Mechanical Engineering Earns National Azbee Awards

ASME’s Mechanical Engineering magazine won three national awards at the 48th ASBPE Azbee Awards of Excellence, with judges praising its digitaledition for its exceptional innovation and impact.

Judges said they are always looking for something fresh and compelling—a publication that “audiences actuallywant and need to read.” This year, they said, the Mechanical Engineering team delivered exactly that as they presented the award to Louise Poirier,managing editor of the 146-year-old publication.

Poirier said the redesign began with readers in mind and one guiding question: “How do you take the very best of print and put it in a format that somebody is going to want to read?” The team approached that question with engineers in mind. “Because our readers are mechanical engineers who are pushing technology in their own spaces,” she said.

Admitting that the Digital Magazine of the Year Award is difficult to judge, those deciding on the winner praised the ME team’s use of “their platform to fully mix the curated reading experience of print with the interactive multimedia opportunities of digital to create the new frontier for high-quality journalism, storytelling, and graphic design.” 

They called the result “powerful, effective, beautiful” and added, “It creates an experience so new, so exciting, that we struggle to even describe it in our notes. It's exactly what digital magazines should be, and a whole lot more.”

ME also earned a National Gold Award for its transition to a fully digital magazine in 2025. Its Career Center articles won a National Bronze Award for giving engineers practical guidance at every career stage.

The Azbees honor outstanding work in business, trade, association, and professional publications. The nationwide competition recognizes excellence across print, online, and design categories and is considered one of the most competitive awards programs in the industry. This year’s contest received more than 740 entries from publications across the United States.

Cathy Cecere is membership content program manager.