served as the lead designer for the American National Exhibition in Moscow. The office cubicle In 1960 Herman Miller created the Herman Miller Research Corporation under the direction of Robert Propst, and the supervision of George Nelson. Although Nelson remained at Herman Miller's main campus in Zeeland, Michigan, Robert Propst and the Herman Miller Research Corporation was located in Ann Arbor, Michigan to place it in close proximity to the University of Michigan campus. The company's purpose was to examine changes in the use of office furniture that had taken place during the 20th century, but not the furniture itself. After consulting with experts in psychology, anthropology, and various other fields, Propst created the Action Office I line, which was executed by Nelson's studio, and first appeared in Herman Miller's 1964 catalog. For designing the Action Office I Nelson was awarded the prestigious Alcoa award. The Action Office I line was not a success, and Nelson was removed from the project. Propst then created the Action Office II, which is better known today as the office cubicle. Despite the "Action Office II" line becoming Herman Miller's most successful project, George Nelson disowned himself from any connection with the project. In 1970 he sent a letter to Robert Blaich, who had become Herman Miller's Vice-President for Corporate Design and Communication, in which he described the system's "dehumanizing effect as a working environment." He summed up his feeling by saying: "One does not have to be an especially perceptive critic to realize that AO II is definitely not a system which produces an environment gratifying for people in general. But it is admirable for planners looking for ways of cramming in a maximum number of bodies, for "employees" (as against individuals), for "personnel," corporate zombies, the walking dead, the silent majority. A large market." Scornful as he may have been, Nelson was right that there turned out to be a "larger market" for AO II. By 2005 total sales had reached $5 billion. 1980s: Retirement and death Nelson retired with the closing of his studio in the mid-1980s. In 1984, he became a scholar in residence at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. He died in New York City in 1986. Influence and legacy The George Nelson Associates, Inc. catalog, and exhibition designs for Herman Miller, made modernism the most important driving force in the company. From his start in the mid-forties until the mid-eighties