Established in 1978, this award honors the memory of Edward N. Cole, former President and Chief Operating Officer of General Motors, and the inspiration he provided others in the engineering profession by his continuing search and drive for product innovation.
Members of the Selection Committee are not eligible for the award while serving on the committee. Two years must pass before former members of the Selection Committee are eligible to receive the award.
This includes an honorarium, and an award that is presented at an SAE Event.
| YEAR | RECIPIENT | COMPANY |
| 2022 | Robert Stein | Ford Motor Company |
| 2022 | Thomas Leone | Ford Motor Company |
| 2019 | Brice Pawley | Means Industries |
| 2018 | Charles Freese | General Motors and GM Defense LLC |
| 2017 | Stephen Poulos | General Motors |
| 2016 | Dr. Thomas C. Klingler | |
| 2015 | Larry Nitz | General Motors |
| 2013 | Dr. Prasad Kadle | Delphi Corp. |
| 2012 | Dr. Hussein Dourra PhD | FCA US LLC |
| 2011 | Dr. John J Moskwa | Univ of Wisconsin Madison |
| 2010 | Dr. Simon C Tung | Industrial Research Laboratories |
| 2009 | Arvin F Mueller | |
| 2007 | Mircea Gradu | Timken Technology Center |
| 2006 | Dr. Stefan Korcek | |
| 2005 | Wallace R. Wade | |
| 2004 | Lloyd W. Rogers Jr. | |
| 2003 | Jack D. Benson | AFE Consulting Services Inc |
| 2002 | Dr. David C. Viano | ProBiomechanics LLC |
| 2001 | Joseph M. Colucci | Automotive Fuels Consulting |
| 1998 | David F. Hagen | National Research Council |
| 1993 | Roger P. Daniel | |
| 1992 | Neil A. Schilke | General Motors |
| 1991 | Dr. Paul B. MacCready | AeroVironment Inc |
| 1990 | David McLellan | |
| 1989 | Stuart M. Frey | |
| 1988 | Trevor O. Jones | ElectroSonics Medical Inc. |
| 1988 | Jerome G. Rivard | Global Tech & Business Development |
| 1987 | Charles Jones | |
| 1987 | Kenichi Yamamoto | Toyota Motor Corp |
| 1986 | Vernon Roosa | |
| 1985 | William F. Milliken Jr. | Milliken Research Associates Inc |
| 1984 | Konrad Eckert | |
| 1983 | Frank Winchell | |
| 1982 | Alan Loofbourrow | |
| 1981 | George H Muller | Advanced Ideas Research Foundation |
| 1980 | Achilles Sampietro | |
| 1979 | Oliver K Kelley |
Nominations August 12 - September 30