Congratulations to the outstanding graduates of the College of Design for 2008. Each of these students has been nominated by a member of the faculty for their academic and/or community service achievement above and beyond what is expected by even our high-achieving students!
(Click on the student's name to see a photo of the student and read the nominating statement.)
William Atwood Bachelor of Science in Design, Industrial Design
Maria Cagnina Master of Urban and Environmental Planning
Emily Callaghan Master of Science in Design, Industrial Design
Larisa Cherny Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture
Patrick Devinger Master of Real Estate Development
Mark Dudlik Bachelor of Science in Design, Visual Communication Design
Susan Goldsmith PhD in Environmental Design and Planning
Michael Illies Bachelor of Arts in Design Studies
Mitchell Karren Bachelor of Science in Design, Housing and Community Development
Cindy Louie Bachelor of Science in Design, Interior Design
Lucia Miranda Bachelor of Science in Planning
Jennifer Millerd Master of Architecture/Master of Science in Building Design
Kelly Vanyo Bachelor of Science in Design, Architectural Studies
William Atwood
Bachelor of Science in Design, Industrial Design
Nominator: Prasad Boradkar, Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Design
William Atwood is easily one of the most talented design students that I have taught in my career. In addition to his excellent product and graphic skills, he has other qualities that make him a remarkable student. He was the top candidate to be admitted to this year’s InnovationSpace class.
William is an exceptionally mature student who, with his wife, is raising a young family while attending school full time and working nearly full time. Even with these obligations he has near perfect grades, never misses class, never misses due dates and consistently is a leader in the classroom. Additionally, William is the resident expert on many computer applications, both Mac and Windows operating systems, and graphic printing processes. Faculty and students alike constantly call on him to solve problems and recommend possibilities for better printing outcomes.
Outside of class, a very large percentage of William’s design work has focused on projects with positive social impact, mostly in the area of education. The following are examples of some of the projects he has worked on.
- While working at ASU, he developed an online database called Ideal for a project for the Arizona Department of Education. This database can be used by students and teachers to get educational resources for AMES testing, thereby improving education through standards-based curriculum.
- He also worked on the Links program and developed a series of DVDs and CDs for children and K-12 teachers for advancement of mathematics education.
- On another project called E Learning, he created a series of free online training materials for financially disadvantaged children to learn about computers. These educational modules were geared towards individuals and communities who did not have access to technology training.
- William volunteers his design expertise to organizations on campus including projects such as signage for conferences on campus such as the MEC (Microcomputers in Education) Conference, and the Robotics Conference.
William Atwood is a highly deserving candidate and I fully support his nomination.
Maria Cagnina
Master of Urban and Environmental Planning
Nominator: Faculty of the School of Planning
Maria Cagnina has strong professional leadership and strong team-building abilities. (Hemalata Dandekar)
I strongly second Hema on Maria Cagnina. She has been in two of my classes, and has gone over and beyond the requirements of the class and way ahead of the rest of the students. She is also taking an independent studies with me and once again is performing at a very high level. She stands out among all the students I have taught at ASU in the way she takes pride in her work and the way she provides leadership to other students by helping and by example. I strongly believe her efforts need to be recognized. (Nabil Kamel)
I also support the nomination of Maria Cagnina. She has been in my classes twice, and I can tell that she is a very committed student and has a great passion for planning. (Francisco Lara)
Emily Callaghan
2008 Outstanding Graduate Student
Master of Science in Design, Industrial Design
Nominators: John H. Takamura Jr., Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Design, and Prasad Boradkar, Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Design and Coordinator, InnovationSpace
Takamura Nomination:
Based on my work with her, I consider Emily Callaghan to be a stellar graduate student, not only for her thesis research these past two years but also for the research that we have worked on together for my various faculty research programs.
Ms. Callaghan functioned as a graduate assistant researcher on a fairly large research and design program that I conducted last summer (2007). In addition to collecting video data and assisting my PhD student lead researcher on the program, she also conducted a parallel pilot study regarding team brainstorming interaction and brainstorming technique to help drive her thesis work. Her data collection for the project was very thorough and her coordination of her pilot study also resulted in additional benefits to the project as a whole due to Ms. Callaghan's contribution to brainstorming facilitation and her knowledge of brainstorming techniques.
Based on her performance on my summer (2007) sponsored research program, I promoted her to lead graduate researcher on my fall (2007) sponsored research program. Ms. Callaghan performed her duties in data collection, analysis, and synthesis most proficiently. Her ability to collect and manage complex sets of data as well as her ability to coordinate presentation materials were vital to the success of the program.
