1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
Attendee
1940s
Bud Mann
(ME ’46), Shelby Township, Mich., recently published the third volume of The Journal of Levi Broas, an historical/fictional story of his family’s journey from New York to Michigan in the 1830s and settlement of the town of Belding.
1950s
Theodore Brown
(CHEM ’50), Bonita Springs, Fla., published the historical novel The Beauty of Their Dreams, a tale of the American Midwest during the first half of the twentieth century.
Edmond Zisook
(ARCH ’50, M.S. ’52), Highland Park, Ill., celebrated his 89th birthday with a small luncheon at the Standard Club of Chicago. Before retiring from his own practice in 1998, Zisook worked at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Bennett Whiteson
(MET ’51), Chesterfield, Mo., most recently worked at Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. until his retirement in 2017. Prior to that he was employed as a director at McDonnell Douglas for 38 years and also worked for the Titanium Metals Corporation and Douglas Aircraft Company. Whiteson served as a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force.
Ted Erikson
(CHE ’52, M.S. CHEM ’59), Chicago, has been recovering from an injury he incurred in a 50-yard freestyle swim event.
James Albrecht
(FE ’53, M.S. ’55), Baltimore, continues to remain active on various boards, including the World Trade Center Institute, the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs, the Monell Chemical Senses International Advisory Council, and the Illinois Tech Institute for Food Safety and Health. He also is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois.
1960s
John Harasciuk
(ARCH ’61, M.S. CRP ’63), San Diego, has re-ignited his architectural practice, volunteering his advice pro bono to San Diego community churches and memorial gardens.
Donald Neal
(FPE ’61), Glendale, Ariz., recently retired from Johnson Controls (formerly with SimplexGrinnell) after 20 years of service doing fire protection system design review. He maintains a fire protection engineering design company that primarily does fire sprinkler and alarm system design for architects, engineers, and sprinkler contractors.
James Soller
(ARCH ’62), Sarasota, Fla., published design manuals for the City of Venice’s historic and theme districts and the historic district of Boca Grande, Florida. He has had a private practice for more than 30 years. Soller’s design experience includes multi- and single-family residences, fire stations, a county morgue, libraries, a youth club, and the Venice Art Center.
Robert Gordon
(ARCH ’63, M.S. CRP ’67), Chicago, is featured in the new book High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing, for his birdseye perspective of the historic Cabrini Green neighborhood. A Chinese language publication of Gordon’s book Perspective Drawing: A Designer’s Method is being distributed in China as well as continuing publication in the U.S.
Richard Erth
(ME ’64), Palm City, Fla., received the Yachtsman of the Year award from the Harbour Ridge Yacht Club. Erth served as commodore for 2016–17 and represented the club at the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs and The Rivers Coalition. In these roles he furthered the spirit of yachting throughout the state and the importance of the health of the Saint Lucie Estuary.
Phyllis Chillingworth
(DSGN ’66), New York, was featured this past summer in a special exhibition titled Phyllis Chillingworth: Of Joy...an Experience in the Land of Zihuatanejo at the Atlantic Gallery in New York. She created the paintings after visiting Zihuatanejo, Mexico.
Ilana Rovner
(LAW ’66), Chicago, received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Decalogue Society of Lawyers.
James Beback
(PHYS ’67), Seattle, is retired from the United States Navy Office of the General Council.
Philip Calabrese
(Ph.D. MATH ’68, MATH ’63, M.S. ’65), San Diego, had his book, Logic and Conditional Probability—A Synthesis, published as Vol. 69 in the series Studies in the Logic (College Publications, Ed. Dov Gabbay).
Bruce Harmon
(PHYS ’68), Ames, Iowa, is retired after a career as a distinguished professor at Iowa State University and deputy director of Ames Laboratory. He is enjoying his passions, including wine, travel, and outdoor adventures. He recently married Mary Lesniak.
Joel Weisman
(LAW ’69), Northbrook, Ill., host of “The Week in Review” on Chicago’s WTTW-Channel 11, stepped down after being with the show since it was first broadcast in January 1978.
