The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) established The Edwin F. Church Medal in 1972. Every year it is awarded to "an individual who has rendered eminent service in increasing the value, importance and attractiveness of mechanical engineering education." The ASME intends the Medal to represent Education in a very broad sense: This includes any aspect of mechanical engineering communicate via universities, technical institutes, professional society educational activities, continuing education programs of professional societies and private groups, in-house professional development programs of industrial concerns and governmental agencies, programmed learning and self-instruction systems. This means the nominees need not be professional educators.
A bequest from Edwin F. Church, Jr. (1879-1964), an ASME Member and professor of mechanical engineering and head of the department at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn established the Medal.