Electrical and Computer Engineering Alumni News ECE Alumni Association newsletter University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Winter 2005-2006 Jack Kilby, 1923–2005 Volume XL Cancer claims Nobel laureate, ECE alumnus

By Laura Schmitt and Jamie Hutchinson Inside this issue Microchip inventor and Nobel physics laureate DEPARTMENT HEAD’S Jack Kilby (BSEE ’47) died from cancer on MESSAGE June 22, 2005. He was 81. Kilby received the 2000 Nobel Prize in 2 Physics on December 10, 2001, in an award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden. Kilby was ROOM-TEMPERATURE LASER recognized for his part in the invention and 4 development of the integrated circuit, which he first demonstrated on September 12, 1958, while at Texas Instruments. At the Nobel awards ceremony, Royal Swedish Academy member Tord Claesen called that date “one of the most important birth dates in the history of technology.” A measure of Kilby’s importance can be seen in the praise that was lavished on him in death. Lengthy obituaries appeared in engi- Jack Kilby neering and science trade publications as well FEATURED ALUMNI CAREERS as in major newspapers worldwide, including where his interest in electricity and electron- the New York Times, Financial Times, and The ics blossomed at an early age. His father ran a 29 Economist. On June 24, ABC News honored power company that served a wide area in rural Kilby by naming him its Person of the Week. Kansas, and he used amateur radio to keep in Reporter Elizabeth Vargas introduced the contact with customers during emergencies. segment by noting that Kilby’s invention During an ice storm, the teenage Kilby saw “had a direct effect on billions of people in the firsthand how electronic technology could world,” despite his relative anonymity among positively impact people’s lives. the general public. Kilby entered the Illinois EE department Among electrical engineers, however, Kil- in the fall of 1941. He completed his first two NEW FACULTY by’s name carries legendary status. Electronic years, but his education was interrupted by the 14 Engineering Times editor-in-chief Brian Fuller war. After serving in the Army, he returned to eulogized Kilby as “the soul of innovation.” campus in January 1946. According to Kilby, Intel Chairman Emeritus Gordon Moore his formal training was in electrical power, but ALUMNI CLASS NOTES recalled Kilby as “an engineer’s engineer, who he had taken some vacuum tube classes and he 36 remained true to his technical roots and loyal studied some engineering physics. to the principles of science.” He began his career in 1947 with Centralab, Kilby grew up in Great Bend, Kansas, a Milwaukee-based electronics manufacturer,

Jack Kilby, 1923-2005, continued on page 39 ECE Alumni News

Department head’s message ECE Alumni Association I want to use my message this issue to of energy, with officers and board discuss the state of the Department of research in large President Electrical and Computer Engineering transmission lines Sherel Horsley (2004-2007) Vice Presidents and the future of the department. From and networks, ro- Midwest Kenneth Smolik (2003-2006) the office of the department head, one tating machinery, West Richard Williams (2003-2006) can appreciate the full breadth of all that batteries, power East Kevin Warren (2005-2008) we are doing. supplies, and Treasurer I want to first convey my broad view regulation. Kurt Hollenbeck (2005-2008) of how the department is developing Additionally, Richard E. Blahut Board Members and changing. Our department is now our graduates now Todd Bleanblosson (2004-2007) Mark Bohr (2003-2006) much richer and broader than the tradi- go on to a variety of careers in engineer- Ram Chillarege (2003-2006) tional electrical engineering department ing, finance, law, medicine, management Shirley Drazba (2004-2007) of a generation ago. Currently, we have consulting, politics, and so on. Many Chris George (2005-2008) faculty in the ECE Department with de- undergraduate students see engineer- Dirk Meyer (2004-2007) grees in electrical engineering, computer ing as a first degree to be followed by a Theodore Spanos (2004-2007) Denise Turic (2005-2008) engineering, computer science, physics, professional degree in one of these other Michael Winberg (2004-2007) mathematics, materials science, chemistry, areas. I encourage this as it is an excel- John Woythal (2003-2006) and linguistics. lent opportunity for us to prepare ECE Our faculty collaborate with other students to be leaders in the global society Past President faculty, not only throughout the College and economy. Doug Criner (2004-2007) of Engineering, but across many colleges As we enter deeper into the new cen- Ex Officio Members at the University, and with many other tury, our ECE Department must continue Faculty Coordinator James J. Coleman (2005-2006) people and institutions, both nationally to work collaboratively with other disci- Alternate Faculty Coordinator and internationally. Each of our research plines and continue evolving and expand- William Sanders (2005-2006) areas is broad. Our physical electronics ing its breadth. Our student admissions Secretary research involves not only physics and and advising policy must keep pace with Emma Marshall electronics, but also chemistry, materials, this evolution. Our PhD program will Undergraduate Representative cell biology, and microbiology. Our bio- continue to welcome the best graduates Avon Fernandes (2005-2006) imaging research interacts with medicine from a variety of undergraduate curricula: Graduate Student Representative and physiology. Our electromagnetics computer engineering, computer science, Dianna Liu (2005-2006) research interacts with civil engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, and ECE Alumni News is published by plasmas, displays, and aeronautics. Our physics. the University of Illinois at Urbana- signal processing research also involves Our mission is to educate our under- Champaign Electrical & Computer Engineering Department and the ECE psychology and linguistics. Our research graduate and graduate students in the Alumni Association. Your feedback is in communications and control involves fundamentals of our discipline, to provide welcome. Please send comments to Beth game theory, networking, information practical experience in our extensive suite Katsinas at [email protected]. theory, the dynamics of economic systems, of laboratory courses, and to foster leader- and cryptography. Our research in com- ship and the maturity to see competitors puter engineering involves computer sci- and cooperatives as playing two positive ence, circuit theory, robotics, graphics, and roles. Our graduates will enter leader- complexity theory. Our research in circuit ship positions later in their careers and theory ranges from physical electronics our program must provide both technical and custom VLSI chips to large software knowledge for the early years of the ca- design tools. Our power program involves reer and the foundations on which later the production and secure transmission maturity will develop.

