Illinois Tech Magazine | Illinois Institute of Technology

Journey of the Boundless Creative

Brooks Atwood (ARCH ’99)’s search for his ‘authentic self’ took him from busking on the streets of Paris to heading impressive architectural projects and becoming a star of a hit Netflix show.
Healing the Nation

As a mentor to many younger healthcare executives, Georges Benjamin (BIOL ’73) and his non-profit, American Public Health Association, are major influences on national policies like the Affordable Care Act and the COVID-19 response.

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The chief alumni publication of Illinois Institute of Technology, Illinois Tech Magazine is published as a print/web edition each spring and fall, and as a web-exclusive edition each summer by the Office of Marketing and Communications in collaboration with the Office of Advancement. It showcases outstanding Illinois Tech alumni who...

President’s Message

A Letter from Raj Echambadi

To some the phrase might seem like a casual platitude. But as I come to know more and more members of our alumni community, I am continually reminded that leadership requires the courage to take chances and succeed. The stories you will read in this issue of Illinois Tech Magazine attest to that fact, and the recent accomplishments of our students, faculty, and staff over the past year only reinforce it.

On Campus

Deepening Community Ties

Deepening Community Ties

Illinois Tech has sat in the heart of Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood since the university was founded—and with the help of a $2 million federal grant, a new initiative will soon deepen the university’s relationship with its surrounding community, providing cutting-edge skills training for thousands. Planning has started on what university...

On Campus

Pakistan Student Association

‘We Feel Safe, Good, and Encouraged’

In honor of this year’s World Hijab Day, Pakistan Student Association president Narmeen Aamir (M.A.S. CPE 2nd Year) and Muslim Student Association president Hummad Haque (M.S. BME ’23) joined forces in early 2023 to launch a campaign aimed at capturing the thoughts and feelings of students who wear hijabs on campus.

On Campus

Mies Campus Named a Nationally Accredited Arboretum

Mies Campus Named a Nationally Accredited Arboretum

The nearly 2,000 trees flourishing on Illinois Tech’s Mies Campus offer respite and natural beauty in the midst of Chicago, and a $2 million gift from Alphawood Foundation Chicago will bring the university’s landscape to new heights.

Athletics

Milos Dugalic (EE ’23)

Playing for the Home Team

PHOTO BY NORMAN COHEN Playing for the Home Team By Tad Vezner When Milos Dugalic (EE ’23) was growing up, his parents would send him to Serbia over the summer to stay with his grandparents. He learned the language, the culture of his heritage. So much so that, even though...

Features

Brooks Atwood (ARCH ’99)

The Authentic Self

The Authentic Self By Tad Veznerr PHOTOS BY NICOLE CALDWELL “I’m just in this perpetual state of transition,” says Brooks Atwood (ARCH ’99). He’s not kidding. Even before Atwood became a star of Netflix’s Hack My Home , which recently hit the streaming platform’s top-10 most-watched list in 67 countries,...

Features

Mike Graff (CHE ’77)

Hydrogen Proselytizer

PHOTO BY SEBASTIAN CASSET Hydrogen Proselytizer By Tad Vezner M ike Graff (CHE ’77) didn’t simply find himself in the hydrogen business—a business he’s now focused on to such a degree that he’s actively shaping its course. Rather, his journey into the world of an element he firmly believes will...

Features

Yuta Katsuyama (M.Des.+M.B.A. ’21) and Cristina Tarriba (M.Des. ’20)

Selling Nostalgia

PHOTO BY SCOTT BENBROOK Selling Nostalgia By Casey Halas D uring his first year at Illinois Tech, Yuta Katsuyama (M.Des.+M.B.A. ’21) was shocked to find that the food mecca of Chicago was missing the triangular-shaped Japanese food staple he’d enjoyed his whole life. Onigiri—handheld balls of soft, sticky rice stuffed...

Features

Georges Benjamin (BIOL ’73)

A National Practitioner

PHOTO BY EDGAR ARTIGA A National P ractitioner By Tom Linder G rowing up on Chicago’s South Side, Georges Benjamin (BIOL ’73) dreamed of a career in science. “I wanted to be a scientist, whatever that was,” says Benjamin. “I lived in the Museum of Science and Industry as my...

