DFI51 Student & Young Professor Call For Abstracts
Abstract Submission Deadline: Monday, December 1, 2025
DFI Educational Trust invites you to submit abstracts for the Student and Young Professor Paper Competitions. The authors of the winning papers will be invited to attend DFI's 51st Annual Conference on Deep Foundations (#DFI51) in Orlando to present their paper. Complimentary conference registration, two nights of lodging, and a $1,000 stipend for travel expenses will be provided to the winners.
Student Requirements
- Student must be enrolled in an accredited college or university in
an undergraduate or graduate program in the field of engineering,
construction or geological sciences.
- Papers are judged based on draft submissions. The paper must
be based on the student’s own work and be presented in his/
her own writing. Student(s) must be the primary author(s) of the
paper. Advisors and project collaborators may be paper coauthors
and must attest that the paper reflects the student’s own
work and writing.
- Multiple students may co-author a single paper submission for
the competition but will share the prize should their paper be
deemed the winner or runner-up.
- Papers should meet the requirements for publishing in the DFI
Journal.
Young Professor Requirements
- Professor must be a full-time, early career, faculty member
teaching or involved in research at an accredited college or
university at the time of submission.
- Professional field must be engineering, construction or
geological sciences.
- Papers are judged based on draft submissions. The paper
must be based on the professor’s own work and may include
contributions from his/her research students as secondary
authors.
- Papers should meet the requirements for publishing in the DFI
Journal.
- Student must be enrolled in an accredited college or university in an undergraduate or graduate program in the field of engineering, construction or geological sciences.
- Papers are judged based on draft submissions. The paper must be based on the student’s own work and be presented in his/ her own writing. Student(s) must be the primary author(s) of the paper. Advisors and project collaborators may be paper coauthors and must attest that the paper reflects the student’s own work and writing.
- Multiple students may co-author a single paper submission for the competition but will share the prize should their paper be deemed the winner or runner-up.
- Papers should meet the requirements for publishing in the DFI Journal.
Young Professor Requirements
- Professor must be a full-time, early career, faculty member
teaching or involved in research at an accredited college or
university at the time of submission.
- Professional field must be engineering, construction or
geological sciences.
- Papers are judged based on draft submissions. The paper
must be based on the professor’s own work and may include
contributions from his/her research students as secondary
authors.
- Papers should meet the requirements for publishing in the DFI
Journal.
Important Dates
- Abstracts Due: Monday, December 1, 2025
- Paper Deadline (up to 20-page paper): Monday, July 6, 2026
- Winners Announced and Comments Returned to Authors: August 2026
- Final PowerPoint Deadline (winner only): Friday, October 16, 2026