The Elmer A. Sperry Award was established in 1955 to commemorate the life of Elmer A. Sperry, whose inventions, including the gyroscope, the first electric automobile, air and sea navigational aids, and many others, contributed to the advancement of many modes of transportation. To stimulate innovation in many fields, the Sperry Award recognizes “a distinguished engineering contribution which, through application, proved in actual service, has advanced the art of transportation, whether by land, sea, or air. Recipients have included such pioneers as the first jet-powered aircraft, the first nuclear-powered commercial ship, the diesel-electric locomotive, the Concorde, the Space Shuttle, the Supertanker, and the Global Positioning System.

The Sperry Award is unique. It is the only transportation engineering honor presented jointly by six professional engineering societies (ASME, IEEE, SNAME, SAE, AIAA, ASCE). Initially formed by the four Societies in which Elmer Sperry was most active, the Board added the Institute of Aerospace Science (now AIAA) in 1962. In 1990, the American Society of Civil Engineers became the sixth society to become a member of the Elmer A. Sperry Board of Award. Sperry served as the 48^th President of ASME and was a founding member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, which merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers to form the IEEE. Representatives from the highest level of each of the six Societies serve on the Sperry Board and select a recipient to receive the Sperry Award at one of the Societies’ conferences each year. The contribution and support of all six societies, including the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, are thus essential to the mission, prestige, and continuity of the Award.