Werner H. Gumpertz Award - Guidelines
Werner H. Gumpertz Award
Rationale for Establishment of the Award
The award, established in 2019, honors Werner H. Gumpertz, a Fellow and 57-year member of ASTM, former Chair of Committee D08 on Roofing and Waterproofing, and member of four other ASTM committees. In addition to his distinguished service to ASTM, Mr. Gumpertz was a member of numerous other professional organizations dedicated to topics including concrete, masonry, fire protection, and thermal efficiency. A prolific author and presenter, he authored 28 publications and gave 75 presentations in eight countries over the course of his career. While perhaps best known for his expertise in roofing and waterproofing, Mr. Gumpertz’s publications and presentations also encompassed a wide range of topics including masonry, curtain walls, concrete floors, sustainability, parking structures, and the reconstruction of damaged bridges in Germany after World War II. His breadth and depth of expertise enabled him to understand and solve multidisciplinary problems where others had faltered, such as the interaction of steel studs and brick veneer, and the effects of structural movement on roofing systems.
Award Criteria
The Werner H. Gumpertz Award may be presented based on the following criteria:
- Significant professional contributions to the state of knowledge through laboratory testing or research, industry organizations, publications, and/or presentations.
AND one or both of the following:
- Breadth of expertise encompassing two or more disciplines within the construction industry, and work on multidisciplinary technical problems.
- Depth of expertise specifically in the field of building enclosure technology.
Awards Committee Structure
The award shall be administered by the Werner H. Gumpertz Awards Committee consisting of three members of the Society representing various disciplines in the construction industry. Members of the committee shall serve three-year staggered terms. The person having seniority on the committee shall serve as Chair. Appointments to the committee shall be made by the Chair of the Werner H. Gumpertz Awards Committee.
Nomination Process
Nominations for the award shall be solicited from the ASTM membership through a notice to be placed by staff in an issue of Standardization News and through appropriate announcements as needed.
Both members and nonmembers are eligible to receive the award.
Nominations must be received in the form of a letter documenting the contributions of a candidate. Include a brief professional biographical background of the nominee. Do not include personal data. The citation should contain one prepared sentence that summarizes why the nominee is being considered for the award; this sentence will appear on the plaque if the nominee is selected.
Selection Process
The Werner H. Gumpertz Awards Committee shall via telephone, email, or mail, consider nominations.
The Werner H. Gumpertz Awards Committee will review each nomination presented and, if necessary, request further information to support evaluation of the nominee.
A majority affirmative vote of the committee shall constitute an approval of a recipient.
Should, in the opinion of the Committee, no candidate be worthy of the award, no award shall be given during the calendar year.
Nominations are valid for only one year, but unsuccessful nominations may be re-submitted twice more up to a maximum of three consecutive years. When a nomination is unsuccessful, the Chair of the Werner H. Gumpertz Awards Committee has the discretion to advise ASTM headquarters to inform the nominating Technical Committee that the unsuccessful nomination is worthy of re-submittal.
The Chair of the Committee shall notify the recipient of its selection via a letter containing an appropriate statement as to the basis for selection of the recipient and citation for the plaque.
The Board Chair shall present the award at an ASTM meeting of the recipient's choice.
- Nominations must be submitted no later than December 1st. Nominations received after December 1st will be considered for the following year. The nominating committee must determine a recipient no later than six weeks prior to the April Committee Week meetings. The award will be presented at a meeting of the Technical Committee that submitted the nomination.
- Nominations must be reviewed by the Werner H. Gumpertz Awards Committee.
- The Werner H. Gumpertz Awards Committee must determine that the nominee has met the Award Criteria included above.
- The Werner H. Gumpertz Awards Committee must solicit each year written nominations from technical committee members and consider the eligibility of the nominees for the award.
- This award may be presented to one individual annually. A submitted nomination is not guaranteed to receive the award. There is no expectation that the award will be given every year.
- An individual is only eligible as a recipient of this Award one time.
Award Format
The award shall consist of a walnut plaque, with royal port velvet background containing a bronze bas-relief portrait medallion of Werner H. Gumpertz, a bronze ASTM logo disc, and a bronze plate suitable for engraving. Wording on the plaque shall read:
Werner H. Gumpertz Award
Presented to
Name of Recipient
In recognition of your (insert citation provided with the nomination of the candidate)
Date of award
Signature of President and signature of Board Chair
In addition, a plaque hanging on the wall at ASTM Headquarters shall display the names of recipients over the years.
Financial Support
The large wall plaque for permanent display at ASTM headquarters, has been budgeted for and will be covered by a gift from Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. The cost of the individual plaques and their inscriptions will be paid from the General Fund of ASTM International.
Search for past recipients through the ASTM International Awards and Recipients Database