Camras Scholars
Illinois Institute of Technology's Camras Scholars Program is named for Marvin Camras (EE '40, MS '42), a pioneer in magnetic recording technology. Camras Scholars lead the campus in leadership, service, and research by solving age-old problems in structural engineering, developing novel methods for improving campus life, and increasing the overall academic and social ethic of their fellow students. Of all students who apply to IIT, less than 1% are selected to be Camras Scholars.
The Camras Scholars Program started in 1996 under the leadership of IIT Trustee and alumnus Robert Pritzker. It was initiated to attract high school students who demonstrated high motivation to engage in research, leadership and service to IIT; the vision of Mr. Pritzker and other IIT Trustees was that a group of approximately 30 outstanding students would energize the IIT student body and create change at the university.
Since its inception, the Camras Scholars Program has been highly successful at realizing this vision, and the number of students engaged in the program has been steadily increasing, with 156 Camras Scholars enrolled at IIT in the 2010-2011 academic year.
The Camras Scholars Program has three pillars: Leadership, Research and Service. The group's mission is to help its members achieve their personal and professional goals, while promoting excellence in groundbreaking and innovative research, social and entrepreneurial leadership, and service to the IIT community and the world as a whole.
The Camras Scholars Program is administered by the Provost’s Office. It is fortunate to have a strong advisory committee composed of faculty, staff and administrators across campus designed to provide the scholars with the needed connections to help them accomplish their goals while at IIT. In addition, they are mentored by both a faculty and staff advisor: Dr. Ullica Segerstrale, Professor of Social Sciences, and Jennifer Keplinger, Director of Academic Services for the Office of Undergraduate Education.
About Marvin Camras
Dr. Marvin Camras, born in 1916, was a pioneer in the field of magnetic recording. Beginning in the 1930s with a wire-based system and then switching to magnetic coatings on paper tapes and disks, Dr. Camras invented and developed such technologies as multi-track tape recording, stereophonic sound reproduction, magnetic sound for motion pictures, videotape recorders, as well as the technique of high-frequency bias recording. For this and related work Dr. Camras collected more than 500 patents and was named a Fellow of the IEEE and AAAS as well as other professional societies. He was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1985 and awarded the National Medal of Technology by President George Bush in 1990.