Some selected alumni who have changed the world:
Scott D. Altman (BS 1981, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering) is a decorated Naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. In addition to serving as a strike leader in Iraq, Altman's flying experience also landed him on the big screen as he performed many of the aerial stunts in the movie, Top Gun. In 1995, he was chosen as an astronaut, piloting two NASA shuttle missions and serving as mission commander on a third. He was the shuttle commander for the fifth and final servicing mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
Donald L. Bitzer (BS 1955, MS 1956, PhD 1960, Electrical Engineering) and colleagues developed PLATO, the first computer-based interactive educational network and home of the first online community. The flat-panel plasma monitor, a forerunner of today's high-definition flat-panel television monitors, was a spin-off invention made by researchers working on PLATO.
Alfred Cho (BS 1960, MS 1961, PhD 1968, Electrical Engineering) is considered "the father of molecular beam epitaxy," a process in which materials are layered atop one another--atom-by-atom within a vacuum--with great precision to form devices like transistors and light-emitting diodes, or lasers. The switches in cell phones that carry our conversations over radio frequencies are made using molecular beam epitaxy, as are most of the lasers used in CD/DVD players and drives.
Nick Holonyak, Jr. (BS 1950, MS 1951, PhD 1954, Electrical Engineering) developed the quantum well laser, making possible lasers for fiber-optic communications and the Internet, CDs, DVDs, medical diagnosis, surgery, ophthalmology, and many other applications. Holonyak, the John Bardeen Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at Illinois, also invented the first practical light emitting diode, in addition to the body of work on transistor and laser electronics generated over the span of his career (55+ years).
Jawed Karim (BS 2004, Computer Science) was one of PayPal's first developers; in 2005, he co-founded YouTube with two friends.
Jack S. Kilby (BS 1947, Electrical Engineering) was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958 while working at Texas Instruments. He held more than 60 patents and is credited as co-inventor of the hand-held calculator and the thermal printer used in portable data terminals.
Seichi Konzo (MS 1929, Mechanical Engineering) designed the first air-conditioned house in the world--at 1108 West Stoughton Street, Urbana--and moved his family in to test it.
Polykarp Kusch (MS 1933, PhD 1936, Physics) shared the 1955 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work toward the precise measurement of the magnetic moment of the electron.
Max Levchin (BS 1997, Computer Science) co-founded PayPal (with Peter Thiel) and served as its chief technology officer. PayPal began as a Palm Pilot payments and cryptography company, and now enables anyone with an email address to make and receive online payments quickly and securely. In October 2002, eBay acquired PayPal, which had also employed a number of U of I computer science alumni, including YouTube co-founders Jawed Karim and Steve Chen.
Joan Mitchell (MS 1971, PhD 1974, Physics) is aleading authority on the compression of image data for more efficient processing, storage, and distribution. Facsimile machines, video conferencing, the Internet, digital photography, and printing, all reflect her major contributions to industry standards such as G3 and G4, JPEG, and JBIG-1 and JBIG-2. Mitchell was a leader of the Joint Photographic Experts Group, the international organization that developed JPEG image compression, the first color still-image data compression international standard.
Ray Ozzie (BS 1979, Computer Science) was first exposed to the nature and significance of collaborative systems and computer-supported cooperative work while working on the university's PLATO project as an undergraduate. After graduation, he created and led the development of Lotus Notes, the defining groupware product used by more than 100 million people worldwide. Ozzie worked there for several years before leaving to form Groove Networks which was later acquired by Microsoft. In June 2006, Ozzie took over the Bill Gates' role as chief software architect at Microsoft, a position he held through 2010.
Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (MS 1942, PhD 1945, Physics) shared the 1977 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for the discovery and development of radioimmunoassay, a technique that employs radioactive isotopes to detect and measure the levels of insulin and hormones in the blood and in body tissues.
Learn more about the College's distinguished alumni
Engineering at Illinois Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame recognizes Illinois engineering alumni, and others affiliated with the college, who have significant achievements in leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation of great impact to society.
Alumni Award for Distinguished Service
The College of Engineering Alumni Award for Distinguished Service recognizes outstanding leadership, creativity, and entrepreneurship; fostering professional development of young engineers and scientists; and contributing to knowledge in engineering, science, business, medicine, and many other fields.
