&I areas, including but not limited to structural health monitoring, system identification, smart materials and structures, and structural control.
- One abstract can only be submitted to an EMI conference student competition. The submission will be disqualified if the same paper is also submitted to another competition organized by a different EMI technical committee at the conference.
- Key dates for the authors:
-The abstract must be submitted to the EMI website by January 15, 2026 - You will need to submit a formal EMI abstract to be eligible to attend the student competition.
-Express interest by emailing Ann Sychterz, [email protected] with abstract details by March 1, 2026.
-Submit a 4-page full paper following the SHMC template to Ann Sychterz, [email protected] by April 1, 2026. - The full paper must be submitted in two versions: original with authors and affiliations; anonymized version without author details.
Deadlines:
- January 15, 2026 - EMI abstract submission deadline.
- March 1, 2026 - Express interest in participating by emailing Ann Sychterz, [email protected]
- April 1, 2026 - Submit both versions of the 4-page full paper to Ann Sychterz, [email protected].
Prizes:
Three winners named EA&I Student Paper Competition Winners, each receiving a certificate of commendation and a cash award from the EA&I committee.
Process:
- Expert judges from the EA&I committee will review anonymized manuscripts. The review process will be double-blinded. The reviewers shall not have conflict of interest with the submissions.
- The panel will select top papers (approximately 5 finalists) based on the review feedback.
- The selected papers will be presented by student participants in the conference, tentatively after the EMI EA&I committee meeting.
- EA&I committee members, who are present at the special session and are not co¬ authors of the selected top papers, will vote anonymously to rank the presentations.
- The three final winners will be announced during the EMI conference, usually at the conference banquet.
Contact
Ann Sychterz [email protected] and Luis Zelaya [email protected].