UIC ID students receive IDEA Bronze Award

Working with Stephen Melamed, Clinical Professor of Industrial Design, UIC Master of Design students Haochen Wang & Huijie Zhou developed SANITOUCH, a design concept which received a prestigious Bronze IDEA Award from the industrial Design Society of America (IDSA).

SANITOUCH is an antibacterial electronic device that automatically cleans escalator handrails in public places to promote better public health. It was designed to work with current escalator configurations with no alterations necessary. It uses UV light to kill viruses while the handrail rolls past the devices on both sides.

For more than 30 years the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) program has recognized design excellence in products, furniture, packaging, research, and strategy. Conducted by IDSA and sponsored by Core77 and FastCompany, the IDEA program is the most recognized and prestigious design competition in the world.

Haochen and Huijie will receive their award during the opening ceremonies at the IDSA International Conference in Austin on August 13, 2014.