2 Winter 2005-2006

Flexible tactile sensors could help robots work better

By James E. Kloeppel, U of I News Bureau

A robot’s sensitivity to touch could be vastly improved by an array of poly- mer-based tactile sensors that has been combined with a robust signal-pro- cessing algorithm to classify surface textures. The work, led by ECE faculty members Chang Liu and Doug Jones, is an essential step in the development of robots that can identify and manipulate objects in unstructured environments. “We are developing artificial tactile sensors that will imitate the function- ality and efficiency found in biologi- cal structures such as human fingers,” said Liu. “We have shown that simple, low-cost sensor arrays can be used to Ross. Photo by Kwame Developments by Illinois researchers could improve a robot’s sensitivity to touch. Researchers analyze and identify surface textures.” include, from left, graduate students Sung-Hoon Kim and Jonathan Engel, and ECE professors Biological sensors provide a wealth Doug Jones and Chang Liu. of information concerning the shape, hardness, and texture of an object. Ro- photolithographic patterning tech- the signal-processing algorithm so it can bots, which typically possess a single niques. In the reported work, the re- be performed by circuitry mounted on pressure sensor in their grip, can’t deter- searchers created a 4 x 4 array (16 the same substrate as the sensor. They mine whether an object is hard or soft, sensors) and evaluated its performance. also want to build larger arrays with or how hard it is squeezing an object. “Each sensor resembles a little drum distributed sensors, and develop more “One of the unsolved problems in robot- head about 200 microns in diameter with a effective ways to import and utilize ics is the handling of delicate objects such tiny bump in the center,” Engel said. “On sensory data. Such improvements could as eggs,” said Jones. “The distributed sens- the surface of the drum head, we deposit expand the functionality of robots in as- ing we have in our hands allows us to grab a thin-metal strain gauge that changes sembly-line environments and facilitate an egg with enough force that it won’t slip, resistance when stretched. Pressure on the development of autonomous vehicles. but without so much force that it breaks. the sensor is converted into digital data “Our ultimate goal is to allow robots One of our goals is to develop an array that is sent to a computer and analyzed to operate in unstructured environments,” of sensors that provides robotic systems with a signal-processing algorithm.” Liu said. “To build more trust between with a similar source of tactile feedback.” In any detection problem, implementa- humans and robots, we must make reli- Completing the research team are tion is a key issue. “Speed is important, but able sensor systems that can analyze ECE graduate student Sung-Hoon Kim complex tasks like tactile sensing tend to their physical surroundings quickly and and mechanical engineering graduate be very time consuming,” Kim said. “We accurately. Our work is a step toward student Jonathan Engel. The team de- came up with advanced algorithms that making trustworthy sensors that give scribed the construction and operation of make the process more computation- robotics the power to really help people.” its tactile sensory array in the May 2005 ally efficient. Our algorithms can quickly The work was funded by the National issue of the Journal of Micromechanics and determine which sensors are activated Science Foundation, the U.S. Air Force, Microengineering, published by the Insti- in the array, and whether the object is and the Defense Advanced Research tute of Physics. flat, or shaped like a box or the letter X.” Projects Agency. The sensors are fabricated from In future work, the researchers want to an inexpensive polymer sheet using improve efficiency by further simplifying

3 ECE Alumni News

Room-temperature transistor laser is a step closer to commercialization By James E. Kloeppel, U of I News Bureau

