PEACHTREE CITY, Georgia—Power management company Eaton, a 2015 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year, recently named Appalachian State University students Megan Everhart, Hazel Chang and Kaitlyn Hutchens as SOURCE Awards winners for their conceptual lighting design projects in the company’s 38th annual lighting design competition.

The students were recognized during LIGHTFAIR® International, the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Projects were judged on the blending of aesthetics, creative achievement, technical performance and the degree to which the lighting met project constraints and design concept goals.

Everhart, a senior interior design major, received a $1,500 prize for her lighting design. Chang and Hutchens each received Honorable Mention honors and a $500 award. All winners were presented with a crystal trophy and offered an invitation to attend a complimentary class at the SOURCE, Eaton’s state-of-the-art lighting educational center located in Peachtree City, Georgia.

Everhart’s winning project brought sustainability to Fresh Restaurant & Bar, a Malaysian restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Providing a conceptual design for the 5,000-square-meter restaurant, Everhart utilized Eaton’s energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) products to create contrast and layering throughout the space, highlight natural plants and create focal points in the overall restaurant design.

Chang, a May interior design graduate, is a repeat winner who was recognized as the 2014 SOURCE Awards winner. She was recognized in the 2015 competition for her conceptualized lighting design for the flagship store of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), using lighting to help inspire customers to experience the outdoors.

Hutchens’ lighting design concept focused on another Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, restaurant, Tatu, and created a warm, energy-efficient welcoming environment using LED and controls solutions to her restaurant design that was inspired by traditional Iban tattoos. Hutchens is a senior interior design major.

“Eaton’s student SOURCE Awards competition challenges the next generation of designers to utilize innovative technology appropriately and creatively,” said Mark Eubanks, president of Eaton’s Cooper Lighting Division. “These winning designs are an excellent example of how Eaton technology and creative lighting design make energy-efficient and aesthetically pleasing solutions possible. We hope their impressive work will inspire them towards a career in lighting.”

In its 38th year, the SOURCE Awards are open to all lighting designers, architects, engineers, professional designers and consultants across the globe who use Eaton’s lighting and controls products in an interior or exterior design project. Students currently enrolled in any of these disciplines are also eligible to enter projects based on conceptual lighting designs utilizing Eaton’s lighting fixtures, and are judged in a separate student category.

The SOURCE Awards program has granted winners over $600,000 in addition to receiving industry-wide recognition. Past entry applications have included commercial offices, retail stores, galleries, libraries, banks, restaurants, convention centers, entertainment facilities and residences.

For additional information about this year’s 38th Annual SOURCE Awards competition, visit www.eaton.com/sourceawards.

About Eaton

Eaton is a power management company with 2014 sales of $22.6 billion. Eaton provides energy-efficient solutions that helps customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. Eaton has approximately 102,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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