Pier Luigi Nervi was an Italian engineer and architect. He studied at the University of Bologna graduating in 1913. Nervi taught as a professor of engineering at Rome University from 1946 to 1961 and is known worldwide as a structural engineer and architect and for his innovative use of reinforced concrete, especially with numerous notable thin shell structures worldwide.

The Wilhelm Exner Medal has been awarded by the Austrian Industry Association, Österreichischer Gewerbeverein (ÖGV), for excellence in research and science since 1921.