1970s
Manu Vora
(M.S. CHE ’70, Ph.D. ’75), Naperville, Ill., completed his first Fulbright Specialist Project at his undergraduate alma mater, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India, in March 2018. He was also was presented with the 2018 NRI (Non-Resident Indian) of the Year Award in Philanthropy from North America sponsored by Times Now and ICICI Bank.
Martin Hudik
(MAE ’71), Pingree Grove, Ill., and his wife, Eileen, have two grandchildren, Katie and Josh.
Susan Solomon
(CHEM ’77), Nahant, Mass., was listed in The 50 Top Women in STEM by TheBestSchools.org.
1980s
Perri Irmer
(ARCH ’81), Chicago, was featured in PRIME magazine for her work as president and chief executive officer of the DuSable Museum of African American History.
Max Willig
(ARCH ’81), Buffalo, N.Y., recently celebrated 30 years in private architectural practice. He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grant Amherst Business Association for contributions toward neighborhood revitalization in Black Rock, one of Buffalo’s oldest historic neighborhoods.
Naresh Shanker
(CS ’85, M.B.A. ’86), Menlo Park, Calif., was interviewed by Forbes to comment on the digital transformation he is implementing as chief information officer at his company, HP Inc.
Christopher Underwood
(EE ’85), Schaumburg, Ill., was featured in the Rockford Illinois School District 205 volunteer campaign on three billboards and on television and cable in the Rockford area to inspire the community to volunteer.
Abdullah Abonamah
(Ph.D. CS ’86), Palos Heights, Ill., is a professor of strategy and innovation, and the founding president and provost of Abu Dhabi School of Management, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Robert Milan
(LAW ’88), Chicago, has joined Alvarez & Marsal as managing director in the firm’s disputes and investigations practice. He leads complex global forensic investigations in the areas of anti-corruption, corporate fraud, and data-breach response.
Kathleen Becker (née Richards)
(LAW ’89), Richmond Heights, Mo., was named chief executive officer of The University of New Mexico Hospitals. Becker is a St. Louis native who spent the past 15 years working in her hometown.
Rajinder Singh
(M.A.S. MAE ’89), Plymouth, Mich., has signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Chennai, India, to set up a national endowment for an adjunct chair professorship. He also made a donation to develop a scholarship that will benefit any deserving and economically underprivileged student.
1990s
Ratna Dalal
(M.S. ARCH ’90), Winchester, Mass., launched the online business Ratna’s Seasonal Art. She has designed six collections of more than 200 products featuring nature-inspired works. Dalal was interviewed by Boston Voyager magazine and has had her work on exhibit, most recently, at the Winchester Public Library.
Milena Higgins (née Groblewski)
(PHYS ’90), Vadnais Heights, Minn., was promoted to chief operating officer of Black Hills IP.
Cameron Davis
(LAW ’92), Evanston, Ill., works at the engineering firm GEI Consultants, Inc. He is founder of Genoir, which helps families and businesses tell their stories as a way to pass lessons on to the next generation and to enhance a unique brand. Davis previously served as the point person on Great Lakes Restoration under former President Barack Obama.
Brian Ippolito
(AE ’92), Edgewater, Md., president and chief executive officer of Orbis Technologies, Inc., is celebrating his company’s multimillion-dollar production contract with the United States Department of Defense for its Redaction and Exploitation Releasability (REnDER) Tool. REnDER enables the military to efficiently and effectively share multi-source intelligence information with coalition partners.
Elias Fernandez
(PHYS ’93), Chicago, was promoted to project specialist II at the Chicago Transit Authority.
Ann Cresce
(LAW ’94), Long Grove, Ill., joined Bcause as general counsel. Bcause is building the world’s first full-stack cryptocurrency ecosystem, which will include a digital mining facility, spot market, regulated derivatives exchange, and clearinghouse.
Jimmy Akintonde
(ARCH ’95), Chicago, is a member of the Lakeside Alliance, a joint construction venture that has been chosen to help build the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side.
Nancy Ardell (née Fox)
(LAW ’96), Glen Ellyn, Ill., is executive vice president and general counsel of Enlivant. Previously, she was senior associate general counsel at Northwestern Memorial Health Care.
