Being a Contender
Right after graduating from Illinois Tech, Theo Lopez Marques (M.Eng. CM ’24) wanted another accomplishment under his belt—one he’d been working toward at least as long. Within weeks, he gained a...
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The Ghost in the Web
(PS ’11)Chris Salgado (PS ’11) often says there are only two good ways for a private investigator to conduct an investigation. “Be a ghost, or have a reason to be there,†says Salgado, who has spent decades...
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Innovative Solutions That Improve Lives
(CPE, M.S. CPE ’23)As a student at Illinois Tech, Saurabh Saluja (CPE, M.S. CPE ’23) seized every opportunity available, graduating with many successes both in and out of the classroom. “Illinois Tech played a major...
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Spearheading Sustainability Solutions
(CHE ’22)As an environment, health, safety, and sustainability analyst at consumer product company Diageo, Abigail Gunderson (CHE ’22) works with distilling, maturing, packaging, and demand sites to develop...
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Designing Beyond Buildings: An Architect’s Strategic Shift
(M.S. Strategic Design Leadership ’25)Zubair Bhaidani (M.S. Strategic Design Leadership ‘25) had been working as a licensed architect for nearly a decade when he reached a turning point. While managing complex, multimillion-dollar...
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Training AI for Human Needs
(AMAT ’07)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 (AMAT...
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The Innovation Upcycle
(ME ’15)Growing up, Dane Christianson (ME ’15) discovered a pair of passions—inventing and environmentalism—that put him on the path to entrepreneurship. “I always wanted to be an inventor,†he says. He...
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Keeping to the Creative Path
(Game and Interactive Media Design ’21)Right after graduating from Illinois Tech, Evan Duda (Game and Interactive Media Design ’21) met up with a friend of his brother’s from church—someone he’d heard was “crazy about board games.†Duda...
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Community Builder
(ARCH ’98)After working for years as an architect, Araceli Garza (ARCH ’98) found herself wanting more: more involvement in the design process, in the community outreach, even in financing, so that she could...
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The STEM Storyteller
(CS ’90)When Anita Debarlaben (CS ’90) mentioned to her high school guidance counselor that she wanted to be a scientist or engineer, she was told she had zero chance of making it. Students from her inner...