Grant Rudnick named Breece Award recipient
December 2, 2025 - By Carly Bowling
The University of New Mexico School of Engineering has named Grant Rudnick the Fall 2025 recipient of the prestigious George E. Breece Award, which honors the senior with the highest grade-point average in engineering coursework of the semester’s graduating class.
Established in 1921, the award is among the oldest endowments in the School. Recipients consistently have grade-point averages above 4.0, reflecting a majority of A+ grades earned in their undergraduate engineering courses.
Rudnick graduates this semester with his degree in Civil Engineering. He has been active in the Mountaineering Club, Associated General Contractors of America, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Engineers without Borders since his first year at UNM. More recently, Rudnick has joined Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Lisa Losada-Rojas’ research group which studies how transportation can be used to develop healthier communities in rural and urban settings.
Rudnick encourages his fellow students to participate in activities and classes outside of engineering, like club sports, the arts and other topics they may be passionate about, to help refresh the mind and limit burnout. In his free time, he enjoys climbing, slack-lining and learning new languages.
Graduating with a 4.24 engineering GPA, Rudnick offered students his number one study tip.
“Make a habit of studying for tests as early as possible. Even a month in advance, if you're learning material that will be on a test, studying a little bit every day over a long period of time is way more effective than cramming a day or two in advance,” he said.
Rudnick will continue his studies at UNM while pursuing a master’s degree in Civil Engineering and continuing his research with Losada-Rojas’ Rural and Urban Transportation Advancement to Healthier Communities research group.