Kathleen Lubke (née Pierucci)
(ME ’96) and Dave Lubke (ME ’96) Milan, Mich., had a baby girl, Maggie Lowetta, on February 7. The baby was welcomed home by her big brothers, Noah and Joey, and her big sister, Jessica.
Gregory Mimms
(M.S. EM ’97), Greenwich, Conn., vice president of environment, health, safety, and sustainability at Xylem Inc., is celebrating his company’s #10 ranking on Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies.
Jorge Ramirez
(LAW ’97), Lemont, Ill., joined GCM Grosvenor, the Chicago-based firm billed as one of the “world’s largest independent alternative-asset management firms” as its managing director.
Patrick Rush
(FMT ’97, M.B.A. ’98), Greensboro, N.C., chief executive of Triad Financial Advisors, was named to Barron’s America’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors. He and Triad Financial Advisors were ranked No. 7 in North Carolina, the highest ranking of any firm in the Triad region. This is the second consecutive year Rush has received this honor.
Robert Brevelle
(CS ’98, M.S. ’98), Rowlett, Texas, has been appointed chief executive officer of Juice-BX, a leading provider of charging solutions for smart devices, electric vehicles, and drones. He is also managing director of the venture capital firm Startup Evo and the president of the Dallas Chapter of the Association of Old Crows.
William Dec
(LAW ’99), Chicago, was featured on an NBC segment of Megyn Kelly Today in May. Dec recently opened a Sunda restaurant in Nashville.
Harper Ko
(LAW ’99), Las Vegas, was appointed executive vice president, chief legal officer—general counsel of Everi Holdings Inc. She has more than 17 years of corporate legal and regulatory compliance experience in the casino gaming industry and has received accolades such as the Rising Star Award by Great Women in Gaming.
Christiana Lawson
(M.S. EM ’99), Ankeny, Iowa, chief communications officer of InnerPrize Group, is working with families to create children’s educational materials for community sustainable development.
2000s
Steven Beitzel
(CS ’01, M.S. ’02, Ph.D. ’06), and Amanda Kastern (M.P.A. ’06), Hillsborough, N.J., welcomed Eleanor to their family in April. At 20 inches in length and 7 lbs. 4 oz., the baby joined big sister Abigail, 7, and big brothers Nathaniel, 5, and Samuel, 2.
Hazem Dawani
(CPE ’01), Chicago, has been appointed chief executive officer of Predata, a predictive analytics platform that anticipates the risk of future events. He is a board member of Stuart School of Business.
Andrew Mills
(AE ’03), Oakland, Calif., co-authored the article “As More Solar and Wind Come Onto the Grid, Prices Go Down but New Questions Come Up,” published on The Conversation website, which offers commentary and debate on the issues affecting the world. The article was also distributed by the Associated Press.
Robert Reiter
(LAW ’03), Orland Park, Ill., is the newly elected president of the Chicago Federation of Labor.
William Gibbs
(LAW ’04), Chicago, has been selected to the advisory board of The Mike Adamle Project: Rise Above, a new initiative to provide tools, resources, and support to patients living with symptons of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Yu Wang
(Ph.D. CS ’04), Charlotte, N.C., was recently elevated to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Fellow for his contributions to topology design and performance optimization in wireless networks.
Virgil Abloh
(M.A.S. ARCH ’06), Paris, France, founder of the label Off-White, was named menswear designer of the fashion house Louis Vuitton in March. He is Louis Vuitton’s first African-American artistic director.
Eric Choi
(LAW ’07), Glenview, Ill., was named partner at the Neal Gerber & Eisenberg litigation firm. His practice focuses on complex civil litigation matters, including licensing, breach of contract, compliance with consumer protection laws, tort defense, and insurance recovery.
Christopher Jones
(AE ’07, Ph.D. BME ’14), Malden, Mass., launched a medical device company, HD LifeSciences, which develops 3-D printed titanium orthopedic implants. He is also mentoring other startups (notably oral cancer detection in India) and is launching an artificial intelligence startup, leveraging his neuroscience and robotics background.
