Date: 09/29/2009

School of Art and Design Takes Top Honors in Four Major Competitions

Contact:
Pat Lopes Harris, SJSU Media Relations, 408-924-1748

SAN JOSÉ, Calif., -- The San José State University School of Art and Design took top honors in four recent national and international competitions. Jake Panian won a $20,000 Zankel Scholarship. Annlyn Huang won a $4,000 Maurice and Marjorie Noble Scholarship. Aggie Cheung is a finalist for a 2009 Adobe Design Achievement Award. All three students are in the animation/illustration program. Professor Leslie Speer received the 2009 Industrial Designers Society of America Education Award.

Jake Panian

As the 2009-2010 Zankel Scholarship recipient, Jake Panian ranks among the nation's most promising junior-level illustrators. He was one of four finalists invited to New York for a mandatory portfolio review and interview preceding the jury's final decision. The other three finalists were from Parsons The New School of Design in New York, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.

"I was honored to receive the scholarship," Panian wrote. "My brief, exciting trip to New York was inspiring, and I am grateful of all the individuals involved, including the other nominees, the judges, my family and friends, and last, but in absolutely no way least, my instructors at San José State University."

Annlyn Huang

As a Maurice and Marjorie Noble Scholarship recipient, Annlyn Huang will carry on the legacy of one of the nation's most accomplished animators and his wife. Maurice Noble began his career at Disney Studios in 1934. His designs and background paintings were used in landmark Disney features Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, and Dumbo. Later in his career, he lent his talents to more than 60 Warner Bros. productions.

The Noble Scholarship is offered to outstanding first-year students from the University of California, Los Angeles; University of Southern California; the California Institute of the Arts; and San José State University. Applications are limited; faculty members at each school nominate candidates for the award. Huang's scholarship is renewable for the next two years.

Aggie Cheung

As an Adobe Design Achievement Awards finalist, recent graduate Aggie Cheung is among the world's most promising student animators, illustrators, graphic designers, digital filmmakers, developers and computer artists. Cheung's entry is an illustration she produced at SJSU. Students were asked to create concept art for a film adaptation of "The Magic Chalk," a short story by avant-garde Japanese novelist and playwright Kobo Abe.

Along with her finalist certificate and Adobe Creative software, Cheung has been awarded round-trip airfare, lodging, and free admission to the Icograda World Design Congress 2009, which will be held this month in Beijing. Competition winners will be named at the conference. Icograda (the International Council of Graphic Design Associations) is the world body for professional communication design.

Leslie Speer

For Professor of Industrial Design Leslie Speer, the Industrial Designers Society of America Education Award caps more than two decades of work. The award is presented in recognition of significant and distinguished contributions to industrial design education. Speer is a designer and educator, with degrees from California State University, Long Beach, and Middlesex University, London.

Speer's work with SJSU students focuses on underserved communities, developing solutions for small acreage farmers. Her students recently received a grant from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance for travel to Cameroon to test products. Speer also works with artisans in small villages in Mexico and Costa Rica, helping create viable products for the world market.

"Having served on the jury for this in the past, I can attest to how impressive an honor this really is," said John McClusky, SJSU industrial design department chair. "This award is one of the highest achievements attainable in industrial design education worldwide. The sheer number of support letters that has to be obtained is staggering. This is well-deserved testimony to Leslie's commitment to our students and profession."

San José State -- Silicon Valley's largest institution of higher learning with 30,000 students and 5,700 employees -- is part of the California State University system. SJSU's 154-acre downtown campus anchors the nation's 10th largest city.