Fall 2021

Ice Cold Impact

In 1962–63 Thomas L. Pavlak (CE ’60) spent time researching snow “creep” at the United States Army’s South Pole Station in Antarctica, work for which Pavlak received an “icy” honor.
Hyper Focused

As he pursues degrees in astrophysics and physics, and with his sights set on a career studying space, Jonte’ Williams (ASPY, PHYS 3rd Year) is focused on something much closer to Earth now.

Inside this Issue

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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...

Letters

Letter from the President

As my first semester as president winds down, I remain struck by the magnitude of what Illinois Institute of Technology represents. The accomplishments of our alumni are numerous and immeasurable, from the technological innovations of Armour College of Engineering graduates, to the impact that College of Architecture alumni have had on the skylines of Chicago and cities around the world, to Chicago-Kent College of Law counting among its alumni the first African-American woman admitted to the Illinois bar. This publication, Illinois Tech Magazine, has highlighted many stories of excellence exhibited by our alumni, and I am pleased to introduce this issue, which continues that tradition.

On Campus

Letters

Charles Ticho (EE ’48) shared his memories of Illinois Tech during his time on campus from 1945–48 following his service in the United States Navy in World War II. Among the memories that Ticho shared was one involving Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the longtime head of what is now the university’s College of Architecture.

On Campus

HEIRs Farm

What started as a solution to an issue Ashley-Marie (LAW 3rd Year) and Gyasi Sutherland faced when they moved to the South Side of Chicago has turned into something much more—both in scope and in its potential to impact many others.

On Campus

On Campus Roundup

One year after the re-opening of the fully renovated George J. Kacek Hall, another Modernist residence hall designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is once again open for business. Cunningham Hall opened to students at the beginning of the fall 2021 semester, with a design mirroring that of the redesigned Kacek Hall. The building features six residential floors in a pod-style configuration, with student rooms pinwheeling around central study and social lounge areas, and another two floors that are in an apartment-style configuration.

On Campus

Illinois Tech Headliners

“That‘s one of the things you need to verify, who are you actually talking to? Is it a legitimate organization? A number of organizations will have their numbers publicly online so you can say, ‘I will contact you back. Please give me your name, your ID number, and I will contact you back,‘ just to make sure that it’s a legitimate organization. Organizations will be OK with that.”

Research Briefs

Looped In

During a visit to Mies Campus in October, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker announced $5 million in state funding for the university’s campus microgrid, which will allow Illinois Tech to construct four new loops to its system, completing the university’s original vision for the project.

Research Briefs

Social Media Bubbles

Ever wonder why Facebook recommends news stories that seem tailored to you? Researchers at Illinois Institute of Technology are studying how the algorithms that offer those recommendations can create filter bubbles, exposing readers to stories that skew toward their preconceived political views.

Athletics

Flying Start

For the first time in two years, Illinois Tech fall sports teams returned to action after not competing during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the layoff, multiple Scarlet Hawks teams started strong, opening with impressive starts that carried through their entire seasons.

Features

Lift While You Climb

Sitting in a lounge chair in the corner of his 19th-floor office in Michael Paul Galvin Tower, Raj Echambadi, in the midst of answering a question, pauses and interrupts his own train of thought. Then, without missing a beat, he asks me to follow him into the conference room that connects to his office via a closed door no more than 10 or so feet away.

Features

Equity By Design

Metra train tracks run at ground level through the Chicago South Side neighborhood of South Shore, where Dawveed Scully (ARCH ’10) spent his early years. An urban designer and associate director at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), and an adjunct instructor in architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology, the 36-year-old Scully recalls the boundary that the tracks created at 71st Street and Ridgeland Avenue, and within the realm of his childhood, a dividing line he opted not to cross.

Features

Driving Into the Future of the Unknown

YJ Ahn (M.D.M. ’06) seems too warm and approachable to be an agent of radical change. Yet those are the traits that she shares with her signature project, the Waymo Driver: a combination of both hardware and software that, when applied, looks like a sailboat wearing a fedora, but that aspires to make your car drive itself.

Features

Building the Motor Ahead of Its Time

From their home in Bagasara, India, Piyush Desai (M.S. EE ’04, Ph.D. ’09) grew up helping his father fix household items, ranging from motors to gramophones to old radios that operated using valves and tubes.

Features

Inquiring Mind

There was a time when Ian Fleming (LAW ’15), just for fun, typed up contracts for his favorite baseball icons—this many dollars for that many years. He’d pick a team and peg every player.

Philanthropy News

Remembered in Stone (and Glass)

The culture of philanthropy at Illinois Institute of Technology is as old as Illinois Tech itself. This year, as in years past, the philanthropy of alumni, trustees, and friends has made lasting contributions to the success of our university and our students, empowering them to make the difference they were born to make.