This Vilcek Prize Award trophy was created for a major new award program honoring outstanding achievements of foreign­born Americans within the fields of the visual arts and biomedical research. The first winners are artists Christo and Jeanne­Claude as well as cancer researcher Joan Massague. The trophy represents a visualization of the pinnacle an individual or group can reach; each trophy is individually designed and created for the winner using the latest in 3D digital imaging and plating techniques.

A collaboration between Stefan Sagmeister and Matthias Ernstberger of Sagmeister Inc., Nick Herman, Aly Khalifa and Robert Shanks of Gamil Design, and FineLine Prototyping, the Vilcek Prize design was in itself given an award by the AIGA for 365:28 in Typographic Design.

While the letter forms appear to thin into infinitesimal size, special mathematical models were created by Gamil to make sure a final product maintained this appearance while still being makeable. Further, a very modern process called SLArmor was used to digitally construct the piece and create an entire shell of metal to make it unique for every participant.

This year’s recipients of the Vilcek Priza are Dr. Inder Verma and Osvaldo Golijov.