Babs Abubakari Memorial Scholarship

About Babs

The Georgia Section of ASHE awards one scholarship to recipients pursuing a civil engineering degree from his alma mater (Georgia Tech) in honor of the life Babs lived as well as for the contributions he made in the transportation community. The scholarship was christened the Babs Abubakari Memorial Scholarship by the ASHE Board in 2008, after the passing of Babs Abubakari.

Mohammed “Babs” Abubakari was highly respected by the engineering community for his integrity and fairness to all. He was known as a man of high moral and ethical character and he always had a smile on his face. Babs was a kind man with words of encouragement for everyone he met. He lived every moment with passion, respect, grace and dignity.

Babs was born in Ghana, West Africa and had a passion for soccer early in his life. This passion continued on into his adult life where he played recreational soccer and was the coach for many boys and girls teams in the Roswell community. His coaching philosophy was to provide a learning and fun soccer environment for youth players; instill the passion and love for the game to his players; drive and push them to be competitive and be the best; and treat them with respect and dignity. The principles of this philosophy transcended into his professional and personal life as well. Babs was always one to give back to his community. In addition to family life, work and coaching, Babs also was active in ASHE and the Atlanta Ghanaian community.

Babs graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering in December of 1988 and began his career with GDOT in June of 1989. He started out in District 6 as a Transportation Engineer II on the two-year training program, then he advanced to the Office of Urban Design, where he became a Design Engineer 3. In 1995, he successfully passed the Professional Engineers examination and obtained his P.E. license. In 2001, Babs was selected to be the Assistant Office Head of the Office of Consultant Design. His commitment to GDOT led him to a transfer to the Office of Road Design. In January 2005, he was named Office Head of the Office of Consultant Design.

Babs Abubakari embodied what it meant to be a good manager while still producing excellent results. He was a great leader, mentor, family man, friend and coach, active ASHE member, and is missed by many. His contributions to ASHE, GDOT, and his community will be long lasting and his loss will be felt for years to come.

Eligibility

1. The applicant must be currently enrolled at Georgia Institute of Technology in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

2. The applicant must be entering at least their third year of undergraduate study or any year of their graduate study and must have a declared major of Civil Engineering prior to the semester the scholarship is awarded (Spring 2027).

3. The applicant must not be a prior recipient of the Babs Abubakari Memorial Scholarship.

4. The applicant must submit a completed application and an official copy of their college transcript.  Resumes may also be included but are not required.

Application

Applications and transcripts must be received no later than December 18, 2026 to be considered.

Click the link below to download the application for the 2027 Babs Abubakari Memorial Scholarship:
2027 Babs Abubakari Scholarship Application.pdf

Please submit a completed application and an official electronic copy of your college transcript to:
Dianna Rocheleau at drocheleau@dewberry.com.

Resumes may also be included but are not required.
The scholarship will be awarded at the February 2027 Luncheon (Exact date and location TBD).