ECE faculty members Nick Holonyak Jr. timately required and Milton Feng have demonstrated the for large-sc ale room-temperature operation of a hetero- commercial appli- junction bipolar transistor laser, moving cations, said Hol- the device an important step closer to onyak, who also is commercialization. The researchers de- a professor in the scribed their work in the September 26 is- Illinois Center for sue of the journal Applied Physics Letters. Advanced Study, “We have shown that the transistor la- one of the highest ser, even in its early state of development, forms of campus is capable of room-temperature operation recognition. “If this Photo by Kwame Ross. Photo by Kwame at a speed of three gigahertz,” said Hol- device operated only Illinois researchers Milton Feng, left, and Nick Holonyak Jr. have onyak Jr., John Bardeen Chair Professor in at low temperature, demonstrated the room-temperature operation of a transistor laser, ECE and Physics. “We expect the device nobody would want moving it a step closer to commercialization. Room-temperature will operate at much higher speeds when it, except as a labo- transistor lasers “could facilitate faster signal processing, large it is more fully developed, as well as play ratory curiosity or capacity seamless communications, and higher performance electrical and optical integrated circuits,” Feng said. an important role in electronic-photonic for very limited ap- integrated circuits.” plications.” Room-temperature transistor lasers After the demonstration of the first optimizing the design and fabrication “could facilitate faster signal processing, semiconductor laser (as well as the first will result in higher speed laser operation large capacity seamless communications, practical light-emitting diode) in 1962, and improved performance, as well as and higher performance electrical and “it took the effort of many people eight a naturally advantageous way to realize optical integrated circuits,” said Feng, years to get the diode laser to operate at electronic-photonic integrated circuits.” the Holonyak Chair Professor in ECE. room temperature,” Holonyak said. “Then Co-authors of the paper with Feng Feng’s research on heterojunction bipolar it took an additional two years to make it and Holonyak are postdoctoral research transistors has produced the world’s fastest reliable. But the big payoff has only now associates Gabriel Walter and Richard bipolar transistor, a device that operates at just begun, after more than 40 years of Chan. The Defense Advanced Research a frequency of 600 gigahertz or more, and additional work.” Projects Agency funded the work. is a natural platform on which to develop In comparison, it has taken the Illi- a transistor laser. nois researchers less than a year to move The researchers first reported the dem- the transistor laser from cold operation onstration of a light-emitting transistor in to room-temperature operation. “Who the January 5, 2004, issue of Applied Phys- knows where this new transistor laser ics Letters. They described the first laser technology will be in another 40 years,” operation of the light-emitting transistor Holonyak said. “The payoff part of scien- in the November 15, 2004, issue of the tific and technological advances never oc- same journal. At that time, the transistor curs rapidly, at least not the ‘big payoff.’” laser had to be chilled with liquid nitrogen “The transistor laser is still a primitive, to minus 73 degrees Celsius. laboratory device that will require a lot Room-temperature operation is ul- more work,” Holonyak said. “Eventually,

4 Winter 2005-2006

ECE professor heads up genome project

By Rick Kubetz, Office of Engineering Communications A team of U of I researchers headed by solving difficult scientific and engineering ECE Professor Greg Timp has been problems,” said Jeffery Schloss, NHGRI’s named as a recipient of a federal grant to program director for technology devel- develop faster, cheaper DNA sequenc- opment. “The different approaches will ing. In August, the National Human likely yield several successful and comple- Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), mentary technologies. It is going to be part of the National Institutes of Health interesting to see how each technology (NIH), awarded grants totaling more than progresses and which of them can ulti- $32 million to advance the development mately be used by the average researcher of innovative sequencing technologies or physician.” intended to reduce the cost of DNA se- “The efforts are aimed at speeding Molecular dynamics simulation of the quencing and expand the use of genomics the rate at which the next generation of translocation of a single molecule of DNA in biomedical research and health care. sequencing technologies become avail- through a 2.5-nm-diameter pore in an Timp’s research team includes ECE able in the scientific lab and the medical ultrathin membrane. Professor Jean-Pierre Leburton, physics clinic,” said NHGRI Director Francis S. Collins. “Not only will these technologies faculty Klaus Schulten and Alek Aksi- of whole-genome sequencing to $1,000 or substantially reduce the cost of sequenc mentiev, and biochemistry faculty member - less, which would enable the sequencing Stephen Sligar. Timp and his colleagues ing a genome, but they will provide a of individual genomes as part of routine will use the three-year, $2.1 million award quantum leap in the scope and scale of medical care. The ability to sequence an to explore the feasibility of sequencing a research aimed at uncovering the genomic individual genome cost-effectively could DNA molecule using a type of silicon contributions to common diseases, such as enable health care professionals to tailor integrated circuit. The circuit incorporates cancer, heart disease and diabetes.” diagnosis, treatment, and prevention to a nanopore mechanism (see illustration) Over the past decade, DNA sequenc- each person’s unique genetic profile. with a molecular trap that forces the DNA ing costs have fallen more than 50-fold, molecule to oscillate back and forth be- fueled in large part by tools, technologies, tween electrodes, measuring the electrical and process improvements developed as signal associated with each specific base. part of the successful effort to sequence Over the past year, NHGRI has pro- the human genome. However, it still vided grants to a wide range of projects costs about $10 million to sequence three that integrate biochemistry, chemistry, billion base pairs—the amount of DNA and physics with engineering to enhance found in the genomes of humans and the whole effort to develop the next gen- other mammals. eration of DNA sequencing and analysis NHGRI’s near-term goal is to lower technologies. the cost of sequencing a mammalian-sized “It is very important that we encour- genome to $100,000, which would enable age and support the variety of sequencing researchers to sequence the genomes of technology projects that hold the most hundreds or even thousands of people as promise for revolutionizing genome part of studies to identify genes that con- sequencing. Each research team brings tribute to common, complex diseases. Ul- a unique set of skills and expertise to timately, NHGRI’s vision is to cut the cost

