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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

This spring, Illinois Institute of Technology received two generous donations of power tools valued at nearly $100,000 from Milwaukee Tool, a long-standing partner of the university ..read more