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When Tom Newhouse was in ninth grade, he informed the school counselor of his career choice. Then he explained the meaning of "industrial designer." Such is the fate of precocious youth.

"I can't remember a time when I wasn't planning, designing, and building. If our class put on a play, I'd build the set. If something broke, I'd fix it. I've always loved to find out how things work."

Tom credits his father, a self-taught engineer, with nourishing this fascination with the mechanical world. "I could ask him anything technical, and he could explain it logically and simply." Balancing this pragmatism was his mother, whose sculptures, paintings, and aesthetic sensibilities "showed me a whole other way of looking at the world." The dual, complementary influences of his parents show through in his designs and thinking. Engaged in what he calls the "primarily macho profession" of industrial design, he is also an advocate of women."Well over half of all office workers are women, and I try to design products that offer them the same comfort and control that men enjoy."

Tom also designed comfort and control into the home he built in the mid-70s, an earth-bermed, passive solar house near Grand Rapids. And the range of his professional work, including exhibits, interiors for the severely handicapped, lighting, and major kitchen appliances further exemplifies his wide-ranging talents and intellectual curiosity.

Tom continues to focus much of his energy on two "passions": the study of emerging office issues and the implementation of "green" design concepts. "The office is undergoing some profound and continuous changes worldwide," he says. "Because of that, the 'office of the future' will always be out there--in the future. But I'm committed to staying as close to that future as I can."

He's also committed to designing products and utilizing manufacturing technologies that place highest priority on preserving the environment. "I have been passionate on this issue for the past 25 years," he says, "and I will continue to be. That's one reason why I love to work with Herman Miller."

And that's one reason why Herman Miller loves to work with Tom Newhouse.