Illinois Tech Magazine
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The STEM Storyteller
Anita Debarlaben (CS ’90) quit her lucrative job as a software engineer to take up teaching. She did well enough to get the attention of President Joe Biden’s administration, which presented her with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Playing the Game
When Evan Duda (Game and Interactive Media Design ’21) sat down with a family acquaintance for a friendly session of a board game that he created, he didn’t realize it would lead to that game getting published.
Read MoreFeatures and Spotlights
As a student, Dane Christianson (ME ’15) discovered a pair of passions: inventing and environmentalism. Now, he’s running Block Bins, a compost recycling service that he founded in 2018 and that was selected as a finalist for the Chicago Innovation Awards in 2024.
Dane Christianson (ME ’15)Applications running on artificial intelligence can make unexpected shifts in performance, which can lead to inaccurate results for users and create headaches for their creators. Mike McCourt helped found the AI enterprise testing platform company—Distributional—that helps clients ensure their products are performing in the ways that they want.
Mike McCourt (AMAT ’07)Swapna Sasidharan refused to give in when her son was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease. She’s trying to fund what drug companies won’t.
Swapna Sasidharan (M.A.S. ITM ’10)As the one of the most listened to voices in the Midwest labor movement, Bob Reiter’s drive to help workers began early as the child of a union steward and a midnight shift nurse.
Bob Reiter (LAW ’03)Araceli Garza didn’t just want to be an architect. She wanted to tackle building projects from start to finish—helping nonprofits with planning and financing, as well as the build itself.
Araceli Garza (ARCH ’98)After encouragement from a high school science fair judge, Anita Debarlaben attained an engineering degree, worked for years in industry as a software engineer, and—later in her career—branched into teaching to encourage others to follow her path.
Anita Debarlaben (CS ’90)As a student, Dane Christianson (ME ’15) discovered a pair of passions: inventing and environmentalism. Now, he’s running Block Bins, a compost recycling service that he founded in 2018 and that was selected as a finalist for the Chicago Innovation Awards in 2024.
Dane Christianson (ME ’15)Applications running on artificial intelligence can make unexpected shifts in performance, which can lead to inaccurate results for users and create headaches for their creators. Mike McCourt helped found the AI enterprise testing platform company—Distributional—that helps clients ensure their products are performing in the ways that they want.
Mike McCourt (AMAT ’07)Swapna Sasidharan refused to give in when her son was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease. She’s trying to fund what drug companies won’t.
Swapna Sasidharan (M.A.S. ITM ’10)As the one of the most listened to voices in the Midwest labor movement, Bob Reiter’s drive to help workers began early as the child of a union steward and a midnight shift nurse.
Bob Reiter (LAW ’03)Araceli Garza didn’t just want to be an architect. She wanted to tackle building projects from start to finish—helping nonprofits with planning and financing, as well as the build itself.
Araceli Garza (ARCH ’98)After encouragement from a high school science fair judge, Anita Debarlaben attained an engineering degree, worked for years in industry as a software engineer, and—later in her career—branched into teaching to encourage others to follow her path.
Anita Debarlaben (CS ’90)As a student, Dane Christianson (ME ’15) discovered a pair of passions: inventing and environmentalism. Now, he’s running Block Bins, a compost recycling service that he founded in 2018 and that was selected as a finalist for the Chicago Innovation Awards in 2024.
Dane Christianson (ME ’15)Applications running on artificial intelligence can make unexpected shifts in performance, which can lead to inaccurate results for users and create headaches for their creators. Mike McCourt helped found the AI enterprise testing platform company—Distributional—that helps clients ensure their products are performing in the ways that they want.
Mike McCourt (AMAT ’07)
As a student, Dane Christianson (ME ’15) discovered a pair of passions: inventing and environmentalism. Now, he’s running Block Bins, a compost recycling service that he founded in 2018 and that was selected as a finalist for the Chicago Innovation Awards in 2024.
Dane Christianson (ME ’15)
Applications running on artificial intelligence can make unexpected shifts in performance, which can lead to inaccurate results for users and create headaches for their creators. Mike McCourt helped found the AI enterprise testing platform company—Distributional—that helps clients ensure their products are performing in the ways that they want.
Mike McCourt (AMAT ’07)
Swapna Sasidharan refused to give in when her son was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease. She’s trying to fund what drug companies won’t.
Swapna Sasidharan (M.A.S. ITM ’10)
As the one of the most listened to voices in the Midwest labor movement, Bob Reiter’s drive to help workers began early as the child of a union steward and a midnight shift nurse.
Bob Reiter (LAW ’03)
Araceli Garza didn’t just want to be an architect. She wanted to tackle building projects from start to finish—helping nonprofits with planning and financing, as well as the build itself.
Araceli Garza (ARCH ’98)
After encouragement from a high school science fair judge, Anita Debarlaben attained an engineering degree, worked for years in industry as a software engineer, and—later in her career—branched into teaching to encourage others to follow her path.
Anita Debarlaben (CS ’90)
As a student, Dane Christianson (ME ’15) discovered a pair of passions: inventing and environmentalism. Now, he’s running Block Bins, a compost recycling service that he founded in 2018 and that was selected as a finalist for the Chicago Innovation Awards in 2024.
Dane Christianson (ME ’15)
Applications running on artificial intelligence can make unexpected shifts in performance, which can lead to inaccurate results for users and create headaches for their creators. Mike McCourt helped found the AI enterprise testing platform company—Distributional—that helps clients ensure their products are performing in the ways that they want.
Mike McCourt (AMAT ’07)
Swapna Sasidharan refused to give in when her son was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease. She’s trying to fund what drug companies won’t.
Swapna Sasidharan (M.A.S. ITM ’10)
As the one of the most listened to voices in the Midwest labor movement, Bob Reiter’s drive to help workers began early as the child of a union steward and a midnight shift nurse.
Bob Reiter (LAW ’03)
Araceli Garza didn’t just want to be an architect. She wanted to tackle building projects from start to finish—helping nonprofits with planning and financing, as well as the build itself.
Araceli Garza (ARCH ’98)
After encouragement from a high school science fair judge, Anita Debarlaben attained an engineering degree, worked for years in industry as a software engineer, and—later in her career—branched into teaching to encourage others to follow her path.
Anita Debarlaben (CS ’90)
As a student, Dane Christianson (ME ’15) discovered a pair of passions: inventing and environmentalism. Now, he’s running Block Bins, a compost recycling service that he founded in 2018 and that was selected as a finalist for the Chicago Innovation Awards in 2024.
Dane Christianson (ME ’15)
Applications running on artificial intelligence can make unexpected shifts in performance, which can lead to inaccurate results for users and create headaches for their creators. Mike McCourt helped found the AI enterprise testing platform company—Distributional—that helps clients ensure their products are performing in the ways that they want.
Mike McCourt (AMAT ’07)
