John R. Freeman was a preeminent hydraulics engineer in Boston a century ago, and a member of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers for half a century. In 1925, recognizing "the occasional helpfulness of a small fund to a young investigator full of the zeal of youth but limited in resources for investigation," he gave the Society $25,000 to establish a fund to be devoted to the encouragement of young engineers in various ways, including grants for research, or aid in the publication of meritorious books and papers, or traveling scholarships, or a prize for a particularly worthy paper.

The resulting John R. Freeman Fund is administered by a committee of five members, who plan an annual lecture in the field of hydraulics and water resources, and consider applications for grants.

The John Ripley Freeman Bequest Letter (PDF)

In addition to the Society's Freeman Fund, Mr. Freeman established similar trusts with the Boston Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1949 ASME and ASCE entered an informal agreement by which each would award a fellowship every other year, in alternating years. In 1989 ASCE decided to award the Fellowship every year.