Features | IIT Magazine

Winter 2003

If Newborns Could Say Thank You

There’s a reason for the sentimental media stories you see about babies’ lives being at danger or great medical risk: there’s not much that tugs at the heartstrings like a small helpless human life imperiled. A recent alumnus of the Institute of Design (ID), Brian Stonecipher, has developed a groundbreaking...

Fall 2003

Porter W. Johnson and the Physics of Baseball

“Most people have never met a scientist... and they have rarely appreciated the effect of science in their everyday lives.” Like a utility player on a baseball team, Physics Professor Porter W. Johnson has done just about everything in his 34 years at IIT. He has taught, consulted and chaired...

Fall 2003

Pushing Back at an E-Giant

In the vast ether of information on the Internet, Ophir Frieder knows how to search like few other web surfers.

Fall 2003

Men of Steel Leave Legacy at IIT

The Finkl Familys’ Continued Committment to IIT Charles W. “Chuck” Finkl, the late chairman and CEO of A. Finkl & Sons Co. steel forging company in Chicago, was a steadfast supporter of his alma mater, Illinois Institute of Technology. Chuck proved to be one of IIT’s most generous and active supporters both financially and through his investment of time. Lew Collens, president of IIT, explains the Finkl/IIT friendship: IIT is indeed fortunate to have numbered among its alumni and friends such industry leaders as Chuck and his father Bill Finkl. A. Finkl & Sons has looked to IIT as a source of engineering talent for much of this century, and the Finkl family has been a great friend and benefactor of IIT over the same period.

Fall 2003

Ethel Andrus: Founder of AARP, IIT Alum

While her name does not carry the instant recognition across campus that some of our others may enjoy, one of our many prominent Lewis Institute graduates is Ethel Percy Andrus. Andrus was the founder in 1947 of the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA) and in 1958 of AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), and was honored by U.S. presidents for her work in the non-profit world.

Fall 2002

Pioneers Wanted

The burgeoning field of biomedical engineering, though still youthful, has shown unusual promise in areas as diverse as vascular replacement and implantable microchips that relay patient medical information. Where humans were once subject to nature’s planned obsolescence, today the fruits of biomedical engineering are used to mend wear, correct dysfunction...

Fall 2002

Engineering a Business School

This summer marks the arrival of a new dean for the Stuart Graduate School of Business , when Tim Preheim adds a chapter to a career that until now was primarily spent building entrepreneurial ventures. After a brief foray into corporate life in the mid-to-late seventies, Preheim started Professional Training...

Fall 2002

The Hiring Game

While a job-seeking operative is of value to anyone entering the market or seeking a career change, it is especially helpful to those now being forced to re-enter the job market after 10, 15 and 20 plus years—long-term career employees who are discovering that the process of job searching has...

Fall 2002

The ABCs of E-degrees

Only five years ago, many in both the academic community and the business world were claiming that the Internet was going to change education forever. Though its deep impact is undeniable, the Internet has yet to prove that it can single-handedly change education. CEOs of online universities, for example, are...

Spring 2002

The Holy Grail

Shortly after receiving his doctorate in biomedical engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology scientist Philip Troyk attended his first meeting on neuroprosthesis research at the headquarters of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.

Spring 2002

Those Who Can, Teach

As word problems go, this was a no-brainer: A wave of retirements nationwide will aggravate the already desperate shortage of math and science teachers; colleges of education are not producing enough qualified replacements; urban areas will be hit the hardest. Name an urban university with particular strengths in science and...

Spring 2002

Lohan: Drawn to IIT

As anyone who has visited IIT’s Main Campus in the past two years can see, there is a physical transformation underway. The blueprint for IIT’s architectural and landscape rejuvenation is referred to as the Main Campus Master Plan. The chief mind behind the redesign is Dirk Lohan, a grandson of...