Awarded annually by the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs to outstanding graduate students entering or continuing in a degree program within the Faculty of Engineering and Design. Recipients will be chosen by the awards committee of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs from a list of candidates recommended by each department within the Faculty of Engineering and Design. Endowed in 1974 in memory of John Ruptash, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and later Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs from 1959 to 1973 by relatives, former students, faculty colleagues and friends. Revised 2023.