Wauconda, Illinois– The Extrusion Technology for Aluminum Profiles Foundation (ET Foundation) and the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) have opened the ETF 2026 Rick Merluzzi Student Design Competition Call for Entries. The deadline for Entries is March 30, 2026.
Student designs could win a Scholarship Award, with awards totaling $15,500 that will be presented as cash awards to the best and most innovative student designs submitted. Winning entries will be awarded in these amounts (in USD): First Place - $5,000; Second Place - $4,000; Third Place - $3,000; and Sustainable Design - $3,500.
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. 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,” said AEC President Jason Weber.
Rules, judging criteria, resources, and entry form are available in the competition’s Call for Entries brochure. Students in high school, community college, trade/vocational school, or university, in STEM, engineering, industrial or architectural design may 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. Information on specific judging criteria and competition rules may be found on the AEC website, here.
The ETF 2026 Student Design Competition is sponsored by MI Metals, Inc., Oldsmar, Florida; Pennex Aluminum, Wellsville, Pennsylvania; and Bonnell Aluminum, Newnan, Georgia.
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. Entries received on or before March 30, 2026 will be considered by the judges.
Each entry must be accompanied by a completed entry form for each student, whether entering individually or as part of a Team. Entries and entry forms must be submitted either by email, to mail@etfoundation.org, or by mail to: ET Foundation, 1000 N. Rand Road, Suite 214, Wauconda, IL 60084 USA.
For additional information, download the ETF 2026 Rick Merluzzi Student Design Competition Call for Entries brochure here.
About the ET Foundation
The Extrusion Technology for Aluminum Profiles Foundation has been established for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes to develop, promote, provide, and fund education and research related to aluminum extrusion processes and technologies. For more information, contact the ET Foundation mail@etfoundation.org or visit www.etfoundation.org, and follow news about ET ’24 on our LinkedIn page, and on Facebook and Twitter.
About AEC
The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) is a progressive trade association dedicated to advancing the effective use of aluminum extrusion in North America. AEC 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. For more information, visit www.aec.org and follow AEC on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
