GRW has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 54th annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for its role in “Next Round Brewing,” a Kentucky-based initiative sponsored by Clean Water Professionals of Kentucky & Tennessee, and the Kentucky/Tennessee Section of American Water Works Association.
As described in the release from ACEC's national headquarters in Washington, D.C., Next Round Brewing was formed to inspire and promote dialogue regarding the value of the nation’s most precious resource and the importance of water reuse. The program’s accomplishments included the development of a portable and scalable system to treat wastewater treatment effluent using existing water treatment technology and provide 2,000 gallons of safe, high-quality water suitable for four Louisville breweries to create high-quality craft beers.
In addition, the program sought to change public perceptions about wastewater. Chemical engineering students from the University of Louisville’s Speed School of Engineering developed conceptual designs for the treatment of effluents. As Next Round Brewing’s primary engineering firm participant, GRW provided overall coordination of the program’s key participants, equipment vendors, and brewers, and ensured on-time delivery of technology components, testing, and water to meet specific deadlines.
The release notes that the project is eligible for additional honors as part of 173 entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in February and was conducted by a national 20-member panel of built-environment leaders, along with experts from government, media, and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.
Recognition of all award winners including top winners—20 Honor Awards, 16 Grand Awards, and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place during the 2021 Virtual EEA Gala, to be held Thursday, June 17, 2021.
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,200 independent engineering firms and more than 600,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations.