TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers recently received the Little Giant Award, a national award for its activities.

The Little Giant Award recognizes those student sections that show outstanding achievement based on student section effectiveness, including diversity of activities. To be considered for the award, an ASME chapter must be judged to have merited distinction in its respective region. The UA chapter received first place in region XI. Other colleges in the region include Auburn University, Mississippi State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

“Our student section of ASME has become increasingly active in recent years with students receiving national ASME scholarships and participating in more student competitions,” said Dr. Beth Todd, associate professor of mechanical engineering. “I’m very happy and proud to see all of their hard work and dedication recognized through this award.”

Founded in 1880, ASME International is a nonprofit educational and technical organization with 125,000 members serving as the primary technical society for mechanical engineers.

In 1837, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 1,900 students and more than 90 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.