The Underground Construction Association (UCA) is now accepting nominations for its 2027 awards.
The UCA Awards recognise individuals and project teams making a measurable impact across underground construction.
The winners will be announced at the Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference (RETC) which will be held in New Orleans from June 27-30 next year.
“An annual UCA Awards celebration serves as one of our most important events in terms of shedding light on the often underappreciated yet absolutely essential work of underground innovators,” said Jon Hurt, Arup fellow and principal (Tunnels), and chair of the UCA Awards Committee. “We look forward to recognising another outstanding class of awardees at RETC 2027 amongst a large audience of the industry’s best and brightest.”
Nominations close on November 10. The award categories are:
The UCA Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises individuals with outstanding achievements in the underground design and construction industry accomplished through design and/or construction of civil underground facilities.
2026 recipients: Jerome P Shaw, president, SAK LLC; Amanda Elioff, senior vice-president, national practice lead – Tunnels, WSP USA; Thomas J Clemens, president of North American Tunneling, DSI Underground (retired)
The Muddy Boots Award is presented to a field supervisor who has excelled in forward thinking and communication, creative problem solving in the field, mentoring, an ethic to provide high quality work, understanding of the project schedule and budget, and a record of fostering a strong safety culture.
2026 recipient: John Kiernan, general superintendent, Skanska Civil Northeast Outstanding Educator Award
The UCA Outstanding Educator Award is presented to academics and teachers who have had an exceptional career in academia and the education of underground design and construction.
2026 recipient: Tom Iseley, Professor of Engineering Practice, Purdue University Person of the Year Award
The UCA Person of the Year Award which recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of tunnelling and underground construction and to UCA during the last two to five years as well as sustained involvement in UCA activities.
2026 recipient: Moussa Wone, chief engineer and vice-president, DC Water
Project of the Year Award which is presented to an individual or a group that has shown insight and understanding of underground construction in a significant project. This may include practices, developing concepts, theories, or technologies to overcome unusual problems within a project, resulting in little to no outstanding issues. The award has three categories: projects below US$50m; projects US$50-500m; and projects more than US$500m.
2026 recipients: Merco Inc, Legislative Plaza Renovations Project; Fermi Forward Discovery Group (FFDG), Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility Project
Technical Innovation of the Year Award which recognises innovations implemented in projects one year prior to the closing of nominations. Examples include an application, process, or technology that significantly advanced the capabilities of the underground construction industry to deliver safe, efficient, and sustainable underground solutions.
2026 recipient: Arup, Loupe360 and Automated Tunnel Inspection Innovation
Young Member Award which is presented to a member aged 35 or under who has excelled in one or more of the following areas: technical accomplishment; development of innovative initiatives; challenging and improving industry practices; and leadership in major technically complex operations through contributions to the tunnelling and underground construction profession and/or UCA.
2026 recipient: Jack Lawrence, tunnel engineer, HNTB
To view the full guidelines for each award and make a nomination, visit click here.
