Engineering Alumni Network Impact Awards

Rising Star Award
This award recognizes a graduate under 40, working within or beyond engineering, who has achieved remarkable early-career success and significantly impacted their field. These alumni are cross-disciplinary thinkers who make meaningful contributions to ideas that shape the future. Nominees should consistently demonstrate innovative thinking and a pioneering spirit and show potential to transform their industries with bold vision and forward-looking leadership. Nominees must exhibit a clear trajectory of influence, creativity and innovation. 
 
2025 Rising Start nominees must be 40 years of age or younger as of December 31, 2025. 

Research & Innovation Award
This award honors a graduate or a group of graduates whose groundbreaking research or innovative discoveries in engineering advance knowledge, technology or methodologies. It recognizes engineering or scientific achievements with the potential to transform their field, community or society. Apply if your work emphasizes originality and forward-thinking impact. 

For team nominations, at least 50% of the team must be U of T Engineering graduates. 

Impact Award
This award celebrates exceptional contributions to industry, recognizing creativity, leadership and professional excellence in applying engineering principles to solve problems, achieve outstanding results and create meaningful impact on industry and society. Apply if your work inspires others and demonstrates significant influence and a lasting legacy in your field.

Citizenship Award
This award honours a graduate or group of graduates who have made a significant impact on the U of T Engineering community through their volunteer contributions or philanthropic vision. Through their leadership, they have enriched the lives of others with generous gifts of time, talent and/or financial support. 

Previously the Malcolm McGrath Service Award, this award is presented in memory of the late Malcolm McGrath, a 1954 Civil Engineering alumnus, pioneer of U of T Engineering alumni relations and fundraising, and the first Assistant Dean of Alumni Relations for the faculty. Malcolm was a true champion of U of T Engineering and was instrumental in creating a culture of service and philanthropy in our alumni community. 

For group nominations, at least 50% of the group must be U of T Engineering alumni to be considered. 

Distinguished Alumni Award
This award is the highest honor bestowed by the Engineering Alumni Network. It recognizes a University of Toronto Engineering graduate whose exceptional leadership and professional excellence have culminated in a distinguished career, significantly benefiting society on a global scale. Nominees have achieved remarkable success and made enduring contributions to their field, serving as an inspiration to the U of T Engineering community. 

Honourary Alumnus/a
The designation of Honourary Alumnus/a is given to a non-graduate who has made significant contributions to the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. This award is given out under special circumstances at the discretion of the Dean and not normally on an annual basis.

*Please note the L.E. (Ted) Jones Award of Distinction, which celebrates a graduating student who has made substantial contributions to the arts, has moved to the Engineering Society Awards to better reflect the spirit of the award.*

• Nominees must be a living graduate of a University of Toronto Engineering undergraduate or graduate degree.
• Rising Star nominees must be 40 or younger on December 31 of the nomination year  
• Nominations may be submitted by alumni, faculty, staff, students, colleagues and friends. 
• Individuals may self-nominate, provided the nominee completes all parts of the nomination package. 
• Nominees may be nominated in only one award category 
• Nominees cannot receive the same award more than once
• Eligibility of EAN Award recipients from 2023 and earlier
  
  • Early Career Award recipients are not eligible for the Rising Star Award 
  • 2T5 Mid-Career Achievement Award recipients are not eligible for the Research and Innovation Award or the Industry Award
  • Malcolm F. McGrath Alumni Achievement Award recipients are not eligible for the Citizenship Award
  • Hall of Distinction recipients are not eligible for the Research and Innovation Award or the Industry Award
  • Engineering Alumni Medal recipients are not eligible for the Research and Innovation Award, Industry Award or the Distinguished Alumni Award
• Nominees cannot be sitting politicians, elected or appointed officials or currently serving on Governing Council. 
• Posthumous nominations are ineligible. 
• Unsuccessful nominations will be considered for two cycles. Nominators will be contacted at the start of the second cycle with an opportunity to update the CV or letters of support with new information   
• Current members of the Adjudication Committee and the EAN Board are not eligible to act as nominator or be a nominee for an award while they are serving an active term.   
• Awards for each category need not be given every year.  

Award categories and nomination sources:

*Nominees must be 40 years or younger in the year of application 
**Contributions must be of a volunteer nature and not part of paid employment 

To complete a nomination, please use the nomination form here. This will capture all relevant contact information about the nominee and nominator.

Once submitted, please email two (2) support letters and CV/LinkedIn directly to the Engineering Alumni Network Awards Committee at eanawards@engineering.utoronto.ca.

Please refer to the Letters of Support Tip Sheet here for help guide sourcing strong letters of support.

If the nominee does not have an updated resume or LinkedIn profile, please download and complete the Resume Replacement Form here.

The following prompts may help prepare an effective nomination: 

1. Carefully read the award description for your target award.  This will largely dictate the kind of information you must gather to support your nomination.
   
2. Recruit two to three referees to write a reference letter of support. The nominator can be one of the referees but does not need to be.
3. Select referees who, by virtue of their position and knowledge of the candidate, can write a letter of support that details knowledge of the nominee's work and impact in the nominating award category.
4. The most important single item in your package is the letters of support. Letters of support should give a clear picture of your candidate's achievements, and their impact, and indicate the reasons for the nomination.
5. Each letter should emphasize different aspects of the nominee’s achievements and impact as related to the nominating category. Nomination forms must include detailed supporting evidence of the candidate's eligibility for the award. Supporting evidence must also include personal statements from the nominator and the two referees, explaining why the nominee deserves the award.
   
6. Prepare a thorough nomination, but please note that nomination packages must not exceed 15 pages in total, exclusive of the nomination form. For academic nominees, a shortened CV is preferred, however when that is not possible, a longer CV (exceeding the 10-page limit) is acceptable.
7. The CV and letter of support should be combined into one PDF document and emailed to eanawards@engineering.utoronto.ca for submission by March 31, 2025.
8. Name the file “Nominee Name_Award Name_2025”.
   • Examples: Jane Smith_Rising Star Award_2025, John Smyth_Distinguished Alumni Award_2025” 

If you have any questions regarding the nomination process, please contact:

Shannon Osborne, Manager of Alumni Relations
eanawards@engineering.utoronto.ca
(416) 978 4274