I am also aware of Ms. Callaghan's work with the College of Design regarding InnovationSpace. Emily is the current InnovationSpace coordinator and also works closely with InnovationSpace corporate sponsors and participating undergraduate students from the Fulton School of Engineering, the W.P. Carey School of Business as well as the College of Design Industrial Design seniors. In addition to fulfilling her various responsibilities as InnovationSpace coordinator, Emily consistently finds opportunities to conduct her own research for her thesis. She recently completed an extensive series of brainstorming sessions for InnovationSpace as a concerted effort with her thesis research study, and I am very impressed with her ability to handle these various roles and responsibilities without any compromise to her work quality.
As her thesis committee chair, it has truly been a pleasure working with Emily. Her sense for detail and her uncompromising high standards for excellence stand her apart from her peers. I fully trust in Ms. Callaghan's abilities and will truly miss her upon graduation this May.
Boradkar Nomination:
Of all the students I have worked with, I have found Emily Callaghan to be one of the most motivated, bright, hard-working and engaged students. She has been the Teaching Assistant for InnovationSpace for two years and has performed exceptionally well in all her responsibilities: teaching, administrative support, research, event coordination, etc. I do not know of another graduate student who has won more grants and attended more conferences. I have also had the privilege of observing her research activities in InnovationSpace on processes of brainstorming and know that she is a thorough, creative, and dedicated researcher.
Achievements and Service
- Summer 2007: Designed facilitated brainstorming session for Martha Carter and Tim Kniseley to aid in alumni outreach
- Spring 2007: Organized first year mock presentations for first-year MSD students to help them prepare for their presentations
- Feb 2007: Secured funding and organized for all MSD students to attend the Edward Tufte workshop
- Fall 2006: Helped with filming and video editing for the exhibit Unintended Consequences at ASU. Interviewed 20 contributing designers and planners, edited all clips to relevant, three-minute segments, merged all clips to create cohesive story. Interviews ran in a continuous loop at the exhibit.
- Fall 2006: Helped plan, organize new student picnic, GCSD
- Summer 2006: Collaborated with the dean of the college and another designer to create Master Plan 2006. Created this book and subsequent presentation for stakeholders of the ASU downtown development.
Papers
- April 2008: DMI International Conference in Paris. Design thinking: New Challenges for Designers, Managers and Organizations
- Personalities of Design Thinking
Grants
- MSD conference travel grant, $700, spring 2008
- MSD conference grant, $2,000, spring 2007
- GPSA professional development grant, $500, fall 2007
- GPSA research grant, $1,800, fall 2007
Larisa Cherny
Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture
Nominator: Joe Ewan, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Larisa is an excellent student, takes on leadership roles in studio, and has made great service contributions to the college community. She excels as a creative scholar, a future professional, and as an active leader of the design community. This year, she has been nominated to both Sigma Lambda Alpha, the international landscape architecture honor society, and for the national American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) student awards in recognition of her professional promise. Yet it is because of her service efforts that the landscape architecture program has enjoyed increased visibility locally and nationally. Larisa’s service as an ASLA student chapter officer (currently as President) is exemplary.
Her service activities as a student leader include helping to:
- Organize four technical design seminars for College of Design students in Sketchup, Illustrator, Indesign, and Photoshop. These workshops helped develop student software skills and to raise funds for the student ASLA organization.
- Participated in the installation of a garden demonstration exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden, which was highly visible during the annual spring plant sale.
- Send three ASU students to LABash, a high profile landscape architecture student conference. This year, the conference was held in New Orleans and speakers included Peter Walker and Todd Johnson.
- Send five students to the national ASLA professional meeting in San Francisco. This conference is attended by thousands of landscape architecture professionals and scholars.
- Increase the student ASLA budget through the sale of plants.
- Open a dialog between other student organizations, such as the AIAS.
- Work with the student chapter president-elect to ensure continuity in the student chapter activities.
- Organize ASLA chapter student trip to maintain Arizona Trail in collaboration with the Arizona Chapter of ASLA.
- Attend Arizona Chapter ASLA Executive Committee meetings while ASLA student chapter president
- Develop a landscape design proposal for the College of Design Tempe Campus facilities
The landscape design around the college buildings has needed attention for years and because of Larisa’s persistent leadership, active renovation is finally coming to fruition. In this one activity, Larisa’s contributions to the College of Design community will be felt for many years to come. For this and all other ways in which she has dedicated herself to professional and collegial service, we will miss her, but look forward to watching her develop into an active and creative presence as a design professional. She will no doubt continue to positively represent the college as an active and supportive alumnus.
Patrick Devinger
Master of Real Estate Development
Nominator: R. Nicholas Loope, FAIA, Director of Real Estate Programs
I am proud to recognize Patrick Devinger as the outstanding graduate of the 2008 Master of Real Estate Development Program (MRED). He deserves this recognition not only for what he has accomplished this year but in large part for his leadership among his peers. Over the year he has encouraged active involvement in relevant industry organizations, has gone above and beyond as a teaching assistant, and been an integral figure in making MRED a better program for the future. Patrick’s commitment to his classmates and the MRED program has played a significant role in creating a better educational experience.
