James Schwarz, P.E., was named the 2008 Young Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers at the 2008 Annual Conference in Portland, Ore.

Peter J. Sheridan III, P.E., has been awarded the Professional Engineers in Private Practice (PEPP) Merit Award at the 2008 National Society of Professional Engineers Annual Conference in Portland, Ore.

Five new products have been recognized for their innovative use of engineering principles and materials, as well as overall benefit to society, by the National Society of Professional Engineers's Professional Engineers in Industry.

Every day, companies across the U.S. are involved in the research and development of new products that stimulate the life and growth of our country. These products result from the contribution of engineers and engineering principles, while also providing an overall benefit to society. The National Society of Professional Engineers is seeking those innovative products and their inventors for consideration in the New Product Awards program, which provides wide recognition for both the products and the companies that create them.

Whether it's reducing an agency's environmental footprint; working on construction projects in Afghanistan; working on vital missile defense, infection control, and electron beams; or educating the next generation of engineers, these are just some of the responsibilities of the 10 high-caliber finalists for the Federal Engineer of the Year Award.

Kirankumar Topudurti, Ph.D., P.E., the deputy director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Champaign, Ill., has been named the National Society of Professional Engineers's 2009 Federal Engineer of the Year. Topudurti received the honor during the 30th Annual FEYA Banquet at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on February 19, 2009.

NSPE has launched a new and improved salary survey and members can now receive free, unlimited access to complete salary survey data just by participating. For many years, the Society published its own salary survey and then in 2003 began a joint survey with ASCE, ASME, and other engineering groups. Several months ago, NSPE decided to take the survey in a new direction for the benefit of both the society and its members.

For the first time since 2002, the Engineers Joint Contract Document Committee has updated its standard professional services contract for owner and engineer, EJCDC E-500, and the National Society of Professional Engineers made it available for purchase on February 2, 2009. EJCDC has been producing standard contract documents for over 32 years, and they are widely recognized as the most fair and objective documents in the engineering, construction, and design-build industries.

The National Society of Professional Engineers has named 34 professional engineers to its 2009 class of Fellow Members.

H. Ken Rigsbee, P.E., F.NSPE, received the National Society of Professional Engineers's 2009 Distinguished Service Award at its recent annual meeting in St. Louis.