Richard R. Torrens served ASCE for 17 years in the Publications Department Headquarters, and was Manager of Professional and Technical Publications at his untimely death in 1984. The high quality of ASCE's Journals is in no small measure a result of his dedication and his support of the volunteer Journal editors.

As a reflection of his distinguished service, the Richard R. Torrens Award will honor volunteer Journal editors who make outstanding contributions to the ASCE publications program.

Recent winners

2021:

  • Sue McNeil, Ph.D., Dist.M.ASCE, P.E.
  • Young Hoon Kwak, Ph.D., M.ASCE

View all winners

Rules

  1. To be eligible for consideration for the award, a candidate must have been the editor of an ASCE journal or practice periodical that is published at least quarterly for at least 12–18 months and meet as many of the aforementioned criteria as possible. Typically, the candidate will have served as editor for a period of years and developed a sustained record of accomplishments.
  2. ASCE Publications staff sends a call for nominations to the chair of the Executive Committee for each Division, Technical Council, and Institute that sponsors a journal or practice periodical. In addition, the chair of the subunit's publication committee is contacted unless the editor is the chair, in which case another of the officers is sent the information.
  3. Documentation specified on the bottom of the nomination form must be included with the nomination and includes information on turnaround time, percentage of manuscripts on the past-due list, growth of the publication, and other metrics which demonstrate interest and improvement in the journal or practice periodical. When possible, ASCE will also supply information substantiating reader interest in the journal, e.g., number of discussions and closures published, citation analysis, and statistics on number of visits to the online Web site.
  4. A subunit wishing to nominate an editor should supply a letter of nomination and a nomination form from the sponsoring subunit's executive committee, board of directors, board of governors, or similar governing body. The letter must explain how the editor meets the criteria for the award. The editor's resume should not be included, as the nomination is to be restricted to the individual's performance as editor, not his or her performance in the engineering profession. Supplementary letters may be provided by other members of the subunit who are familiar with the editor's performance and accomplishments with regard to the journal or practice periodical. Such letters are often helpful, as they highlight an editor's achievements from different points of view, and should be submitted by the nominator as part of the nomination package.
  5. The award is made by the ASCE Board Committee on Publications to a Journal editor whose contributions are considered outstanding. No more than 1 award will be made in a single year, and it is not required that an award be made every year.