1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
1960s
Bill Dorner (EE ’69), St. Louis, retired after 55 years of engineering and managing in industrial inkjet printing. He was one of the original engineers who worked on inkjet printing at Videojet Systems International in 1972. Dorner says, “It has been a rewarding occupation, thanks to my roots at Illinois Tech.”
Bob Johnson (CE ’69, M.S. ’71), Buffalo Grove, Ill., was interviewed by the president of the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois on a webinar titled “Strength in Service: Lifelong Volunteer” to discuss his 35-plus years of experience volunteering with children and students who are engaged in a host of STEM programs, events, and competitions.
1970s
Tom Demetrio (LAW ’73), Chicago, was named a 2025 Notable Litigator and Trial Attorney by Crain’s Chicago Business.
Elaine Thomopoulos (Ph.D. PSYC ’74), Burr Ridge, Ill., is a historian, writer, and editor of the book Greek American Pioneer Women of Illinois, which was exhibited at the Indian Prairie Public Library in Darien, Illinois, last May.
Mark Rood (Engineering Sciences ’78) Champaign, Ill., is enjoying semi-retirement after working as a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for more than 32 years. Rood is now the Ivan Racheff Emeritus Professor of Environmental Engineering.
Jeffrey Sherwin (LAW ’78), Northlake, Ill., was elected to his eighth term as mayor of the City of Northlake. His newest term began on May 1, 2025.
David Lourie (CE ’79, M.S. ’81), Metairie, La., was interviewed on the podcast GeoHeroes, where he discussed his career in geotechnical engineering. Lourie is the CEO of Lourie Consultants in New Orleans, a company that he founded in 1992.
Egor Shulman (CS ’79, M.S. ’83), Saint George, Utah, received the Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service for the 2024–25 Rotary Year. He has been a Rotarian for 25 years, serving as both the USA-Russia Inter-Country committee president and Rotary District Foundation chair.
1980s
Jeff Jendryk (ME ’80), Wheaton, Ill., has a son by the same name who won a bronze medal for the United States in men’s volleyball during the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024. Jendryk was the Scarlet Hawk mascot from 1976–79, president of the student engineering council, president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers student section, and the Stryker Award winner in 1978 and 1979.
Amy Segami (ME ’80, M.S. ’83), Chicago, was inducted into the Million Dollar Consulting Hall of Fame. She is one of three consultants worldwide to receive this distinction this year.
Chris Winston (ME ’82), Cincinnati, was elected president of the Board of Directors of the GOMaximo Oil and Gas User Group. Due to his contributions to the IBM Maximo community, Winston also achieved IBM Champion status for the second consecutive year.
Ed Tillinghast III (LAW ’83), New York, co-wrote an op-ed in Sports Business Journal titled “Sailing at the Paralympics: A Missed Opportunity for Inclusiveness,” which advocates for the inclusion of sailing in the paralympics. He is a partner at Sheppard Mullin and a competitive sailor.
Prasad Kodukula (Ph.D. ENVE ’84), Chicago, was recognized for his outstanding contributions and leadership in project controls by receiving the 2025 Project Controls Excellence Award from the Project Control Academy.
Tim Cavanagh (LAW ’87), Chicago, was installed as the 72nd president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association in June. He was named a 2025 Notable Litigator and Trial Attorney by Crain’s Chicago Business.
David Schlaifer (LAW ’88), Saint Petersburg, Fla., is founder, president, and CEO of DAS Health Ventures, which announced a majority sale to Coalesce Capital this spring. DAS Health is a provider of health care information technology and business solutions to independent and enterprise physician groups and health care systems across North America.
1990s
J.J. Tang (M.ARCH. ’93), Palm Coast, Fla., shared his thoughts on federal architecture design in the recent issue of Construction Business Review in an opinion piece titled “Aligning Federal Projects with Smart Design and Mission-Driven Solutions.”
Bob Delaney (LAW ’94), Chicago, is now of counsel at the firm Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie, & Lowry, P.C. after previously retiring. Delaney focuses his practice in workers’ compensation defense.
Alice Kokodis (LAW ’95), Wellesley, Mass., was elevated to shareholder in Littler’s Boston office. Littler is the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management.
Gregory Rooks (EE ’95), New Lenox, Ill., retired from Accenture after 30 years delivering information technology consulting services to customers around the globe.
Cheryl Hyman (CS ’96), Newcastle, Wash., joined the Gates Foundation as the director of pathways strategy this past spring.