5 ECE Alumni News

Teaching computers to talk

By Anna Flanagan

This is the dream: You find an error on your credit card statement and call cus- tomer service. But, instead of getting an automated system that leads you through a lengthy and ineffective series of simple responses that lead ultimately to hold- ing for a service representative, your call is answered by an automated system to which you describe your problem in Jont Allen Mark Hasegawa- Steve Levinson Richard Sproat Johnson natural language, perhaps even vent some of your frustration, and receive effective mostly limited to understanding only a challenge is to increase the performance assistance. small number of words within the context accuracy of such systems. ECE professor Some might call this an impossible of a specific task. Levinson says ASR won’t Mark Hasegawa-Johnson, co-principal dream. But professors in ECE are work- reach its full potential until scientists fully investigator in ISLE, studies this prob- ing on a variety of research projects that comprehend how humans acquire, process lem. may turn this dream into reality. Under and understand language. He explains that standard speech rec- the loose heading of automatic speech “In large measure, we understand how ognition software has three components: recognition (ASR), they are conducting speech is produced. We understand how a front end, which processes incoming research related to such topics as robust- audition occurs. We know a little bit signals similarly to the human ear; an ness, human speech recognition, acoustic about the structure of language. But we acoustic model that outputs the probabil- modeling, and language acquisition. can’t put it all together,” he said. Existing ity that at a given time, a given phoneme Professor Steve Levinson is a principal speech recognition systems are inadequate is being produced; and a language model investigator in the Illinois Speech and because they include limited representa- that matches the probability of phonemes Language Engineering (ISLE) research tions of grammar, and no representation to likely words that a person might say. group, housed in the Beckman Institute. of meaning. The second and third stages currently The group works toward a full knowledge “To create a machine that acquires and rely on simple, one-dimensional statistical of human speech, hearing, and language uses language as humans do, it’s going to models that are “trainable.” understanding, with an eye toward build- be necessary to understand a fair amount “We can take a body of 2000 hours of ing computer systems that understand and about how humans construct a mental data and extract statistics that represent use human language as well as humans model of the world,” Levinson said. His all of the data,” he said. “Being able to op- do. research team has developed robots that timize the model is sufficiently powerful Levinson says that automating hu- can create, in Levinson’s words, “some that these very simple models have com- man communication has proven to be sort of a mental model of an admittedly pletely outperformed any more linguisti- a much more difficult task than anyone simplified world.” For example, the team’s cally or psychologically realistic models anticipated. Prior to joining the U of I, he current robot, Illy, responds to speech, that are not able to be optimized.” spent more than 20 years working on the recognizes and picks up certain objects, For the last five years, Hasegawa- problem for Bell Labs. Despite the invest- and mimics sounds she hears. Johnson has been working to build more ment of time and money by Bell and other On the way to an automatic speech realistic models that retain the property companies, Levinson describes speech recognition system that can engage in of being “trainable.” His goal is not only recognition as a “primitive technology,” natural human communication, another to increase the accuracy of ASR systems, Continued on page 7 6 Winter 2005-2006

but also to do so regardless of the task man speech recognition to find out how appropriate emotion given the properties assigned to the system. it works. Over the last five years, he has of the text you’re reading,” said Sproat. Among other things, his work has been applying his physiological knowledge “Ideally, you’d be able to render this par- demonstrated that algorithms based on to the technological problems of ASR, in ticular section as being happy, and this acoustic “landmarks” in speech—percep- addition to applications such as improved particular section as being sad, and so on tually salient, instantaneous events such cochlear implants and hearing aids. and so forth.” as the closing and opening of the lips on Allen conducts experiments to deter- Using classic children’s texts that are the word “mama”—result in significant mine how humans discriminate between marked up (by humans) with emotional reductions in error rates, as do algorithms similar sounds such as “ma” and “na” in cues for the computer, Sproat applies a that address the interaction between high noise environments. He now has a variety of machine learning techniques to phonemes and prosody, or the stress good idea of the noise threshold at which train the computer to do its own render- and rhythm pattern of naturally spoken such sounds become confused, and ul- ing of emotion based on the statistical language. He hopes eventually to create a timately wants to build a machine that semantics of the text. Once computers speech recognition system that performs performs the same discriminations with have learned this, their interaction with as well as humans at the speech unit level humanlike accuracy. Such discrimina- humans, even those who have difficulty of phonemes and words. tions, he has found, can also be affected remaining engaged with tasks, will be While Hasegawa-Johnson is work- by characteristics of the speaker, a fact he vastly improved. ing on the second and third stages of hopes to take account of in designing the It remains to be seen whether the automatic speech recognition, Associate machine. research being conducted by Levinson, Professor Jont Allen’s research is critical Professor Richard Sproat, who has Hasegawa-Johnson, Allen, Sproat, and to the front end. Like Levinson, Allen joint appointments in the ECE and others will lead to an automatic system has a long work history in the field of Linguistics departments, focuses on how that can engage in unrestricted dialogue ASR, also at Bell Labs, although he has computer speech sounds to listeners. Tak- with humans. At the very least, their focused on understanding the ear and the ing children with learning disabilities as an work is contributing toward the develop- auditory system. Two of the limitations he example audience, Sproat said that when ment of general scientific principles that sees with ASR are that it’s only effective using the current technology of speech will enrich our understanding of human when there’s a great deal of control over synthesizers, “You’re going to turn them communication. There is a great deal of the environment, and that it relies on a off. They’re not going to respond to it.” skepticism about taking a scientific ap- very small vocabulary. He believes the The reason for this lack of response is proach to the automatic speech recogni- problem that has to be solved before ASR the lack of emotion—the “flatness”—of tion problem, Levinson says, and it’s not can be commercially viable is the robust- synthesized speech. Sproat’s work ad- clear that it can succeed. But, he says, it ness problem. dresses this shortcoming of the current certainly has to be tried. “If you train a system under ideal technology. Tom Moone contributed to portions of this conditions with a known talker and a “Let’s say you’re reading an age-appro- article. known microphone under a known noise priate story to a child, say a Peter Rabbit environment, you can probably get it to story,” said Sproat. “You can’t make the work pretty well,” he said. “But as soon as story sound all happy all the time because the talker gets a cold, or uses a different bad things happen in the story, and there microphone, or there’s a radio playing in are scary parts.” The only clues as to the the background, then it breaks. It’s very appropriate emotion lie in the text itself. delicate.” “One of the things we’re working on is Allen works at reverse-engineering hu- methods that will allow you to predict the

