Students Take Top Honors in Traffic Safety Competition

Left to right: Aviv Butvinik, Arielle Cardone and Gregory Pein

For the third consecutive year, a Montclair State student won the Grand Prize in the Designs for Safety Competition, sponsored by the World Traffic Safety Symposium, in April. Aviv Butvinik ’14 took top prize with his “Heads Up” Pedestrian Alert System.

Junior Arielle Cardone won second prize and Gregory Pein placed fourth in the prestigious competition at the New York International Auto Show.

Butvinik’s “Heads Up” system predicts when a car is going too fast to stop in time. Flashing LED lights and beeping warn pedestrians to evacuate the intersection.

Cardone is no stranger to the winner’s circle, having shared the Grand Prize with fellow student, Noemi Nagy, in 2013. This year, her winning design was aimed at eliminating snow and ice on roads to avoid accidents.

“This is the fifth year our students have placed in the competition,” says Industrial Design Program Director Denis Feigler. “Winning the Grand Prize one time can be considered a lucky break.

“Winning it again and placing second two years running is pretty cool,” he says. “It says we’re doing something right. Winning proves to students that they are receiving the right education for building a successful design career.”