Southfield, MI – Lawrence Technological University’s (LTU) College of Architecture and Design (CoAD) faculty and students will take a major role in two prestigious automotive design-related events happening in the Detroit area next week.
The panel of 36 international judges for Car Design News’s People Awards 2025 includes CoAD’s Executive-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Practice in Design Thomas Prevost. He is also owner/principal of TSP Design, a contractor and consultant in automotive design interiors and exteriors, vehicle architecture, and product design. Since 2022, Prevost has served as Innovation Exterior Studio Manager for General Motors, which he joined in 2000 and advanced in all phases of design. These roles included Color and Material Lead Designer, Interior Studio Lead Designer, and Exterior Studio Technical Lead.
Judging for the CDN’s 2025 People Awards takes place on Monday, October 20, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Prevost said, “I’m delighted to have been invited to judge the CDN People Awards for this year. LTU is the only technological university to ever participate in judging. With our Bachelor of Science degree in Product Design, our mission to prepare future People Award winners.”
On Tuesday, October 21, LTU students Sofia Eddy and Lourdes Davish, who are president and vice president, respectively, of the student chapter of IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) and 10 other students representing CoAD’s mobility, product, graphic, game, and interior design disciplines will join in the CDN Detroit Dialogue Student Roundtable with automotive design professionals from OEM companies Stellantis, Lucid, Karma, and Slate.
Adjunct Professor Aurelien Francois will be representing CoAD on the panel at the 2025 Automotive Interior Design Expo North America in Novi on Wednesday, October 22. During the InteriVision Summit from 10:15 to 11 a.m., which brings together leading designers, engineers and material experts to discuss the future of automotive interiors, Francois will present “How AI is enhancing the creative process in automotive interiors.” He will explore the four elements shaping manufactured goods; ways AI tools can bring value to the automotive interiors industry; and LTU’s role in better serving students and the industry.
Francois is an Industrial Designer with over 15 years of hand-on experience ranging from disruptive start-up to global tier 1 supplier. After he graduated from ISD-Rubika in France, he joined Local Motors in the US and contributed to the design, development, and production of vehicles such as the Rally Fighter while sharing Industrial Design insight with an extensive online community. He then worked for many years with Faurecia / Forvia, a global tier 1 automotive supplier in Interiors, Seating, Electronics, & Clean Mobility solutions.
“That LTU and CoAD are taking such a major role in these two renowned events in the world of automotive design is a source of great pride,” said CoAD Interim Dean Lilian Crum. “In our newly revamped Mobility concentration in the Product Design program, we give our design students great hands-on experience with the technologies of today and tomorrow to ready them to create the future in mobility products that serve the public good.”
Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is one of only 13 private, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932, and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best in the Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
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Editor’s note: Please contact Renée Ahee at 586-484-2390 or rahee@yellowflagproductions.com to arrange an interview with Interim Dean Lilian Crum, Executive-in-Residence Thomas Prevost, and Adjunct Professor Aurel Francois.