7 ECE Alumni News

An ECE star Swenson pioneered radio astronomy at Illinois, and a lot more By Jamie Hutchinson

In 1941, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) awarded ECE profes- sor-to-be George Swenson, then 18, a full scholarship to study electrical engineering and dubbed him the most likely youngster in the nation to lead a successful career in the field of radio science. Good call, RCA. Swenson would go on Though retired, Swenson has continued to establish the radio astronomy and satel- coming in to work at CSL, where he advises lite-ionosphere research programs at Illi- grad students and conducts research in nois. He served as head of both the ECE acoustics and animal telemetry for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (He’s still strong, and astronomy departments. As ECE but he didn’t really bend that signpost.) head, he established the department’s first American Boy magazine put George endowed chair and initiated the acquisi- Swenson, 18, on its February 1941 cover in invited Swenson to return to Urbana the tion of the Microelectronics Laboratory. honor of his RCA scholarship. He is pictured following month and meet astronomy He was selected for membership in the at amateur radio station W9YX at Michigan department head George McVittie. National Academy of Engineering in College of Mining and Technology in Within a couple weeks, Jordan and Houghton, where he started hanging around 1978. McVittie had put together an offer long before college. “I must have been a real Swenson spent his RCA scholar- pest,” joked Swenson. Swenson couldn’t refuse. He joined the ship money in his hometown, attending Illinois faculty in 1956 with half-time Michigan College of Mining and Tech- appointments in each department and nology (now Michigan Tech) in Hough- started building radio astronomy at Il- ton, Michigan. He served three years in linois. His first “assignment” was a world the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World tour of radio astronomy observatories, War II, and then earned his master’s at which took him to Australia, Holland, MIT and doctorate at Wisconsin. After France, and England, interrupting his first graduate school, Swenson served briefly course as a professor in ECE. “The person on the faculties at Washington University who took over my course that semester (St. Louis), the University of Alaska, and was Jordan himself,” recalled Swenson. Swenson (right) displays the furlable antenna, Michigan State. made from a common tape measure, of “So the students thought I must be pretty “I was smarting at Michigan State, and “Nora Alice”—a satellite payload used for important!” open to any offers,” recalled Swenson. He atmospheric research in the early 1960s. From 1958 to 1981, Swenson oversaw longed to apply his electronics expertise to Also pictured from left to right: Joseph the construction and operation of two studying the natural world, but found that Hemmer (BSEE ’64, holding Nora Alice), Carl major radio telescopes at Illinois’ Ver- Stubenrauch (BSEE ’62), William Cochran research was not encouraged there at the (BSEE ’67), and Joseph Smith (BSEE ’64). milion River Observatory (VRO). VRO time. At a series of monthly professional helped in recruiting talented astronomers meetings in Chicago, Swenson befriended Urbana, Swenson met ECE department to Illinois, including the current head of the late ECE professors Milt Crothers head Ed Jordan, and he expressed his astronomy, Lewis Snyder, and former (MSEE ’49) and George Anner, who in- frustration at trying to generate interest in astronomy head and NCSA chief appli- vited him to visit the Urbana campus. At radio astronomy at Michigan State. Jordan Continued on page 9 8 Winter 2005-2006

