The National Building Museum will award Caterpillar Inc. the 2011 Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology during a ceremony Sept. 14, 2011. The Turner Prize jury chose Caterpillar Inc. for its long history of innovation within the construction industry.
“Since the early days of the corporation, Caterpillar has consistently excelled in developing innovative products to meet the emerging technical and market challenges of the construction and mining industries,” Clyde Tatum, Henry C. Turner Prize jury member and Obayashi Professor in the School of Engineering at Stanford University, said in a press release. “Their recent examples of increasing the sustainability and productivity of their products provide further evidence of their leadership.”
According to jury member Art Gensler, founder and chairman of the architectural firm bearing his name, Caterpillar has “taken American technology and know-how around the world.”
For more than 85 years, Caterpillar has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. The company also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services, and Progress Rail Services. From finding new ways to harness the power of advanced hydraulic systems, to exploring the reach of autonomous technologies, to mining product performance data to enable giant machines to be used more safely, efficiently, and precisely, Caterpillar innovation is focused on providing solutions to customer business challenges.
“This is a tremendous honor for Caterpillar,” said Tana Utley, Caterpillar chief technology officer, who will receive the Turner Prize on behalf of Caterpillar. “Throughout our history our customers have counted on us to solve their toughest problems. And those problems are only becoming more complex. We rely heavily on new technologies and the talents of our people to employ the kind of innovative solutions that help our customers succeed. The Henry C. Turner Prize is a wonderful recognition of the impact Caterpillar has had on our customers and our industry.”
The National Building Museum’s executive director, Chase W. Rynd, presents the Henry C. Turner Prize during a public ceremony at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. from 6:30 – 8:00 pm on Wednesday, September 14, 2011. Tana Utley, Caterpillar chief technology officer, discusses innovation in the context of nearly 100 years of product development expertise, including pioneering ways to move more dirt with less fuel and fewer emissions. Jan Tuchman, editor in chief of Engineering News-Record, leads a panel discussion on current and future technologies that address global energy and infrastructure needs. Panelists include Utley and other professionals from the Caterpillar engineering, dealer, and customer network. Registration for the event is required. To register visit go.nbm.org/turnerprize2011.
Caterpillar Inc. was unanimously selected as the recipient of the Turner Prize by the Henry C. Turner Prize jury, composed of five members:
The Henry C. Turner Prize is named after the founder of Turner Construction Company which was established in 1902 in New York City. The prize recognizes an invention, an innovative methodology, and/or exceptional leadership by an individual or team of individuals in construction technology. This includes construction techniques, innovations and practices, construction and project management, and engineering design.
Peter Davoren, president and chief executive of Turner Construction Company said, “Innovation and the intelligent implementation of technology are important characteristics of a company that help drive advances in our industry. We congratulate Caterpillar on their well-earned recognition as the 2011 recipient of the Henry C. Turner Prize.”
Since its inception in 2002, the Turner Prize has been awarded to: structural engineer Leslie E. Robertson; architect I.M. Pei; engineer and builder Charles A. DeBenedittis; the U.S. Green Building Council; Paul Teicholz, founder of Stanford University’s Center for Integrated Facility Engineering; Gehry Partners and Gehry Technologies; Charles Thornton, engineer and founder of the ACE Mentor Program; and Engineers Without Borders-USA.
The Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology is sponsored by the Turner Construction Company. In 2001 the Turner Construction Company established an endowment to support the prize which carries a cash award of $25,000.