Core77

The San Jose State University campus paper tells the story of designer Russell Henning, the only US designer to have his work chosen for last month's BraunPrize exhibition in Germany. Henning's portable backpacking stove was also his senior project, which won a Red Dot award in '06, and it was challenging to design:

"He put a lot of pressure on himself," [Associate Professor of Industrial Design John] McClusky said. "His biggest concern was that the most revolutionary backpack stoves on the market were developed over a ten-year period by multiple people, and he was looking at 15 weeks as one individual."

For a student to design a successful product in 15 weeks vs. ten years is no small feat; on top of that, Henning insisted the design be green.

"Everything about the stove is with an emphasis on environmental sustainability. I felt a strong responsibility as a designer to push those kinds of things forward in society, because I think we have a lot of responsibility to create trends that are morally sound."

Maybe there's hope for you younger generations after all.

via the spartan daily