Bolstering the future of design and sustainability, two expert sources have joined as judges for the global Wege Prize competition: acclaimed design pioneer Tom Newhouse, and a leading U.S. adviser on sustainable business, Bill Stough.

Two of the most prominent names in sustainability and the circular economy, Stough and Newhouse join a roster of noted judges for Wege Prize, the acclaimed international student design competition focused on solutions to the world’s wicked problems. Stough (rhymes with cow) and Newhouse can speak about design trends, circular economy and business, and the value of mentoring young people on sustainable design. 

As part of the Wege Prize annual competition (organized by KCAD, Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University), Stough and Newhouse will help the students hone their innovative ideas and push harder against the limits of possibility for the circular economy.

About Tom Newhouse
For more than 35 years, Tom Newhouse has been designing furniture, lighting, appliances, and other products both for Herman Miller and more recently as leader of his eponymous industrial design consulting firm, Thomas J Newhouse Design. Known for helping lead the early growth in environmentally sustainable design practice, Newhouse innovated in home and office furnishings, with lighting, casegoods and major appliances making up many of his 90-plus design and utility patents. Prior to 1978, Newhouse was a member of the corporate design staff of Herman Miller. He holds a degree in industrial design from the University of Michigan. In recent years, Newhouse has lectured widely to professional design societies and universities internationally on the topic of environmentally sustainable design, often focused on his influential “Four Corners” design philosophy.

About Bill Stough
Called on widely by leading organizations over the last four decades for his strategic advice to management teams on sustainable business practices, Bill Stough is the past founder of Sustainable Research Group as well as leader of his successful consultancy, Bill Stough, LLC. Stough has worked on environmental and sustainable business issues in a variety of capacities including with nonprofit environmental organizations, private manufacturers, and environmental engineering firms. He is frequently cited as one of the early initiators of the sustainable business movement, founding the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum in 1994 and continuing on to help found and facilitate the development of similar organizations in other regions. Stough is also credited as lead technical consultant on the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) Sustainable Furniture Standard, known as a landmark step for the sector.

Judging for Wege Prize

Newhouse and Stough join an admirable group. With student teams vying for large cash prizes by tackling the world’s most pressing, complex problems with design thinking, Wege Prize is expanding significantly in 2022, announcing a bigger prize purse and a larger roster of judges. The judges include some of the most prominent names in sustainability and the circular economy, the focus of Wege Prize.

Stough and Newhouse join a slate of 10 core judges along with supporting preliminary judges that help Wege Prize’s participating teams chart new paths transitioning from our current linear economy — where processes mainly take, make, and dispose — to a circular economy that’s regenerative and restorative by design. Judges include a professor in the circular economy from Chile, a design educator from California, and a UK-based education program leader from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

"Our jurors champion these creative, daring problem-solvers,” says says Gayle DeBruyn, KCAD professor and Wege Prize organizer. “They also help inspire Wege Prize teams as they reframe the way we produce and consume by collaboratively developing products, services, business models, and other solutions that address systematic issues.”