David Ilan, 2018 Intellectual Benefits to Society Award winner

Not to put too fine a line on it, but David Ilan’s art has a point.

The North Hollywood, Calif., artist’s pointillism style (drawing using only dots) has grown to “one person = one dot” projects, such as the one he uses to help schools build excitement about STEM education.

“Getting a dot in a drawing joins people in a cause and forever makes them part of a community,” says David, also the recipient of a Volunteer Service Award from President Obama. David’s STEM Pointillism Project features a drawing of a student on a science book with four leaves, representing the four areas of STEM education, coming to life around her.

“Students choose which leaf they want to join,” David says. “The more students join in, the larger the stems grow.” The art and the project live on in a positive experience that stays with students for a long time.

The Intellectual Benefits to Society Award recognizes the application of a Mensan’s intellectual abilities that result in a tangible benefit to society. It may be a single achievement such as an invention, or it may be the cumulative effect of several innovative accomplishments, but it must be shown to have a tangible benefit to a substantial number of people.