Cleveland Institute of Art to help redesign Humvee
$800,000 contract for Army enlists faculty, 30 students
Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Steven Litt
Plain Dealer Art Critic

The Army has tapped students and faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Art to help redesign the Humvee, the basic military workhorse vehicle in Iraq, to make it safer for soldiers.

The four-year, independent art college has entered into a one-year, $800,000 contract with Battelle, the Columbus-based science and technology research firm, whose client is the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Team of the Army.

Officials at the art institute emphasized that they see their assignment as helping to save lives, rather than taking any position on the Iraq war, pro or con.

"Certainly, this country is torn in half with feelings about this war," said David Deming, president of the art institute. "But I don't think anyone would argue with keeping soldiers safe."

Daniel Cuffaro, chairman of the school's Department of Industrial Design, will work with adjunct faculty member Robert Martinez and about 30 students to develop new concepts for the Humvee.

"They want very creative people to develop concepts for further evaluation," Cuffaro said of the Army. 

"This is an environment focused on problem-solving, not making money."

Grants for the project will pay for scholarships, prototyping, field trips, materials and equipment. 

Participants will sign confidentiality statements, which is normal when the art institute collaborates with industrial clients, including private corporations.

In addition to other exercises, students will analyze a military Humvee in a secure garage behind the art institute's building at 11141 East Blvd. in Cleveland's University Circle.

The Humvee was originally designed for General Motors Corp. by Cleveland Institute of Art alumna Lorene Gates-Spears and used in the Gulf War.

Since then, the vehicle has been altered with heavy armor that makes it more top-heavy and more prone to roll over in sharp turns, Cuffaro said.

Cuffaro said soldiers often load the vehicles with equipment and supplies they were never designed to carry. They also avoid using seat belts so they can bolt quickly in case of an attack.

All those factors - not to mention the vulnerability of the Humvees to land mines and other explosive devices - have led to increased injuries, Cuffaro said.

While making the Humvee more impregnable against explosives is not a specific goal of the project, Cuffaro said he's sure the Army would welcome suggestions on that score.

Cuffaro said the contract to help with the Humvee is one of the largest and most important assignments of its kind the school has ever received.

The art institute has supplied influential designers to major auto manufacturers for decades.

Cuffaro also said he hoped the Humvee assignment would help reinforce the image of Cleveland as a center for industrial and automotive design.

"I enjoy the fact that we're so small and we're an art school, but we're stepping up to take a leadership role," Cuffaro said. "We need a vision to turn this city around. This is a piece of the process."

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