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Illinois Institute of Technology

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Crown Hall at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago – a famous modern building listed as a historic place in the United States.

The Illinois Institute of Technology (often called Illinois Tech or IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It took its current name in 1940, but its history started in 1890. It grew from two older schools: the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute.

Illinois Tech offers many subjects to study. These include architecture, business, communications, design, engineering, industrial technology, information technology, law, psychology, and science.

The university is known for its strong focus on research. It is counted among “R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity” classified. In the middle of the 20th century, Illinois Tech became famous for its modern buildings. This was because of the work of its Dean of Architecture, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. He designed much of the campus. Over time, it also added other schools such as the Institute of Design, Chicago-Kent College of Law, and the Midwest College of Engineering.

History

In 1890, a Chicago minister named Frank Wakely Gunsaulus gave a speech. He said he could build a school with a million dollars. Students would learn by doing things, not just reading.

Because of this idea, a man named Philip Danforth Armour, Sr. gave one million dollars. This started the Armour Institute in 1893. The school taught engineering, chemistry, architecture, and library science.

The Main Building at the Armour Institute of Technology in 1898.

Later, in 1940, Armour Institute joined with Lewis Institute. This became the Illinois Institute of Technology. Lewis Institute started in 1895. It offered courses for men and women.

Over the years, Illinois Tech grew. It joined with other schools, like the Institute of Design in 1949 and Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1969. It also started new programs, such as the Stuart School of Business in 1969.

The campus was designed by famous architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, starting in the 1940s. Today, Illinois Tech offers many programs in subjects like engineering, science, business, and law. It continues to grow.

Campuses

See also: Illinois Institute of Technology Academic Campus

Illinois Institute of Technology has five campuses in the Chicago area. The main campus is in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood and includes all undergraduate programs and many graduate programs. Other campuses are in the Chicago Loop, the Fulton Market area, and the suburbs of Bedford Park and Wheaton.

The main campus has many buildings designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who led the school's architecture program for many years. Part of this campus became a historic site in 2005. The school also has a campus in the Chicago Loop, a life science lab in Fulton Market, a graduate studies center in Wheaton, and a food safety research center in Bedford Park.

Perlstein Hall: one of the campus buildings designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Main campus

The main campus, called Mies Campus, is in Bronzeville on the South Side of Chicago. It includes many famous buildings designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The campus uses modern materials like steel and glass.

The McCormick Tribune Campus Center. Icons of male figures in action are placed throughout the building; several are visible at the lower left.

Notable buildings

S. R. Crown Hall, built in 1956, is one of Mies's most famous works. It has a unique roof design supported by just eight columns. The building was updated in 2005 and again in 2013.

State Street Village (SSV), a student housing area finished in 2003, was designed by architect Helmut Jahn. It has three five-story buildings connected by glass walls.

Main entrance of the Kaplan Institute

The McCormick Tribune Campus Center (MTCC) opened in 2003, designed by Rem Koolhaas. It has special pathways that continue the paths students use across campus.

The newest building on campus is the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, designed by architect John Ronan and completed in 2018.

Sustainability

In 2010, Illinois Tech received a top sustainability rating from the Princeton Review, sharing the honor with the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Academics

Illinois Tech has five main colleges and several research centers. These include the College of Computing, Armour College of Engineering, Lewis College of Science and Letters, College of Architecture, and Chicago-Kent College of Law. There is also the Institute of Design and the Stuart School of Business.

The university offers many programs, including undergraduate and graduate degrees. Some programs focus on engineering, science, design, business, and law. Illinois Tech is known for its strong programs in areas like aerospace, materials, and chemical engineering. It also has special programs in cybersecurity and digital forensics.

Student life

See also: Illinois Institute of Technology student groups

WIIT's studio inside the McCormick Tribune Campus Center

Illinois Tech has many student groups for students to join, such as religious groups, academic clubs, and activity clubs.

Three big student groups help everyone at the school: the Student Government Association (SGA), the Student Union Board (UB), and TechNews. The SGA talks between the school leaders and students and helps student groups. The UB plans many events each year for fun. TechNews is the school newspaper that shares news for students.

