The Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize will be presented biennially beginning February 2001. Modeled after the Nobel Prize, it will recognize outstanding achievement in an engineering field of critical importance that contributes to improving the human condition.

The Russ Prize is one of the top two engineering prizes in the world, awarding winners $500,000.

The prize was established in October 1999 through a multimillion-dollar endowment to Ohio University from Fritz Russ, a 1942 engineering graduate, and his wife, Dolores. It was established to honor the profession of engineering and attract more men and women to the field.

Selection Process

Nominations for the prize are submitted to the National Academy of Engineering, which creates a search committee comprised of members of the academy and Ohio University officials to review and select a winner. The winner must have made an advancement that has greatly affected human society. The first Russ Prize will be awarded for a breakthrough in the field of biotechnology engineering.

Fritz and Dolores Russ

A native of Jackson, Ohio, Fritz Russ graduated from Ohio University in 1942 with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. During a distinguished engineering career, he helped lead breakthroughs in television technology, atomic weapons testing systems, engine controls, aircraft weaponry, space flight and medical technology.

Russ began his career at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. In 1955, Fritz and his wife opened Systems Research Laboratory, which went on to become one of the largest and best-regarded independent engineering and high-tech research firms of its kind. The company had grown to 1,000 employees when the Russes merged it with Arvin Industries, Inc. in 1987.

Ohio University

Ohio University was chartered by the state of Ohio in 1804 and is the oldest university in the Northwest Territory. It is one of the top 50 public universities in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. More than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students attend the main campus in Athens and five regional campuses in southeastern Ohio. In 1994, the university's College of Engineering was re-named and dedicated to Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ.