Contest Status
Contest Disciplines
The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) and its educational and research organization, the ET Foundation, have opened for submissions the ETF 2027 Rick Merluzzi International Aluminum Extrusion Student Design Competition.
The competition aims to challenge and empower the next generation of designers to consider how aluminum extrusions can shape a more sustainable world and improve quality of life.
Winning student designs will be displayed at the Fourteenth International Aluminum Extrusion Technology Seminar and Exposition – ET ’27.
Submitted designs must feature at least one aluminum extrusion. Original designs are accepted, whether by inventing a new product or improving an existing one. The materials and product explanation are to highlight the advantages of extrusion.
Competition Categories
- Open Student Design – any viable extruded aluminum product design or extruded part assembly
- Sustainable Design Award – for the student design that best addresses societal and / or environmental challenges or concerns, in addition to the four basic judging criteria. The entry must be a viable, extrusion-based product that meets sustainability demands for the environment while contributing to quality of life for the intended users
Past entries cited for the Sustainable Design Challenge Award have included:
- Soil Erosion Control System
- Water Purification or Irrigation System
- Refugee, Temporary or Mobile Housing
- Portable Medical Isolation or Treatment Units
- Portable Cart / Bed for Refugees
- Space-saving Greenhouse
- Hydroponic and / or Vertical Gardening / Growing System
The best works will be awarded with scholarship awards.
Entries are judged in Spring 2027 by a panel of aluminum extrusion industry professionals, using the following criteria as a guide:
- Creativity – innovative design, new application capability, methods to meet a new design challenge
- Practicality – ease of fabrication and assembly, cost-effectiveness, use of extruded aluminum over other materials or processes
- Product / Process Advantage
- Market Impact / Potential
The organizers note that the extrusion profile is to fit within a 10-inch circle. Profiles larger than the circle are not considered practical designs for extrusion.
Prizes
A total of $15,500 in student scholarship awards is available, presented as cash awards. Winning entries will be awarded in the following amounts:
- First Place: $5,000
- Second Place: $4,000
- Third Place: $3,000
- Sustainable Design: $3,500
- Grand Prize: $3,500 – one Grand Prize awarded across all categories and classes, including the Professional Class.
Total prizes across the 2027 Design Competition, including the Professional Class, amount to $29,000.
In addition to cash awards, winning designs receive exhibition at ET ’27.
Eligibility
- High school students – must be enrolled at an accredited school
- Undergraduate and graduate university students – must be enrolled at an accredited school
- Trade, vocational / technical and design school students – must be enrolled at an accredited school
- Individual students and student teams – both are accepted. Each student on a team must complete, sign and date, and submit an official entry form with the submission
- Fields of study – including Design, Engineering, Architecture, and related disciplines
- Entry limits – multiple entries may be accepted. Designs must be original and use at least one aluminum extrusion
The Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition is organized by the Aluminum Extruders Council and the Extrusion Technology for Aluminum Profiles Foundation. The Student Design Competition is named in honor of former AEC Chairman Richard Merluzzi.
For further details, please check the official website.
No Entry Fee!
It's free to enter.