cation scientist Dick Crutcher. The facil- ity cataloged thousands of radio sources within and beyond the galaxy, helping theorists study the history and structure of our universe. (VRO was featured in the Spring 2005 issue of Alumni News.) In addition, Swenson spent four years during the 1960s as a visiting scientist with the National Radio Astronomy Ob- servatory (NRAO). He chaired the design group for NRAO’s Very Large Array in New Mexico, which is to this day one of the premiere radio astronomy research instruments in the world. He served as acting head of the Illinois Astronomy Department from 1969-1971. And he coauthored a textbook, Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy, now in its second English and Russian editions. Accomplishments like that would be Swenson pictured with his old Cessna 150. He has since replaced the plane with a 1974 Cessna enough to fill most resumes, but with 172, which he flew round-trip from Illinois to Alaska in 2001. Swenson it’s just the beginning. He enjoys applying radio science to other research www.ece.uiuc.edu/pubs/reminisc/. worthy of support.” areas such as atmospheric research and One of Swenson’s more unusual Swenson officially retired in 1988, but wildlife tracking, or telemetry. He es- professional activities was to serve from has continued to research and advise grad- tablished the ionosphere research group 1980 until 1990 on a working group that uate students. Today, at 83, his towering in ECE at the time the Soviet Union advised NASA on the search for extrater- frame regularly casts its welcome shadow launched the world’s first artificial satel- restrial intelligence. “The committee was along the corridors of the Coordinated lite, Sputnik I. His expertise in acoustics balanced between skeptics and true believ- Science Lab. One striking feature sets dates back to high school, when he built ers,” recalled Swenson. “I was a skeptic. I Swenson’s office apart from the others in a phonograph for a girlfriend, and he didn’t think we knew enough to devise CSL: a workbench—complete with vise, published a textbook, Principles of Modern a rational search strategy. So if a signal soldering iron, toolbox—strewn with elec- Acoustics, in 1953. came in from an unequivocally intelligent tronics in varying stages of assembly. That There’s more: Swenson is an avid pilot, source, I thought it was just as likely to be workbench pretty much tells you all you canoeist, hiker, naturalist, and writer. He discovered by an astronomer doing his need to know about George Swenson. once ventured to within 50 kilometers of regular thing as by a group doing a pur- the North Pole, and he was the first per- poseful search.” Congress cut the NASA son to make it to the summit of Alaska’s program in 1993, but Swenson continues Institute Peak (8500 feet). In 1996 he self- to follow the work of the privately funded published a collection of autobiographical SETI Institute. A skeptic with an open writings entitled “Reminiscence”, excerpts mind, Swenson feels “a small coterie of of which are available on the Web at: bright minds working on the problem is

9 ECE Alumni News

Two ECE faculty members receive endowed chairs By Tom Moone

On September 21, investiture ceremo- and the National nies were held for ECE Professor Mil- Medal of Tech- ton Feng, who was invested as the first nology (2002). In Nick Holonyak Jr. Chair in Electrical 2004, he won the and Computer Engineering, and ECE Lemelson-MIT Professor Weng Cho Chew, who was Prize, the world’s invested as the first Y. T. Lo Chair in largest single cash Electrical and Computer Engineering. prize for inven- In his opening remarks, Acting Provost tion. and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Milton Feng Jesse Delia reminded the audience that (MS ’76, PhD ’79) “investiture” originally meant “to clothe received the chair Photo by Thompson-McClellan. Photo by or array a person with clothes or honors.” named for Hol- On September 21, ECE Professor Milton Feng was invested as the first He pointed out that as it is currently onyak. Upon com- Nick Holonyak Jr. Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and used, an investiture represents the high- pleting his PhD ECE Professor Weng Cho Chew was invested as the first Y. T. Lo Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Shown here are (from left) est honor and recognition of excellence at Illinois under Interim Dean Ilesanmi Adesida, Weng Cho Chew, Milton Feng, and that a university can bestow on its faculty. Greg Stillman, ECE Professor Nick Holonyak Jr. Because both endowed chairs are named Feng went on to for renowned ECE faculty, there were in a career with Hughes Aircraft Company In 2005, with Walid Hafez, Feng in- fact four faculty members honored at the and Ford Microelectronics, Inc., before vented the pseudomorphic heterojunction investiture ceremonies. joining ECE as a faculty member in 1991. bipolar transistor (PHBT) and advanced Nick Holonyak Jr. (BSEE ’50, MSEE He was a faculty member of the Center for the transistor speed boundary toward the ’51, PhD ’54), in whose honor one of Compound Semiconductor Microelec- terahertz level. Feng’s work has opened these chairs is named, has been a member tronics and the Science and Technology important new avenues in low-power, of the faculty in both ECE and physics Center for Superconductivity, both funded high-speed electronics for a higher level since 1963. He was himself named the by the National Science Foundation. From of integration. first John Bardeen Endowed Chair in 2001 to 2004, Feng was deputy director of Feng is the recipient of numerous 1993. He is recognized internationally the Bio-Optoelectronics System Science awards, including the 1997 IEEE David for major contributions to elemental and (BOSS) Center, which received funding Sarnoff Award and the 2000 Dr. Pan Wen compound semiconductors, including from the Defense Advanced Research Yuan Award from Taiwan. He is a Fellow semiconductor lasers and incoherent light Projects Agency (DARPA). Since 2004 of the IEEE and the Optical Society of emitters. He was the first to make electron he has been the deputy director of the America. devices using III-V semiconductor alloys Center of Hyper-Uniform Nanophotonic Speaking of the person for whom his and to demonstrate quantum-well hetero- Technologies (HUNT) for Ultra-Fast endowed chair is named, Feng said, “Pro- structure lasers, now used in compact disc Optoelectronic Systems, also funded by fessor Holonyak is a national treasure.” He players and fiber optic cables. He was the DARPA. added, “It is a privilege to be named the first to demonstrate stable native oxides on Since 2004, Feng has been working first Holonyak professor.” aluminum-bearing III-V compounds, now with Holonyak, Richard Chan, and Ga- Yuen Tze Lo (MSEE ’49, PhD ’52), the basis for vertical-cavity surface-emit- briel Walter on the first transistor laser in whose honor the other endowed chair ting lasers (VCSELs). Holonyak is one and demonstrated the laser operation is named, joined the faculty in 1958 of only 13 Americans to have won both of quantum-well-based light-emitting after several years working in industry, the National Medal of Science (1990) transistors. and he became a major researcher in the Continued on page 11 10 Winter 2005-2006

