school of art and design 155
for innovation in cosmetic packaging; in his capacity
as full time professor, he has taught a range of classes
including Drafting and Prototypes, Production Methods,
3-D Abstraction, Solidworks, and Sophomore, Junior,
and Senior Studio; named one of the country’s most
admired educators by DesignIntelligence magazine
(2006); has stewarded numerous industry projects
at Pratt and is currently developing collaborative
internship opportunities between corporations and the
ID department.
William Jeffrey Tolbert
Adjunct AssociAte Professor
B.S. Biology, Millsaps College; B.F.A., Museum Art
School; M.F.A., Yale University; a visual artist living in
Brooklyn, N.Y. who has taught at Marylhurst College,
Yale University, Parsons The New School for Design,
Pratt Institute, and The Cooper Union; from 1993–2000,
he was the president and owner of ArtPanel Inc.,
which manufactured high-quality wood supports for
fine artists; since 2006, has been project manager
for the Way2Go tandem car project; a revolutionary,
lightweight fuel-efficient vehicle for the transportation
industry; has exhibited his work in New York and across
the country; in 2010, worked with Philip Riley at Skink
Ink Editions to create a portfolio of Giclée prints, which
were featured in a group exhibition at Skink Ink Editions.
Ignacio Urbina Polo
AssociAte Professor
M.S. Product Engineering, Universidad Federal de Santa
Catarina, Brazil; Venezuelan industrial designer with
over 20 years of experience specializing in the field of
bionics: he has worked on consumer products, street
furniture, signage systems, exhibition design, and
visual communication systems for many companies,
manufacturers, institutions and government agencies;
in the late 1980s worked at the prestigious Brazilian
Laboratory of Industrial Design on Florianopolis Island
where he had the opportunity to work in many different
and diverse product design projects, as well as support
his passion of surfing the waves; in 1999, while living in
Caracas, he co-founded Metaplug, a multidisciplinary
design firm and workshop; worked as an industrial
designer in the foundation of La Estancia Art Center in
Venezuela and the Andean Amazon Pavilion at the
Aichi World Expo 2005 in Japan; former associate
professor and director of Prodiseño, School of Visual
Communication and Design in Caracas, where he
was involved in academic projects and research in
minimal structures, consumer products, interface and
information design, and thesis projects; co-publisher
of Objetual, a website focusing on design issues in
Venezuela, he has published design articles in both
national newspapers and specialized magazines;
participates in projects and activities as advisor member
of the Ibero-American Design Biennial in Madrid.Tanya Van Cott
Visiting AssistAnt Professor
B. Arch., Pratt Institute; M.I.D., Pratt Institute; an award-
winning architect and industrial designer, who received
both degrees from Pratt Institute, she has dedicated her
career to interdisciplinary design, seeking out projects
that span her interests in psychology, theory, structure,
color, detail, materiality, and especially whimsy, to
create unique design solutions; established her own
architecture and design practice after working as a
project architect with Pentagram Design, NYC; recently
completed her first work of fiction, a novel written for
every man and especially every woman, called Woman
Be Cool; writing and performing the spoken word
publicly has led to a renewed interest in teaching, where
all her fascinations and training come together.Rebecca Welz
Adjunct Professor, cce
Boston Museum School; B.A., Empire State College;
Welz is a sculptor represented by June Kelly Gallery in
New York and galleries on the west coast; recipient of
Pollock Krasner and ED Foundation grants; recipient
of a fellowship at Urban Glass; founder of Association
of Women Industrial Designers (AWID), mounting first
exhibition of product design by women in the U.S.,
“Goddess in the Details”; published book on exhibition.Joel Wennerstrom
Adjunct AssociAte Professor
B.I.D., Kent State University; M.I.D., Pratt Institute; an
industrial designer with 20 years experience designing
consumer and industrial products in both the corporate
and consulting environments; currently specializing
in baby strollers and other juvenile products; besides
being an industrial designer and educator, he is a
dedicated musician and woodworker.Henry Yoo
Adjunct Professor, cce
B.B.A., University of Wisconsin, Madison; M.I.D., Pratt
Institute; Yoo has worked for BMW, Boeing, Chrysler,
Pepsi, Proctor and Gamble, General Mills, Gucci,
Herman Miller, McNeil Associates, Philip-Morris,
Samsung, Timex, Victoria’s Secret, Warner Brothers, YSL,
and Zegna.“Pratt truly enabled me to be
ready for roles in the many
areas of the design business
in which I have worked.”
—Scott Avidon, M.I.D. ’96,
Designer, Steuben Glass;
Seguso Viro, Murano, Italy