Features

Greg Wyler (LAW ’96)

Mission: Impactful

PHOTO BY TONY RINALDO Mission: Impactful By Steve Hendershot F or most law students learning about contracts, patents, and corporate acquisitions, the subject matter is impersonal and future-focused—faraway stuff that they might someday apply on behalf of a client. Not for Greg Wyler (LAW ’96). When Wyler studied at Chicago-Kent...

Spotlight

Sydney Hardwick (ITM ’15)

Human Side of Technology

“I don’t know why I want to act like I have an aversion to nerds, when I’m a nerd myself,” laughs Sydney Hardwick (ITM ’15), speaking not only of her time growing up on Chicago’s South Side, but also of her evolution as a student and her start in a career that appears to perfectly integrate her soft skills with the technical instincts she’s honed all her life.

Spotlight

Harold Mays (EE ’89)

Keeping the Lottery Fun and Fair

The Illinois Lottery has more moving parts than a big payout check, and an Illinois Tech alumnus is in charge of making it fun and fair for all.

Alumni News

Bob Hoel (BE ’70)

A Letter from the Board Chair

A new academic year always brings a bustling energy like no other across the entire university. It’s a rejuvenating and inspirational feeling that is familiar to each of us Scarlet Hawks—one that comes with a true sense of excitement knowing that, at our university, cutting-edge innovations are being developed into breakthroughs that will change life as we know it. That is the difference we power.

Alumni News

Class Notes

Mike Aronson (PHYS ’64), Corvallis, Ore., was presented the Majestic Volunteer Lifetime award in recognition of his contributions to Corvallis’s Majestic Theater in 2022. Lewis Thigpen (M.S. MECH ’67, Ph.D. ’70), Alexandria, Va., received the Howard University 2023 Alumni Award for Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement. Jason Chang (M.S. IE ’69), Taipei,...

Philanthropy News

Jim Albrecht (FE ’53, M.S. ’55)

Building the Next Era of Global Innovation

Since its founding, Illinois Tech has been creating a community of thinkers who think differently and doers who do differently, bringing together learners from different cultures with unique perspectives and experiences to innovate in ways that were never thought possible. Fortunately, generous donors to the university are eager to step up and provide meaningful support to make that possibility a reality at Illinois Tech.

Alumni News

Obituaries

Abraham Zarem (EE ’39) One of the last surviving Manhattan Project scientists, Abraham Zarem died March 8, 2023, at the age of 106. Zarem joined the Manhattan Project at the age of 28, and after World War II, he headed the electrical section of the physical research division at the...

Alumni News

In Memoriam

MEMORIAL LIST AS OF JULY 26, 2023 Alumni | Non Graduate Alumni | Staff | Friends Alumni Abraham M. Zarem (EE ’39) H. Thurber Stowell (ARCH ’41) Jim A. Carroll (ME '43) Joseph M. Siegal (IE ’43) Jack H. Slaton (EE ’45) Thomas J. Blim (ME ’46) Harold H. Esser...

Alumni News

Siva Balasubramanian

Take Five

Siva Balasubramanian serves as the Harold L. Stuart Endowed Chair in Business, professor of marketing, and associate dean at Illinois Tech’s Stuart School of Business. His research includes how artificial intelligence models have been, are being, and could be adopted in the modern business world.

Fall 2023

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT AND STUDENT AFFAIRS

Mallik Sundharam

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Chelsea Kalberloh Jackson

CONTENT DIRECTOR

Andrew Wyder

MANAGING EDITOR

Tad Vezner

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Kevin Dollear
Casey Halas
Steve Hendershot
Tom Linder
Thaddeus Mast
Brianne Meyer
Simon Morrow

ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN

Scott Benbrook

PHOTOGRAPHY

Edgar Artiga
Scott Benbrook
Nicole Caldwell
Sebastian Casset
Jamie Ceaser
Michael Reiter

WEB EDITION

Brian Bailey
Peter Beltemacchi
Abbey Betancourt-Vargas

Illinois Tech Magazine is published two times a year by the Office of Marketing and Communications

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