The school also has a radio station, WIIT, and a disc golf course. There is a place called "The Bog" where students can play games and watch shows. There are also music groups like The TechTonics that perform on and off campus. The school has several fraternities and sororities for students to join.

Athletics

The Illinois Tech (IIT) athletic teams are called the Scarlet Hawks. The university competes in the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), mainly in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) since 2018–19. Before that, they competed in Division I of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Illinois Tech has teams for 19 different sports. Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Women’s sports include basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. There is also a cricket team that is not a main varsity sport.

Illinois Tech athletics wordmark

Basketball

Illinois Tech stopped its men’s and women’s basketball teams after the 2008–09 season but started them again in 2012–13. The men’s team played in a big championship in March 2017.

Track and field

Track and field is the oldest sport at Illinois Tech, starting in 1893. The team had many great athletes over the years. It stopped being a main team after 1963 but returned as a club team in 2004 and a main team again in 2011. Since then, many athletes from the team have qualified for big national competitions.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Illinois Institute of Technology alumni

Illinois Institute of Technology has many graduates who have done great things in many fields. These graduates studied areas like architecture, engineering, business, and science. Their success shows how the university has helped change the world.

Notable faculty

Illinois Institute of Technology has had many famous teachers. Some of them are well-known for their work in science, engineering, and art. The school is proud of these talented people.

Faculty (current and former)
Virgil Abloh, fashion designer (Creative Director for Louis Vuitton and Founder of Off-White x Nike), entrepreneur, DJ
John L. Anderson, professor of chemical engineering
Lori Andrews, professor of law
Wiel Arets, professor of architecture
Shlomo Argamon, professor of computer science
Carol Ross Barney, adjunct professor of architecture
John F. O. Bilson, professor of finance, dean of Stuart School of Business
Harry Callahan, professor of photography
Cosmo Campoli, professor of sculpture
Patrick Corrigan, professor of psychology
Michael Davis, professor of philosophy
Martha Evens, emeritus professor
Martin Felsen, associate professor of architecture
Lance Fortnow, dean of the College of Computing
Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, assistant professor of English
Lois Graham, professor of mechanical engineering
S. I. Hayakawa, professor of English
Mar Hicks, associate professor of history of technology
Fazlur Khan, adjunct professor of structural engineering
Albert Henry Krehbiel, professor of art
Walter McCrone, professor of microscopy and materials science
Karl Menger, professor of mathematics
Hassan Nagib, John T. Rettaliata Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
László Moholy-Nagy, professor of design
Art Paul, designer, creator of Playboy logo
Walter Peterhans, taught 'visual training' course for architecture students
Sonja Petrović, associate professor of applied mathematics
Nambury S. Raju, professor of psychology
Edward Reingold, professor of computer science and applied mathematics
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, professor of architecture
John Ronan, professor of architecture
Mohammad Shahidehpour, Bodine Chair professor of electrical and computer engineering
Tamara Goldman Sher, professor of psychology
Arthur Siegel, professor of photography
Aaron Siskind, professor of photography
Nellie Bangs Skelton, professor of piano
Abe Sklar, professor of applied mathematics
Susan Solomon, discover the hole in ozone layer, leader in Atmospheric Chemistry, inducted in National's Women Hall of Fame
Robert Bruce Tague, professor of architecture
David Tannor (born 1958), theoretical chemist, Hermann Mayer Professorial Chair in the Department of Chemical Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science
John Henry Waddell, professor of sculpture and art
John Heskett, professor of design
Charles N. Haas, Betz Professor of Environmental Engineering, Drexel University (IIT BS 1973, MS 1974); was a faculty member at IIT from 1981 to 1990. Member, National Academy of Engineering
Nobel laureate faculty
Leon M. Lederman, professor of physics; Nobel laureate in physics (1988); director emeritus of Fermilab; founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Herbert A. Simon, professor of psychology; political, economic, psychological and computer science polymath; Nobel laureate in economics (1978)
Jack Steinberger, physicist; Nobel laureate in physics (1988); studied chemical engineering at Armour Institute of Technology but his scholarship ended and he had to leave

Images

Student housing at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
A plaque marking a building as part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

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