Last week, the third annual Digital Engineering Awards brought global engineering leaders to Dallas to celebrate excellence in digital transformation, sustainability, and technology innovation. Hosted in partnership with ISG, L&T Technology Services (LTTS), and CNBC-TV18, the event recognized 35 leading organizations and 14 standout individuals across 11 award categories.

The awards program puts a spotlight on emerging trends and game-changing insights in digital engineering. This year, event organizers introduced two new categories specifically focused on AI and Generative AI, highlighting the growing importance of these technologies in the field of digital engineering.

Through the Digital Engineering Club, a global community enabled by L&T Technology Services, organizers want to stimulate cross-pollination of ideas among digital engineers worldwide. The exclusive community is a special benefit for award recipients of the “Engineering the Change” (team award) or “Engineer at Heart” (individual award) categories.

This year’s awards in drew over 230 nominations from 90 global organizations, showcasing groundbreaking advancements in fields such as automotive, energy, manufacturing, aerospace, and telecommunications. With a focus on sustainability and emerging technologies like AI and Gen AI, the event highlighted the transformative potential of digital engineering in tackling today’s challenges.

North Texas Honorees

AT&T’s work in climate resilience has earned the company the Top Sustainability Initiative award at the 2024 Digital Engineering Awards. The recognition highlights AT&T’s Climate Risk and Resilience (ClimRR) Portal and Climate Resilient Communities Initiative (CRCI), which provide cutting-edge climate data and support communities in disaster preparedness and resilience planning.

Dallas-based AT&T innovators Chris Holle and Nathan Cobos were present for the award announcement. Cobos, who leads part of the ClimRR team, represents some of the local talent driving AT&T’s global impact. Holle, currently on paternity leave, joined the celebration to honor the team’s success.

Dallas-based AT&T innovators Nathan Cobos, far right, and Chris Holle, far left, accept the Top Sustainability Initiative award for the company’s Climate Risk and Resilience Portal, or ClimRR, at the 2024 Digital Engineering Awards. Cobos leads part of the ClimRR team, while Holle focuses on environmental data science and innovation. [Photo: Courtesy of AT&T]

Developed in collaboration with FEMA, Argonne National Laboratory, and the Department of Energy, the ClimRR Portal uses advanced climate modeling to help communities prepare for risks such as extreme heat, wildfires, and drought. By making this data accessible for free, ClimRR empowers governments, public safety officials, and infrastructure planners to integrate climate science into resilience strategies.

To explore climate projections for cities in Dallas-Fort Worth and other areas, visit the ClimRR Portal.

Holle, an engineer in AT&T’s Technology Development Program, says he works to make climate data accessible and usable for AT&T’s operational planning, ensuring the company is ready to address extreme weather events. “I’m very passionate about the environment, about climate change, and about all things earth,” Holle said. “We’re not climate scientists at AT&T, but we need a way to convert climate data and climate science speak into real, actionable data we can integrate into our systems.” Translating large scale climate data has led to extraordinary discoveries, according to the engineer.

Beyond ClimRR, the Climate Resilient Communities Initiative pilots in five regions across the United States, offering local governments access to climate data, resilience planning support, and funding for local nonprofits. According to AT&T, the initiative “aims to turn climate insights into actionable plans for mitigating risks and improving preparedness.”

Another local, Amy Wheelus, chief technology and information officer at Gigapower, received the Distinguished Digital Engineering Leader award for her contributions to advancing engineering and technology innovation. Wheelus, a North Texas-based executive active in the Tech Titans organization, has long been recognized as a leader in the telecom sector.

Gigapower is a joint venture between AT&T and BlackRock, formed in 2022 to create the country’s largest commercial wholesale open access fiber network.

Wheelus’ previous role as VP of Architecture & Strategic Technology Planning at AT&T gives her a vantage spot to help Gigapower deploy a multi-gig fiber network across the United States, which aims to expand high-speed connectivity to more Americans, particularly in areas outside AT&T’s traditional service footprint.

A platform for global innovation

The December 5 awards gala highlighted the broader digital engineering community for its advancements in sustainability, AI, and technological transformation. “Digital engineering continues to redefine nearly every facet of modern life—from clean energy to healthcare innovations and more.” said Michael P. Connors, chairman and CEO of ISG, in a statement.

Connors said this year saw a significant jump in nominations, a testament both to how digital engineering increasingly anchors global industries and infrastructures and to the power of this one-of-a-kind recognition program.

Other award categories and top winners from North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific included:

Digital Transformation of the Year

• Champion: Union Pacific Railroad
• Challengers: Dow and Nestlé India Limited
• Commendable: Tenneco, Sundaram Clayton Ltd.

Top Sustainability Initiative

• Champion: AT&T
• Challengers: Telangana Police, India; Vanderlande
• Commendable: Chennai Smart City Limited, Santos, Weatherford

Digital Engineering Project/Program of the Year

• Champion: Collins Aerospace, an RTX Business
• Challengers: Chevron, Eaton
• Commendable: Delek US, Henkel, Nokia Bell Labs

Engineering Product of the Year

• Champion: Honeywell
• Challengers: Marelli, Next Big Innovation Labs Pvt Ltd
• Commendable: Eaton, EdgeQ, MediaKind

Excellence in Value Realization

• Champion: Sky
• Challengers: Goodyear, OPW Propane Energy Solutions
• Commendable: Rockwell Automation, Siemens Healthineers, T-Mobile

AI Impact of the Year

• Champion: SymphonyAI
• Challengers: Dell, Philips
• Commendable: Aspen Technology, CNH, Prayagraj Smart City Limited

Individual Awards (Engineer at Heart)

• Distinguished Digital Engineering Leader: Amy Wheelus (Gigapower), Asha Poulose Johnson (GE Healthcare), Kazuhiko Maruyama (Honda)
• Digital Engineer of the Year: Andy Vitale (Caterpillar), Evan Ren (Dow), Jyothi Gangadharan (Patient Point)
• Woman Engineer of the Year: Anita Routray (Uber), Jaya Jagadish (AMD India), Kate Montgomery (Condé Nast)
• Innovator of the Year: Carlos Yengle (Chevron), Gaurav Saxena (ITL – Sonalika)
• AI Innovator of the Year: Deven Panchal (AT&T), Shiv Udkar (AMD Inc.), Vaibhav Lodhi (CNH)

Submissions were evaluated by a panel of global experts, includig Prof. Jim Austin, Wharton Business School and Brown University; Prof. (Dr.) Marcos Kauffman, Coventry University, Neelu Sethi, Brinks Inc.; Vanessa Eriksson, GiTN (Girls in Tech Nordics); and Steve Hall, Prashant Kelker, and Gaurav Gupta of ISG.

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