CTBUH 2019 Student Research Competition: Tall Building Performance

Competition Brief

The goal of the 2019 Student Research Competition is to assist talented students, working in groups under the guidance of a professor, to focus on a relevant research question, and create an engaging output as a response. Research proposals should directly relate to the 2019 topic of “Sustainable Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat”. Proposals can come from any topic/discipline, including but not limited to: architecture, construction, energy issues, environmental engineering, façade design, financial & cost issues, fire & life safety, humanities, infrastructure, interiors, maintenance & cleaning, materials, MEP engineering, policy making, resource management, seismic, social aspects, structural engineering, systems development, urban planning, vertical transportation, wind engineering, etc. It is up to the students to interpret the theme, and outline how their research will address it, including how the funds will be used to support the intended outcome. In fact, the ultimate objective of this award is to give the chance to students of any discipline to immerse, for the first time, in detailed, academic research, under the guidance of a professor, in a topic that the students are particularly interested and invested in.

Submission Deadline

Proposals (via the online survey, accessed here) are due by Friday May 31, 2019 (12:00 p.m. Chicago time). To express your interest in participating prior to this date, to discuss the suitability of your proposal in more detail, or to ask any questions, please contact: [email protected].

Please Note: The Student Research Competition is open to students under the guidance of a professor, while the CTBUH International Research Seed Funding initiative is aimed specifically at research professionals. It is therefore not possible to submit a proposal to both programs.

Award

The award for this competition will be provided by the Funding Sponsor in the amount of $20,000, paid in two installments of $10,000. CTBUH will facilitate the transfer of funds to the appropriate university or professor involved with this project to support the students in their research activities. Please note: the budget cannot be used to cover costs to attend the CTBUH conference and collect the award, or to disseminate the findings at conferences, symposiums, etc. It needs to be used for the actual research in some way.

Key Dates

• March 20, 2019 - Competition Formally Launched
• May 31, 2019 - Submission Deadline
• June 10 – July 1, 2019 - Judging Period
• July 22, 2019 - Decision Communicated to Winning Team
• October 28 / November 02, 2019 - Winner Announced at the CTBUH 2019 World Congress
• Late 2019 / Early 2020 - Research Project Undertaken

Proposal Submission Requirements / Submission Template

All applications must be submitted in English. All proposals should include information/details necessary for the jury to understand the research ideas and anticipated outcomes. The award funds are intended to finance the student’s research work and may be used to cover all expenses which serve this purpose (including the necessary equipment and material, travel expenses directly related to the research itself, etc.). It may not be used to cover salaries, tuition, or indirect costs of the research, nor be used for dissemination (attending to conferences, publishing papers/books, etc.). CTBUH will assist with the dissemination of progress and findings to the international community through its normal channels – publications, website, newsletters, etc.

Team Submissions

Applications will be accepted from either students, as individuals or groups, or PhD candidates. In both cases, a professor of the belonging faculty will act as a primary student advisor. The academic professional must represent public or private institutions that can effectively carry out the research (i.e., non-institutional, individual private submissions will not be accepted). Each student or team can submit only one research proposal. The submitter or team members do not need to be CTBUH members, however, it is expected that the award recipient(s) will become CTBUH members and get involved in the activities of the Council more generally. Team projects may have as many students that are deemed necessary, but must designate one academic professional who will serve also as the communication liaison with the CTBUH.

Selection Committee & Criteria

The evaluation of proposals will be guided by the expert jury, with guidance from the funding sponsor. The jury reflects a group of tall building/urban experts from around the world as well as academics and university professors. The CTBUH reserves the right to reject all applications and make no awards.

The criteria for selection include the following broad guidelines:

1. Quality of the proposed research topic objectives, appeal of the topic, and methodology (20 points)
2. Experience and aptitude of the advisor and students to deliver on the project and to produce an interesting output (20 Points)
3. Relevance, novelty, and suitability for the result to be published in the form determined by the submitter (20 Points)
4. Justification of project support expenses for which funds will be used (20 points)
5. Awareness of research limitations and timeline (10 points)
6. Clarity of the written proposal including proper use of grammar (10 points)

Post Award Procedures

The goal of the work under the auspices of the award is to initiate and conduct research in a formal partnership with the CTBUH.

1. The CTBUH expects the award recipient to attend the CTBUH 2019 World Congress to collect the award. CTBUH will offer a complimentary Conference Only registration for the academic professional or student of the winning proposal. The award funds should not be used to cover the recipient remaining costs to participate at the event.
2. Following the successful award announcement, the award recipient must facilitate the execution of a signed funding agreement between the academic professional and the Council within 30 days.
3. The actual research must start within a reasonable timeframe from the award, in conjunction with the winning institution’s academic schedule.
4. In all announcements, publications, presentations and other outputs in connection with this project, the award recipient should include appropriate reference to the funding provided by the sponsor with the phrasing “with kind support of the Council on Tall Buildings and [sponsor company name].”
5. The CTBUH expects the home institution of the academic professional (which has, among other things, the necessary experiences of institutional, legal and labor issues) to take on fiduciary responsibility for the administration of the award funds in the name of, and on behalf of, the academic professional, to distribute the funds to the students, as they see fit. For this purpose, an agreement must be concluded between the academic professional and the home institution, and submitted to CTBUH before the award funds are paid.
6. The award recipients will submit full and complete reports to the Council of the findings of the research, including the manner in which the funds are spent and the progress made in accomplishing the purposes of the grant (two reports are necessary – interim and final);
7. The award recipients will keep records of receipts covering all expenditures and supply justification of the complete expenditure to CTBUH for accounting purposes.
8. The award recipient will cooperate with the Council staff on all publicity and media related to the award, its progress and outcomes throughout the duration of the funding and afterward.
9. The award recipient will repay any amount not used for the purposes of the grant if not expended within 12 months of the award announcement.
10. The CTBUH considers it essential that research results be published. The form in which this research will be published, should be clearly outlined in the submission form.

About the CTBUH

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is the world’s leading resource for professionals focused on the inception, design, construction, and operation of tall buildings and future cities. Founded in 1969 and headquartered at Chicago’s historic Monroe Building, the CTBUH is a not for profit organization with an Asia Headquarters office at Tongji University, Shanghai; a Research Office at Iuav University, Venice, Italy; and an Academic Office at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. CTBUH facilitates the exchange of the latest knowledge available on tall buildings around the world through publications, research, events, working groups, web resources, and its extensive network of international representatives. The Council’s research department is spearheading the investigation of the next generation of tall buildings by aiding original research on sustainability and key development issues. The Council’s free database on tall buildings, The Skyscraper Center, is updated daily with detailed information, images, data, and news. The CTBUH also developed the international standards for measuring tall building height and is recognized as the arbiter for bestowing such designations as “The World’s Tallest Building.”