Jessica Monteleone: Industrial Design Student Merit Award Winner

Senior Jessica Monteleone has been named this year’s Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) Student Merit Award Representative for the Jefferson ID program.

Jessica was chosen by a panel of industrial designers and educators at the recent Philadelphia Chapter IDSA Competition. She now proceeds to the next round of competition at the regional level. From there, one chosen student will go to the IDSA Nationals where they will present their design portfolio alongside other regional winners from around the nation in a bid to become the overall 2020 IDSA National Student Merit Award winner.

During her time at Jefferson, Jessica has assembled a rich body of design work across a range of product categories. Her double-walled drinking glass for French tableware giant LuminARC won First Place in last year’s Drinkware of the Future Competition and was displayed at the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago. Jessica then partnered with LuminARC to present the project to marketing teams and executives from Bed Bath & Beyond and Macy’s.

Gait Mate, Jessica's wearable device that reduces freezing of gait episodes in Parkinson’s patients was awarded Second Place at the International Design Competition of RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America. Her ongoing Senior Capstone project is an assistive breathing device to reduce the severity and duration of panic attacks.

She says: “In the past, I let my skills limit my ideas. But during  my time at Jefferson, I’ve learned how to step out of  my comfort zone and learn new skills then use them to execute each design in a unique way. Now, I’m able  to use that approach with every project I work on.”

Congratulations, Jess! We wish you all the best in the next round of competition!