2000s
Kavin Ammigan (ME ’04, M.S. MAE ’07, Ph.D. ’12), Naperville, Ill., received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from former President Joe Biden on January 14, 2025, after being nominated by the United States Department of Energy.
Matt Rich (LAW ’04), Chicago, joined the national business law firm Howard & Howard in its Chicago office. Rich concentrates his practice on transactional real estate matters, advising his clients on all facets of residential and commercial real estate transactions.
Margaret Battersby Black (LAW ’08), Elmhurst, Ill., and Sulema Medrano Novak (LAW ’09), Arlington Heights, Ill., were both named among the 2025 Notable Litigator and Trial Attorneys by Crain’s Chicago Business.
2010s
Steven Mroczkowski (LAW ’10), Loda, Ill., joined the Chicago office of Buchalter law firm as shareholder in the firm’s litigation and construction practice groups. In this role, he represents clients across the construction contract chain on both transactional matters and disputes.
Sung Joon Chae (M.ARCH. ’12), Seoul, South Korea, was appointed to the Board of Directors of Yoshiharu Global Co., a restaurant operator specializing in authentic Japanese ramen and rolls.
Ryan Connery (LAW ’13), Clearwater Beach, Fla., joined Fox Rothschild as counsel in the taxation and ealth planning department.
Sarah Marshall (CHE ’14), Indianapolis, graduated from Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law with a focus in corporate/commercial and environmental/natural resources law. She and her family plan to relocate to northern Idaho, where she will practice law.
Monika Trujillo (LAW ’14), Oak Park, Ill., and Sean Fitzgerald (LAW ’19), Chicago, were each promoted to partner at Schouest, Bamdas, Soshea, BenMaier & Eastham PLLC. They work on cases arising under the Defense Base Act and matters before the United States Department of Labor.
Gerena Gregory (LAW ’16), Chicago, joined Foster Garvey as an associate in its business and corporate finance practice, which is based in New York. Gregory works with startups, venture-backed companies, and investors across a range of industries, including technology, food and beverage, digital media, and consumer products.
Tanner (ME ’16) and Taylor (B.ARCH. ’16) Grieve, Omaha, Neb., welcomed a baby girl, Daphne Rae Grieve, this past January.
Ben Grimmer (CS, M.S. ’16), Baltimore, discussed optimization methods and machine learning in an article featured in Quanta Magazine titled, “Risky Giant Steps Can Solve Optimization Problems Faster.” Grimmer is an applied mathematician at Johns Hopkins University.
Sean Hahn (CE ’17, M.ENG. STE ’17), Tinley Park, Ill., was elected to the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants-Chicago Board of Directors.
Mike DeAnda (Ph.D. THUM ’19), Chicago, designed the game And the Crops Withered, a solo role-playing experience inspired by Greek folklore. The game uses tarot cards to generate story prompts from the game manual to weave your tale of Demeter and Persephone.
2020s
Alex Damarjian (Ph.D. THUM ’22), Chicago, created PDI Check, a low-cost health care tool that uses eye-tracking technology to test visual acuity, depth perception, and color blindness in young children. This project began as his thesis project at Illinois Tech.
Autumn Bardwell-Baez (M.A.S ITM ’23), St. Charles, Ill., was appointed as the vice president of HRIS at CommuniCare, a renowned health care organization headquartered in Blue Ash, Ohio. In this role, she leads the development and execution of HR technology strategies.
Karl Hallsby (CPE, M.S. ’23), Batavia, Ill., was recognized as a fall 2024 Peter and Adrienne Barris Outstanding Teaching Assistant by Northwestern University’s computer science department for demonstrating excellence in mentoring and teaching. Hallsby is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in Northwestern’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Jennifer Dickey (LAW ’24), Chicago, was named to the Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” list for data privacy and security law. Dickey practices law at Dykema and serves as vice chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Cyber Law and Data Privacy Committee.
Gabriel Kokoszka (LAW ’24), Austin, Texas, joined Schaumburg, Illinois-based firm Lavelle Law as an associate. He primarily works on matters related to estate administration and probate.
Théo Lopez (M.ENG. CM ’24), New York, qualified for the world championships in a strength sport called StreetLifting after representing Team USA at the South American Championships. Lopez became the U.S. national champion in his weight category in 2024. He is currently working as a construction project manager at Boris Prime Renovation in New York.