Top Chicago Tech Entrepreneur To Talk About Technology Opportunities in the Smart Grid Revolution
Chicago technology entrepreneur Tim Stojka will talk about new opportunities for technology people in the smart grid revolution, as well as how to build a technology company from scratch, in two lectures on Nov. 6. The Computer Science Department and the IIT chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery are sponsors. The entire IIT community is welcome.
1. Smart Grid - An Energy & IT Revolution
Friday, Nov. 6, 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., 113 Stuart Building
The Smart Grid is creating incredible change and opportunity in the energy economy by providing individuals and businesses with lots of data about energy consumption, production, and distribution. The Smart Grid industry is enabled by the innovation we have had in the IT industry. Learn about the Smart Grid and the opportunities provided to the IT industry.
2. Building a Technology Company from Scratch
Friday, Nov. 6, 11:00 a.m.-Noon, 111 Stuart Building
Building a business from scratch takes a lot of vision, persistence, and hard work. Learn about building an information technology company from scratch and the top 10 lessons learned from three successful technology startups including building a team, raising capital, and creating a product.
Please RSVP to Matt Bauer, bauerm@iit.edu.
Stojka is chief executive officer of Agentis Energy, a Chicago-based energy technology company that delivers wireless energy management systems for commercial and industrial applications. He also has been CEO of Fast Heat Inc., a designer and manufacturer of heating elements, sensors, and controls. He was responsible for the global operations of the company, which has manufacturing, sales, and technical support facilities in Singapore, United Kingdom, and France.
Prior to his position at Fast Heat he served as co-founder, chairman and CEO of Commerx. A pioneer in the development of internet e-commerce systems, Stojka helped to direct and communicate Commerx's vision and growth strategies.
Stojka has been featured in a variety of top business publications including BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Crain's Chicago Business, and Business 2.0 and is a frequent guest speaker at tech industry conferences. In 2000, he was named one of 25 "E-Champions" by BtoB magazine and was a top 10 finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Stojka holds a bachelor's of science degree in engineering from Northwestern University and has attended the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He is a trustee of Illinois Institute of Technology and a member of the board of overseers of IIT's College of Science and Letters.