In July 1946, the Board of Direction authorized annual awards on recommendation by the Society’s Committee on Research to stimulate research in civil engineering. In October 1964, Mrs. Alberta Reed Huber endowed these prizes in honor of her husband, Walter L. Huber, Past President, ASCE. The Research Prize may be given to members of the Society in any grade for notable achievements in research related to civil engineering. At the time of nomination (October 1 of the year preceding the year of award) nominees must either be under 40 years of age or have worked no more than 12 years since receiving their doctoral degree, whichever is less restrictive. No one shall receive a Research Prize more than once. Criteria for consideration shall include: (1) the nominee’s total number of citations; (2) the nominee’s h-index; (3) the nominee’s total research funding received to date; and (4) two or three letters of recommendation, where no more than one letter may be from a person employed at the same institution as the nominee.

Professor J.N. Reddy received the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize in 1983 when he was a Professor in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.