From flip books to comic strips to YouTube videos, students in a recent 2013 architecture class got creative in fulfilling an atypical class assignment: interpret the life cycle of concrete at the molecular scale.

Molecules? In an architecture class? Indeed; it’s advanced architectural technology, and seventeen students jumped at the chance to explore this less-than-common aspect of sustainable design in an interdisciplinary setting.

Thinking he was just one in a crowd, University of Oregon undergraduate student Alexander "Zander" Eckblad figured his chances were slim when he submitted his product design project into the inaugural Oregon BEST Red List Design Challenge.

Annah Kessler broke into the New York City fashion industry within two years of graduating from the University of Oregon’s Product Design Program. She had interned during school then was hired as a design assistant at Will® Leather Goods in Eugene upon graduating. Less than two years later, she became one of the youngest designers at Steve Madden. The shoes and accessories corporation is globally recognized as a leading company in the fashion industry. Kessler now works in the heart of the U.S.

Consumer Reports calls UO product design student Katie Lee’s café chair “one of the most inventive uses of laminate you might ever see.” Judges for the "Wilsonart Challenges..." — a student design competition — agreed, naming it the winner in the 2013 contest.

Two UO interior architecture students won first place prizes in the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Oregon chapter 2013 Student Day awards held May 4 in Portland.

Brianna Bernstein won in the category of furniture/product design for her project “CU/BE.” Haley Hupp won in the category of small commercial for her project “Crafty Wonderland.” Hupp also took honorable mention at the 2012 IIDA Student Day Retail Studio.

Both Bernstein and Hupp will graduate June 2013 with bachelor degrees in interior architecture.

The Sustainable Cities Initiative was featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education on May 20. The story shares the UO’s innovative community engagement model with the nation's higher education community. SCI is a cross-disciplinary program at UO involving architecture, landscape architecture, planning, product design, art, law, journalism and business. While the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) pioneered in Oregon, SCI has been training other universities interested in adopting the model and implementing a version of it in their local communities.

Two of the four finalists in an international design competition to foster nontoxic building products are University of Oregon students. The competition was open to both professional and student designers. The Red List Design Challenge carries $15,000 in cash prizes. The UO finalists are Zander Eckblad and Yin Yu. Eckblad’s submission proposes a nontoxic, plant-based cellulose nano fiber alternative to traditional fiberglass insulation.

Jack Koby, a freshman in the UO’s Product Design Program, developed both a new product and a business plan.

Product Design Program Assistant Professor Trygve Faste is recipient of a 2013 Oregon Arts Commission (OAC) Opportunity Grant to help support travel to and shipping costs for two solo exhibitions. The grants aim to help artists advance their careers through opportunities for the development of artistic, business, or professional skills.

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) and Master Capital Management are hosting an inflatable architecture design contest inspired by the 1970s designs of an experimental architectural group and artist collective. Submissions are due February 1.

All architects, artists, designers, students, faculty, and members of the public are welcome to enter. The JSMA encourages both professionals and amateurs to create teams of three to five people to explore the possibilities of inflatable design.