Mary & Vincent Paglione Design Challenge winners announced

Industrial Design students Nabeeha Hussain, Sky Feng, and Amitai Loew are winners of the 2017 Mary and Vincent Paglione Design Challenge at UIC. 

Their team project, entitled Sky-Fi, proposes a satellite communication device designed for deployment in refugee camps. It addresses urgent needs by refugees in temporary shelters without ground infrastructure to access internet and cellular service. 

The winning team’s prize is a cultural and academic exchange trip to Mexico City, hosted by the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (UAM). Students will be accompanied by the UIC Design adjunct faculty Hector Silva, who along with Professor Stephen Melamed facilitated the competition. 

The annual Mary and Vincent Paglione Design Challenge was created in honor and loving memory of Vincent “Vince” A. Paglione, a long-time member of the UIC community, who passed away in 2016. Among his many initiatives to support foreign exchange experiences for students, Vince helped establish the relationship between UAM and UIC over two decades ago.

With over 33 years of dedicated service to the university, Vincent Paglione held numerous positions ranging from Coordinator for the Exchange Program, Interim Chair for the Department of Theater & Music and the Associate Dean for the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts. Educator, mentor, counselor, friend and father figure are only a few of the enduring terms which sum up his love and support he provided to so many.