CHALLENGES IN THE DESIGN OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS
2026
To encourage students to think about the future of engineering design and the intellectual foundations which are essential for the development of the field, NSF and ASME sponsor a student design essay competition. Winners receive $1,500 to attend the 2026 ASME Design Technical Conference (IDETC) which will be in Houston, Texas (event.asme.org/IDETC-CIE).
Note – This competition is funded by NSF.
The Competition – Story
You are a consultant working for a high-tech, global manufacturing enterprise. That company wants to position itself as a high-tech global design and manufacturing enterprise by 2040. As a consultant, you want the company to succeed both domestically and globally, so you will need to:
- Define the characteristics of a successful high-tech enterprise in the year 2040.
- Identify the most important challenge this company will face in 2040 and focus your essay on this challenge. Propose a solution for this challenge. What needs to be done today to meet this challenge?
- Based on critical analysis, identify issues worthy of investigation. Be sure to include tables and figures as necessary. We are especially interested in the scientific foundations for understanding the product realization process which are suitable for a global enterprise in 2040.
As AI tools, including generative AI, are available, we believe you must learn to use them to your advantage. This year we encourage you to use generative AI and other AI tools to frame your essay and then comment on your experience. Acknowledge the tools that you use in your essay. Please ensure that you are not using material verbatim from already published material – that is a clear case of plagiarism. Your comments should be included in a separate document and should include which tool(s) you used, your queries, raw outputs, and how these were modified and adapted. You will be evaluated for checking for hallucinations, thoughtful prompts, and meaningful modifications of raw outputs. There is no page limit to the discussion of the use of AI. If you did not use AI, please state that also.
Judging Criteria
Students are judged on scholarship, the depth and sophistication of their arguments, logical presentation of material, correct English usage, and relevance to problems facing the US industry, government, and research communities. There are separate categories for graduate and undergraduate students.
Awards and Responsibilities
An award to cover expenses to attend the conference will be given to the winners of this competition, up to $1,500 per team. The reimbursement will take place after the conference upon the receipt of an invoice that includes receipts to substantiate expenditures. A winner must present his/her findings at a poster session at IDETC to receive reimbursement. Every winner will receive a certificate to record his/her accomplishment.
Submission Format and Dates
Any graduate or undergraduate student enrolled in a university anywhere in the world is eligible, although the focus is on students enrolled in universities in the United States. Multiple authors are limited to two people. The travel grant is shared between the co-authors. A student may receive no more than 2 awards over the years.
Essays should be no more than 10 pages long – this does not include the reference list. In addition, include a statement about your use of advanced AI tools and generative AI.
There are separate categories for submissions by graduate and undergraduate students. The submission may be the outcome of a course for which the student receives academic credit.
Deadlines
Papers due……………………………………………………………………………………….. May 15, 2026
Target for notification of winners………………………………………………………. June 25, 2026
IDETC 2026……………………………………………………………………………… August 23-26, 2026
Please include a cover page with:
Email address, phone number, and addresses for all authors, university affiliations including advisor’s name, and whether this submission is for the graduate or undergraduate category. NOTE – we will remove this page when sending the submission out for review, so this should be the only page on which your identifying information appears.
Submit Entries to Professor Janet K. Allen, janet.allen@ou.edu, +1-404‐403‐3296 and Professor Farrokh Mistree, farrokh.mistree@ou.edu, +1-404‐502‐9086.
For more information see https://idetctravel.com/.
About IDETC 2026
The 2026 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference will be held in Houston, TX. Check (event.asme.org/IDETC-CIE) for further information about this conference.
We gratefully acknowledge support from NSF Award 2345214. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in the submissions are those of the author(s) and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Janet K. Allen and Farrokh Mistree
janet.allen@ou.edu and farrokh.mistree@ou.edu
Facilitators of the NSF Design Essay Competition
NSF/ASME Student Design Essay Competition 