Saturday evening at the Industrial Designer's Society of America's Midwest District Conference, John Traub was named the 2011 Midwest Merit Award Winner, a prestigious honor ranking him as one of the five best graduating ID students in the country.
Earlier in the day, as the Notre Dame Merit Award Winner, a designation given to the best graduating senior of the Industrial Design program, John presented his body of work before a crowd of over 500 professionals, educators and students and was judged by a panel of professionals selected from the various chapters in the district. He was selected as the best student in the Midwest from among a very strong field of contenders from peer ID institutions in the Midwest including Purdue University, UI-Urbana Champaign, UI-Chicago and Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. He will go on to represent the Midwest district at the IDSA National conference to be held in New Orleans in September where he will present his work to the entire national body of practitioners.
For a student and a program there is no greater annual honor. It must be noted that this recognition represents the fourth time in five years that the Notre Dame Industrial Design program and our Merit Award Winner have been bestowed this national recognition.
Please join me in congratulating John Traub, 2011 BFA candidate in ID for his recognition as the 2011 IDSA Midwest Merit Award Winner. Your hard work and excellence bring great honor to our institution.