As a TA for the MRED program, Patrick took a leadership role in keeping the class involved in the ULI organization and the ULI Young Leaders Organization through managing an active MRED volunteer body to help with ULI events.
As sustainability becomes a significant focus of the development community, knowledge of what this entails has become a crucial element to success in the industry. With a strong interest in this area, Patrick was instrumental in identifying and developing the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professional workshop for the class of 2008. In addition, this has become part of the ongoing MRED curriculum for future years. Recognition of the importance of building sustainability and the LEED Accredited Professional designation will help differentiate the MRED program and our graduates in the workforce. In addition, other programs within the college are taking our LEED so to speak.
Read press release about Patrick from Capelin Communications.
Mark Dudlik
Bachelor of Science in Design, Visual Communication Design
Nominator: Alfred C. Sanft, Professor, Department of Visual Communication Design
Mark is serving as the GDSSA president for the past year and has been a great example of leadership and service. He fills in when others don’t carry their load. He wants his final year experience to be memorable and has done his utmost to help others to do the same.
Michael Illies
2008 Outstanding Undergraduate Student
Bachelor of Arts in Design Studies
Nominator: Lauren McDermott, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Industrial Design
Michael is an exceptional individual and student. She brings her enthusiasm, outstanding leadership abilities, and joy to the classroom. She is highly regarded by her peers, her instructors, and her supervisors.
Michael has immersed herself in the college and university at a level seldom seen by undergraduate students. Beginning with her leadership as an award-winning resident advisor and extremely active volunteer in the Athena program and other volunteer activities, she has devoted much of her time and creativity over the last five years to ASU and the College of Design.
Her demonstration of leadership in her first two years at ASU led to opportunities to work for the college as an ambassador for the last year. She has focused her effort over the last three years on working for and volunteering for the College of Design, while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.
For the last two years, Michael has lead the student involvement in the highly successful College of Design Career Fair. She has served as secretary and is currently the president of the College of Design College Council. These are elected positions. For the last year, she has served as the college’s representative on the Provost’s Student Advisory Committee, where she has served with distinction. The dean appointed her to this committee.
It should be noted that Michael excelled in all of her courses, including studio courses, during her first two years in the college. She was accepted into the upper-division in industrial design on her first attempt and during a highly competitive year when fewer than 50 percent of the applicants could be accepted to the third year. She then chose to pursue the BA degree with a concentration in Design Management because it best fit her goals and ambitions.
There isn’t a college event or activity involving undergraduate students that Michael isn’t involved with planning or assisting with. When she represents the college at these events, she is always smiling and brings enthusiasm and a very positive attitude to the task.
Michael has been an outstanding student in the College of Design and shows potential to be one of our outstanding alumni. It would be a most logical recognition to also award her the outstanding graduate award in 2008.
Susan Goldsmith
PhD in Environmental Design and Planning
Nominator: Jaques Giard, Professor and Director, Cross-College Programs
The process of place-making in unbuilt landscapes is Susan Goldsmith's central interest. Her dissertation, Place-making in Arizona's Southwest Desert, combines interests in cultural geography, environment-behavior studies, and complex adaptive systems in an investigation of the as yet unbuilt desert lands of the southwest of the American southwest. Susan holds a B.A from Lawrence University (1965) and an M.S. from the University of Arizona (1973).
Place-Making in Arizona’s Southwestern Desert
Dissertation Abstract
This qualitative place-making inquiry has two goals: first, to improve understanding of what people make of Arizona’s unbuilt southwestern desert lands as place and, second, to seek patterns in the dynamics of place-making that might apply to unbuilt landscapes more generally. The research investigates place-making through examination of desert experiences of natural scientists and policy makers in three time periods: the mid-19th century, the turn of the 20th century, and the present day.
Place-making is framed as a complex adaptive system (CAS), constantly dynamic and mutually defining. Key aspects of the place-making CAS are space, people, experiences between them, and elements of the larger context. Two intangible forms of place are considered: relationships between individuals and space and meanings ascribed to the space. Specific properties of relationships and meanings emerge from the process.
Natural science and public policy documents from two historical periods were examined; 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted with contemporary natural scientists and policy participants. Iterative textual analysis identified five types of relationships between individuals and desert lands: alienated, indifferent, appreciative, attached, and at home. Analysis also found that meanings are ascribed to the land in ways that answer four overarching place-making questions. The answers to these questions describe the physical character of the land, assess its value and potential as individual home or national homeland, and describe the ways in which people care about the land.
This research shows that as desert place-making unfolds, this land tends to resist people and people’s changing needs fuel constant adaptive changes in relationships and meanings. Experiences facilitate these changes. Elements of the larger context both expand and limit place outcome possibilities.
