The Extrusion Technology for Aluminum Profiles Foundation (ET Foundation) and the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) issued a call for entries for the ETF 2026 Rick Merluzzi Student Design Competition. The 2026 Student Design Competition is sponsored by MI Metals, Inc. in Oldsmar, Florida; Pennex Aluminum in Wellsville, Pennsylvania; and Bonnell Aluminum in Newnan, Georgia.
Students in high school, community college, trade/vocational school, or university, in STEM, engineering, industrial or architectural design are invited to enter their extruded aluminum product design or extruded part assembly. Individual students or student teams may choose to submit a Design Competition entry on their own, or as part of a classroom project or assignment.
Winning entries will be those that best demonstrate the benefits of aluminum extrusions — whether by inventing a new product or improving an existing one — by achieving the following objectives:
- Creativity – innovative design, new application capability, methods to meet a new design challenge
- Practicality – ease of fabrication and assembly, cost-effectiveness, use of extruded aluminum over other materials or processes, will a typical size extrusion press be able to produce your shape? Refer to the Design Tips section for more information.
- Product/Process Improvement – customization or improvement of extrusion processes, close tolerances, takes full advantage of extrusion capabilities to improve a product
- Market Potential – design/product marketability and likelihood of market success.
Student designs could win a Scholarship Award, with awards totaling US$15,500, which will be presented as cash awards to the best and most innovative student designs submitted. Winning entries will be awarded US$5,000 for First Place, US$4,000 for Second Place, US$3,000 for Third Place, and US$3,500 for the Sustainable Design Award.
Information on specific judging criteria and competition rules may be found on the AEC website. Or, download the 2026 Rick Merluzzi Student Design Competition Call for Entries brochure.
The deadline for entries is March 30, 2026. The international competition is judged by a panel of aluminum extrusion industry experts during the month of April 2026, and winners will be announced in May 2026.
Background
The Student Design Competition is named in honor of AEC Member and former AEC chairman Richard (Rick) Merluzzi, who championed Council academic outreach initiatives including the AEC STEM Extrusion Kit and Student Design Competition Scholarship Award Sponsorship, right up until his passing October 24 from cancer. Rick was instrumental in developing and implementing student outreach, including with his alma mater, Penn State University’s Learning Factory and Capstone Project program.
“Rick raised the bar very high for AEC Members to emulate. He has passed us a brightly burning torch,” noted Jason Weber, president of the AEC. “Members must ensure that we seek out and nurture every opportunity to educate students in our high schools, community colleges, trade schools, and universities, on the infinite possibilities of designing and making innovative products with aluminum extrusions. AEC is proud to enshrine Rick’s legacy by naming our Student Design Competition in his honor.”
The AEC is a progressive trade association dedicated to advancing the effective use of aluminum extrusion in North America. The Council is committed to bringing comprehensive information about extrusion’s characteristics, applications, environmental benefits, design, and technology to users, product designers, engineers and the academic community. Further, AEC is focused on enhancing the ability of its members to meet the emerging demands of the market through sharing knowledge and best practices.