Currently in its eighth year, the form•Z Joint Study Program involves over 300 Universities worldwide, which translates to over 10,000 student seats a year. The Annual form•Z Joint Study Report has evolved into an event that documents the excitement and progress of computer aided design and 3D modeling education in the institutions of higher learning. One of the traditions the program and its report has established is the presentation of annual awards for the exceptional work of deserving students. This year four awards of distinction and eight honorable mentions have been granted.

The nominations: To qualify for an award, a student needs to be nominated by the Principal Investigator of the JS school where he/she is enrolled. In addition to the images, the PIs are required to submit a summary description of the nominated project and to state the reasons for which they think the nominated student deserves an award.

This year, there were seventy-six (76) nominees from forty-eight (48) different schools.

The categories: The nominated projects were placed into four categories: Architectural Design, Urban Design, Product and Industrial design, and Visualization/Illustration. One Award of Distinction was granted in each category. Variable numbers of Honorable Mentions were granted in each category.

The Jury: The selection of the awards was made by five jurors from outside AutoDesSys, all experts in computer aided design. Two of the jurors are from academia and three from the professions. All of the professionals have also been involved with teaching and/or design criticism. The jurors are listed below, in alphabetical order.

• Bo Atkinson, Enersearch, Freedom, Maine
  
  
• Pedro Bonta, Estudio Bonta, Buénos Aires, Argentina
  
  
• Lamar Henderson, Catholic University, Washingron, D.C.
  
  
• Joseph Kosinski, k+d.lab, inc., New York, New York
  
  
• B.J. Novitski, ArchitectureWeek, Eugene, Oregon
  
  

The winners: Links to the projects of the Award of Distinction and Honorable Mention winning students are displayed below. The awards and mentions also are highlighted on the pages of the respective schools in the full JS report. Some of the projects include slide shows or animations, which are included on the CD-ROM supplement of this report. These projects are noted with a movie logo.

The prizes: All Awards of Distinction have received a form•Z RenderZone license with one year technical support and updates. They are also invited to attend Acadia 2000, all expenses paid, where the awards are officially announced. In addition, AutoDesSys will wave the processing costs of a 10-seat JS license for the school they attend, for next year. Honorable Mentions have received diplomas commemorating the award.