Future research that addresses desert relationships and meanings of other groups would expand the public’s understanding of Arizona’s desert lands; research that tests the CAS framework, the relationship typology, and the four overarching place-making questions from this study would improve the understanding of place-making in unbuilt landscapes.
Mitchell Karren
Bachelor of Science in Design, Housing and Community Development
Nominator: R. Nicholas Loope, FAIA, Director of Real Estate Programs
Mitchell’s passion for learning even extends to helping ASU administration improve academic education for all its students. He dedicated uncountable hours in organizing, coordinating, and developing the Housing and Development Coalition, a successful student organization, which is used as a key resource by students on a daily basis. The purpose of this organization is to improve the integration of Housing and Community Development students of all years, as well as all students interested in the real estate development field. Mitchell visited numerous classrooms to recruit students and hosted a variety of events over the years. His networking capabilities have helped create close relationships with faculty, administration, and industry leaders. He single-handedly brought several company presidents with innovative projects to instruct students to supplement classroom activities.
Mitchell recently decided to continue improving his student organization as a primary resource by publishing a monthly newsletter. He researched and interviewed company CEOs and program directors and designed, customized, and published the entire newsletter himself. His ideas and concepts are focused directly on what students need to know and are highly received by the university community.
Cindy Louie
Bachelor of Science in Design, Interior Design
Nominator: Jose Bernardi, Associate Professor, Department of Interior Design
Cindy Louie was awarded one of eleven $30,000 scholarships from the prestigious Angelo Donghia Foundation in 2007. This annual scholarship is awarded to a small group of students selected from a national field representing the best programs in the United States. Cindy is an exceptional student who is a leader among her peers and respected by both the faculty and the students in the Interior Design program. As a demonstration of her ability to reach beyond the disciplinary bounds of interior design, Cindy is now working on a collaborative and interdisciplinary project under the direction of Prof. John Takamura in InnovationSpace, the research arm of the Industrial Design program in the College of Design. She also worked for the award-winning firm, Richard & Bauer, receiving exceptional reviews from them for her commitment to design excellence.
Lucia Miranda
Bachelor of Science in Planning
Nominator: Ruth Yabes, Professor, School of Planning
Lucia Miranda is enthusiastic about planning locally and internationally. She is a team player who works hard, sleeves up, digging into studio projects with her peers. Not content to limit herself to undergraduate coursework, in a graduate international planning class, Lucia analyzed affordable housing trends in Lima, Peru. Recognizing her dedication and hard work, Professor Francisco Lara recommended that Lucia work on a U.S.-Mexico border project that focused on environmental management for ASU’s Office of the Pan-American Initiative. In that capacity, Lucia completed extensive research, reviewing and summarizing a large number of documents in preparation for a policy paper. Although the position was intended for a graduate research assistant, Lucia’s supervisor commended her for the excellent quality of her work even though she is an undergraduate.
Outside of the classroom, Lucia serves as the student representative from the student organization Planners@ASU to the professional Arizona chapter of the American Planning Association. As a student leader for more than a year, Lucia met regularly with graduate student leaders and coordinated undergraduate BS Planning students in on-campus mixers, meetings of Planners@ASU, and with professional planners from the AzPA, including summertime meetings. Most recently, Lucia actively organized logistical matters for more than ten ASU students who attended the national conference of the American Planning Association in Las Vegas.
Jennifer Millerd
Master of Architecture (graduated Master of Science in Building Design)
Nominator: Harvey Bryan, Professor, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Ms. Millerd has been one of our MArch/MS students; she has also been a TA in one of my classes. She has also been active in recruiting several other MArch students to become part of the MS cohort. Jennifer has been active in the SALA community and a leader in class. She recently completed an excellent Master of Science thesis on carbon neutrality in buildings where she pioneered new territory. Ms. Millerd has been an outstanding student and deserves recognition by our school.
Kelly Vanyo
Bachelor of Science in Design, Architectural Studies
Nominators: Assistant Professor Kim Steele and Assistant Professor Renata Hejduk, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Of the hundreds of students that we have taught over the years, Kelly Vanyo stands out as one of the exceptional ones. She brings creativity, enthusiasm, persistence, and dedication to her individual work resulting in sophisticated and thoughtful proposals. She demonstrates a critical engagement with the world that both challenges and motivates her classmates to raise the level of their own work. When faced with non-participatory peers in group projects, she has willingly stepped up taking on a greater proportion of work in an effort to ensure the overall quality of the end product. In addition to being a talented designer, Kelly possesses strong interpersonal skills. She provides a voice of reason when called upon; she radiates a positive outlook and is delightful to work with. She is reliable, punctual, and remarkably productive. Her work is beautiful and provocative, and she is smart and engaging. In short, Kelly is a very talented young woman with a bright future in architecture.
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