the theory of moments during a course From 1898 to 1993, Chew was the Engineering. After completing his PhD, he taught in mathematic techniques for associate director of the Advanced Con- Bruning joined Bell Labs, where he led electromagnetics. Within a few years, his struction Technology Center. He is the a group that worked on projects dealing theory became widely used and highly director of the Center for Computational with lithography for microelectronics. He successful. Electromagnetics and the Electromag- initiated and managed the development of Lo invented a popular broadband tele- netics Laboratory. deep-ultraviolet photolithography using vision receiving antenna, and he developed Chew is a Fellow of IEEE, the Opti- excimer lasers. Today, photolithography the cavity model theory for microstrip cal Society of America, and the Institute tools operating at wavelengths of 248 patch antennas now used in the Global of Physics. He was named a Presidential nanometers are produced based on the Positioning System. He is also coauthor Young Investigator in 1986. In 2000 technology developed by this group. of a four-volume Antenna Handbook series he won the IEEE Graduate Teaching In 1994, Bruning led a management that has been widely used by educators and Award. He is currently an associate edi- group that purchased the Tropel Corpo- students around the world. tor of the Journal of Electromagnetic Waves ration from General Signal and took the Lo served as director of the Elec- and Applications and of Microwave Opti- company private. Under Bruning’s leader- tromagnetics Lab from 1982 until he cal Technology Letters. ship the company grew from 75 employees retired in 1990. In 1986 he was elected Both of these endowed chairs are the to 200. In 2001, Tropel became a wholly to the National Academy of Engineering result of generous contributions by ECE owned subsidiary of Corning Inc., with for inventions and innovative ideas that alumni. A gift from Henry C. Pao (BSEE Bruning serving as president and chief significantly advanced the theory and ’59, MSEE ’60, PhD ’66) was instrumen- executive officer. Today, Corning Tropel design of antennas and arrays. In 1993, tal in establishing the Nick Holonyak Jr. Corporation is a leader in precision optic he received ECE’s Distinguished Alumni Chair in Electrical and Computer Engi- subsystems and advanced form metrology Award. In 1996 he received IEEE’s An- neering. Pao cofounded Supertex, Inc., a instrumentation. tenna Propagation Society Distinguished mixed signal semiconductor manufacturer Bruning was elected to the National Achievement Award for lifetime contribu- in Sunnyvale, California. He has served Academy of Engineering for his work on tions. as its president, CEO, and member of the deep-ultraviolet photolithography and as- Professor Lo died in May 2002 at age board of directors since its inception. Su- sociated manufacturing methods in 1998. 82. pertex has introduced many high-voltage He is a Fellow of IEEE and the Optical Weng Cho Chew, who received the driver integrated circuits for light-emit- Society of America. In 1993 he received chair named in Lo’s honor, joined the ting diodes (LEDs), devices invented by the Richardson Medal from the Optical ECE faculty in 1985. Prior to that, he had Holonyak. Pao has made many generous Society of America. He received the ECE been with Schlumberger-Doll Research, donations to ECE in the past, funding Distinguished Alumni Award in 1992. after earning his PhD from MIT. Chew’s fellowships in honor of his parents and research interests are in the areas of wave establishing an endowed scholarship fund propagation, scattering, inverse scatter- in honor of Professor John Bardeen, Pao’s ing, and fast algorithms related to various mentor. electromagnetic technologies. He is the Pao received the ECE Distinguished originator of several fast algorithms for Alumni Award in 1996 and the College solving electromagnetic scattering and in- of Engineering Alumni Award for Dis- verse problems. He is the author of Waves tinguished Service in 2001. and Fields in Inhomogeneous Media and John Bruning (MSEE ’67, PhD ’69) coauthor of Fast and Efficient Algorithms provided initial funding for the Y.T. in Computational Electromagnetics. Lo Chair in Electrical and Computer

11 ECE Alumni News

Adesida leads Illinois researchers as part of nanomedicine team By Rick Kubetz, Office of Engineering Communications

