Contest April 12-15, 2026

The WERC Environmental Design Contest, founded in 1991, is a national competition that brings students, industry, and government together to solve real-world environmental challenges. Teams design innovative solutions at the Water, Energy, and Climate Nexus, responding to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) written by industry and agency partners. Celebrating 36 years, WERC continues to inspire practical, creative, and sustainable engineering.

Find out why... 

INFO WEBINAR FOR PROSPECTIVE TEAMS

• Panelists from EPA, DOE, USBR, Michigan Tech U, Washington U in St. Louis, & Ohio U.
• Why Industry/Gov't supports WERC.
• Why/how faculty bring teams from across the continent
• How WERC supports engineering retention. 

See Us in Action!

WERC 2025 Contest Highlights Video

Students at work, play, and everything in between. 

Xplore the Possibilities!

Learn about the IEEE WERC Conference

• The Conference operates independently from the Design Contest and is held as a separate event. 
• Teams entering the contest will be considered for publication in the IEEE Waste-management Education Conference (WERC) in the IEEE Xplore online journal.
• Conference dates: June 8 - 10, 2026

Teams coming in 2026 (so far)

California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
Central Michigan University
Louisiana State University
Michigan Tech University
Montana Technological University
New Mexico State University
Ohio University
Rensselaer Polytechnic University
University of Georgia
University of Pennsylvania
Washington University in St. Louis

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