Established in 1997, this award recognizes an author, who, in his/her paper, effectively demonstrates ways to further the use of sheet steel in automotive applications. The paper must be well organized, written in a succinct manner and possess excellent technical merit. It should also foster long-term benefits to sheet steel industry professionals worldwide.
The award honors the memory and accomplishments of the late Sydney H. Melbourne of Dofasco Inc., and encourages others to strive for the level of excellence he attained within his organization, the steel industry and the automotive marketplace.
The award is presented at the Awards Ceremony during the WCX World Congress Experience.
| Year | Name | Employer |
| 2018 | Shingo Hayashi | Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. |
| Takuya Hirade | Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. | |
| Hideki Masuo | Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. | |
| Atsushi Hanyu | Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. | |
| Tsuyoshi Yoshida | Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. | |
| Kentarou Ishiuchi | Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. | |
| 2017 | C. Matthew Enloe | General Motors |
| Jason Coryell | General Motors | |
| Jeff Wang | General Motors Global R&D | |
| 2016 | Takashi Iwama | Steel Research Laboratory |
| 2015 | Emmanuel De Moor PhD | Colorado School of Mines |
| Mikko Joonas Kähkönen | Colorado School of Mines | |
| Dr John G Speer | Colorado School of Mines | |
| Grant Thomas PhD | AK Steel Corp | |
| 2014 | Daniel James Branagan PhD | NanoSteel Company |
| Sheng Cheng | NanoSteel Company | |
| Andrew E. Frerichs PhD | NanoSteel Company | |
| Longzhou Ma | NanoSteel Company | |
| Brian Eugene Meacham | NanoSteel Company | |
| Alla V Sergueeva | NanoSteel Company | |
| Igor Yakubtsov | NanoSteel Company | |
| 2013 | Satoshi Horioka | |
| Osamu Kawano PhD | Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporatio | |
| Yuzo Takahashi | ||
| Kohsaku Ushioda PhD | ||
| 2012 | Emmanuel De Moor PhD | Colorado School of Mines |
| C Fojer | ArcelorMittal | |
| Dr David K Matlock | Colorado School of Mines | |
| Jan Penning | Ghent University | |
| Dr John G Speer | Colorado School of Mines | |
| 2011 | Timo Faath | ThyssenKrupp Steel USA LLC |
| Paul McKune | ThyssenKrupp Steel USA LLC | |
| Markus Weber | ThyssenKrupp Steel USA LLC | |
| 2010 | Tadashi Naito | Honda R&D Co Ltd |
| Yoshitaka Okitsu | Honda R&D Co Ltd | |
| Tomoaki Sugiura | Honda R&D Co Ltd | |
| Naoki Takaki | Honda R&D Co Ltd | |
| Prof Nobuhiro Tsuji PhD | Kyoto Univ | |
| 2009 | Alavandi Bhimaraddi | Ford Motor Company |
| Rakshit Ramachandra | Ford Motor Company | |
| Raj Sohmshetty | Ford Motor Company | |
| Z. Cedric Xia PhD | Ford Motor Company | |
| 2008 | Dr-Ing Juergen Lechler | Univ of Erlangen |
| Marion Merklein | ||
| 2007 | Terry Lanker | GM R&D Center |
| Chuan-Tao Wang | General Motors | |
| Siguang Xu | General Motors | |
| Dr Jimmy J. Zhang | General Motors | |
| Kunmin Zhao | Dalian Univ of Technology | |
| 2006 | D Frankenberg | |
| Mie Tachibana | Kobe Steel Ltd | |
| Kenichi Watanabe | Kobe Steel Ltd | |
| Marcus Wiemann | Voestalpine Automotive GmbH | |
| 2005 | Jeff S Grimm | US Steel |
| Todd Link | US Steel | |
| 2004 | Dr John Chiang | Ford Motor Company |
| Min Kuo | Mittal Steel USA Inc | |
| 2003 | Chin Chun Chen | National Steel Corp |
| Changqing Du | FCA US LLC | |
| Kaiping Li | FCA US LLC | |
| Sheng-Dong Liu | Generalety LLC | |
| Hong Yao | Mittal Steel USA-IHBP | |
| Li Zhang | Chrysler Manufacturing Div | |
| 2002 | Sheng-Dong Liu | National Steel Corp |
| Vinod Makam | ||
| Subhas Shetty | FCA US LLC | |
| Danielle Zeng | National Steel Corp | |
| Li Zhang | Chrysler Manufacturing Div | |
| Fred Zweng | Chrysler Engineering | |
| 2001 | Todd Link | US Steel |
| 2000 | Lumin Geng | General Motors |
| Prof Robert H Wagoner | Ohio State Univ | |
| 1999 | Dr Ming F Shi | US Steel |
| Li Zhang | Chrysler Manufacturing Div | |
| 1998 | Osamu Furukimi | JFE Steel Corp |
| Takaaki Hira | JFE Steel Corp | |
| Kazuya Miura | Kawasaki Steel Techno-Research Corp | |
| S Takagi | Kawasaki Steel Techno-Research Corp | |
| Shinji Tanimura | Osaka Prefecture University | |
| 1997 | Robert Foley | Colorado School of Mines |
| Brandon M. Hance PhD | US Steel | |
| Dr David K Matlock | Colorado School of Mines |