Architect Lin, in 1981, displaying her model for the Vietnam memorial. Maya Ying Lin (October 5, 1959) is an American architectural designer and artist who is known for her work in sculpture and landscape art. In 1981, at age 21 and while still an undergraduate, she won a public design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, beating out 1,441 other competition submissions. The black cut-stone masonry wall, with the names of fallen soldiers carved into its face,was completed in late October 1982 and dedicated on November 13, 1982. The wall is granite and V-shaped, with one side pointing to the Lincoln Memorial and the other to the Washington Monument. She owns and operates Maya Lin Studio in New York City, and went on to design other structures, including the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama (1989) and the Wave Field at the University of Michigan. In 2005, she was elected to The American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the National Women's Hall of Fame.