Juan Morado
(LAW ’07), Chicago, is president of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. He is of counsel at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff.
James Rotella
(ARCH ’07), Lisle, Ill., wrote the article “3 Ways Multi-User VR Will Enhance the Design Work of the Future,” which was published on ArchDaily.
Andrew Swantek
(AE ’07, ME ’07), Chicago, has been at Illinois Tool Works as a principal research analyst focusing on strategic research and development efforts for its various divisions since 2015. Previously, he was a postdoctoral appointee at Argonne National Laboratory in the X-ray fuel sprays group in the Center for Transportation Research. Swantek received an M.S. and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Margaret Battersby Black
(LAW ’08), Chicago, is a founding member and the inaugural chair of the new Women’s Caucus of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. She also secured a $4.1 million Illinois Nursing Home Care Act record verdict in July 2017, a record Illinois verdict for a nursing home case.
Anthony Carfang
(AE ’08, CS ’08), Oklahoma City, Okla., works at Boeing OKC with his wife, Jennifer Ryu Carfang. They are expecting their first child November. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, with a focus on unmanned aircraft communication systems.
Cheryl Balough (née Dancey)
(LAW ’09), Chicago, was appointed chair of the American Bar Association Business Law Section Cyberspace Law Committee. She is a principal in a boutique law firm, serving as outside general counsel to small- and mid-size businesses and protecting clients’ intellectual property. Balough also teaches Copyright Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law as an adjunct professor.
2010s
Robert Boyer
(BME ’10), Gladstone, N.J., director of product development at HS Design, and his team received the 2018 European Product Design Award Gold and the International Design Award Gold for the Canfield WB360, a 3-D imaging system for pigmented lesions and distributed diseases. Boyer also spoke at the MDTX and BIOMEDevice conferences discussing various topics in the field.
Michael Dunn
(CS ’10, M.P.A. ’11), Dayton, Ohio, graduated from the Air Force Institute of Technology with an M.S. in Cyber Operations, moved to Keesler Air Force Base, and started a new position as an instructor for United States Air Force Undergraduate Cyber Training. He and his wife, Amber, welcomed their third child, Ender, in June.
Christopher Kuehn
(M.A.S. BIOL ’10), Kirkland, Wash., is a senior program manager in portfolio strategy and management at Seattle Genetics, supporting a late-stage antibody drug conjugate candidate for treatment of cervical cancer.
Kat Weissman
(CE ’10), and Marc Lain (M.S. EE ’12), Chicago, were married in January.
Jesse Footlik
(LAW ’11), Chicago, is a partner at Peck Ritchey. He was named an Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star and selected by Leading Lawyers Magazine as a top Emerging Lawyer in Elder Law and Trust, Will, and Estate Planning Law.
Grant Shackelford
(LAW ’11), Alexandria, Va., associate with Sughrue Mion, co-authored the case law reference “The Essential Case Law Guide to PTAB Trials,” which is the first comprehensive text on decisions of the United States Patent and Trademark Office regarding the newest form of administrative law practice before that agency. It was published by the American Bar Association.
Rebecca Charles
(LAW ’17), Evanston, Ill., joined Swanson, Martin & Bell as an associate.
Bryce Hensley
(LAW ’17), Chicago, joined Romanucci & Blandin as an associate.
Paige Mass
(BME ’17), Minooka, Ill., began a position performing research and design engineering in the cardiology department at Children’s National Heart Institute shortly after graduating. As a credit to her work in senior design at Illinois Tech and her work at Children’s National, Mass now has four patent applications to her name.
Nirja Shah
(BME ’17), Buffalo Grove, Ill., visited Nicaragua with Illinois Tech MEDLIFE, connected with patients, and aided in setting up medical camps. She also began her dream job as an engineer at Baxter.
Kathleen Karnig Sullivan
(LAW ’17), Chicago, joined Swanson, Martin & Bell as an associate.
Attendee
Sandra Biedron
Chicago, was honored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society with the Particle Accelerator Science and Technology Award for “broad impact in accelerator science and technology.” She was also featured in the March issue of NPSS News, a publication of the IEEE.