In the not-too-distant future, doctors us to build a highly effective collaborative will use nanoparticles—tiny spheres that network to bring the technology rapidly can travel through the bloodstream deep to clinical use in the treatment of can- into the body—to locate and highlight cer.” tumors undetectable by typical methods. “Among the key components of the While at the tumor site, the nanoparticles University of Illinois’ role in the project can deliver therapeutic agents to destroy is the funding of three to four joint seed the tumor, while the healthy cells remain projects each year to conduct transla- unscathed. tional research; the training of Wash- Nanotechnology researchers from Il- ington University’s faculty and students linois are part of a multidisciplinary team in nanofabrication at the Micro and addressing fundamental issues pertaining Irfan Ahmad and Ilesanmni Adesida. Nanotechnology Laboratory; and the to nanomaterials and nanofabrication to- development of online training course ward the development of nanodevices and seven Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology modules, including teaching of a joint nanotubes for targeting cancer. Working Excellence (CCNEs) around the United course in nanomedicine,” explained Irfan with ECE’s professor Ilesanmni Adesida, States. Ahmad, associate director of the Center the project’s principle investigator at Il- Each CCNE is a multi-institutional for Nanoscale Science and Technology, linois, are Bruce Wheeler, ECE professor hub. SCCNE is a collaboration between who serves as project coordinator for the and interim head of the Department of Washington University School of Medi- activities at Illinois. Bioengineering; Stephen Boppart, ECE cine in St. Louis, the Siteman Cancer Nanotechnology offers several advan- professor and a bioengineering research Center at the School of Medicine and tages over traditional techniques. Because physician in the College of Medicine; Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the University it is capable of supporting a wide variety of and more faculty from engineering, the of Illinois, and several private-sector com- homing, imaging, and therapeutic agents, sciences, medicine, and veterinary medi- panies including Kereos, Inc., and Philips nanotechnology can provide more ac- cine. Medical Systems. curate visualization and characterization “With our colleagues at Washington Headed by Samuel Wickline, the of tumors, revealing even tiny tumors in University School of Medicine, we are SCCNE will research and apply nano- medical scans. It also has the ability to pleased to add our capabilities to this im- technology for the diagnosis and treat- focus chemotherapeutic drugs exclusively portant research,” stated Adesida, ECE’s ment of cancer. Wickline, professor of at tumor sites to alleviate unpleasant or Willett Professor of Engineering and medicine, biomedical engineering, phys- risky side effects. And it offers more interim dean of the College of Engineer- ics, and cellular biology and a cardiologist precise adaptation of treatment to the ing. at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, along with biochemical and molecular features of the Nano-sized particles developed at Gregory M. Lanza, an associate professor individual patient. Washington University School of Medi- of medicine and a cardiologist at Barnes, The NCI began supporting the ap- cine in St. Louis and the Illinois offer developed nanoscale particles that can plication of nanotechnology to cancer hope of replacing numerous medical tests, home in on tumor cells to carry imag- more than seven years ago and within the scans, or surgeries with a simple injection. ing agents and drug therapies directly to past year has created the NCI Alliance for To advance this promising technology, the tumor sites. Nanotechnology in Cancer as a compre- National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently “We’ve entered an era of precisely tar- hensive initiative to translate nanotech- awarded $16 million over five years to geted and individualized cancer therapy,” nology research into clinical practice in the School of Medicine to establish the Wickline said. “Our nanotechnology will cancer medicine. The establishment of the Siteman Center of Cancer Nanotech- strongly affect the practice of medicine. seven CCNEs is part of this initiative. nology Excellence (SCCNE)—one of And the grant from the NCI will allow “With the advent of the Centers of

Continued on page 13 12 Winter 2005-2006

Professor William R. Perkins retires By Tom Moone

ECE Professor William R. Perkins retired Although his expertise in his field at the end of the 2004–2005 school year, will be missed, many will also miss the having been on faculty at Illinois for 44 warmth Perkins exuded in his day-to-day years. For the past nine years, Perkins had interactions with others. Sherry Beck, served as the graduate adviser in the ECE who worked closely with Perkins in the Counseling Office. Counseling Office, said, “I thoroughly Perkins was born in Council Bluffs, enjoyed working for Professor Perkins for Iowa, on September 1, 1934. He received nine years in the counseling office. He is a his bachelor’s degree cum laude from special and caring person who was always Harvard University in 1956. He then gracious. He will truly be missed in our went on to Stanford University, receiving office because of his warm and friendly his master’s and PhD degrees in 1957 and personality.” 1961, respectively. He joined the faculty Basar summed up Perkins’ legacy, of the University of Illinois in 1961. saying, “He is leaving behind a legacy of “During his 44 years at Illinois,” said excellence in all domains: as a teacher in

ECE Professor Tamer Basar, “Bill has Moone. Tom Photo by high demand, as a mentor for students been one of the core select faculty who ECE Professor Tamer Basar (right) presented with a lasting inspiration, as a researcher ECE Professor Emeritus Bill Perkins with gifts have been responsible for the tremendous from the ECE department at the 2005 ECE with a solid reputation, as an adviser with sustained growth that both the ECE de- Faculty Banquet. Perkins was honored for his a gentle touch, and as a friend with sound partment and the Coordinated Science 44 years of service to the department and the advice.” Laboratory have experienced over the university. years, and the utmost level of distinction and worldwide recognition they have at- has received include Associate Member of tained.” the Center for Advanced Study at UIUC Adesida leads U of I Perkins has published extensively in (1971-1972); the IEEE Control Systems the field of system and control theory, Society’s Distinguished Member Award researchers continued from page 6 and is an expert in sensitivity theory, (1986) and Distinguished Lecturer (1986- robust control, and large scale dynamic 1987); Haliburton Education Leadership Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, we systems. He is a coauthor of the book Award of the UIUC College of Engineer- are particularly looking forward to new Engineering of Dynamic Systems. He has ing (1987); and the Education Award of nanotech-based therapeutic delivery held key positions in professional societies, the American Automatic Control Council systems that could enhance the efficacy including general chair of IEEE Confer- (1997). and tolerability of cancer treatments—an ence on Decision and Control (1981), “I had the good fortune to join the advance that would greatly benefit cancer president of the IEEE Control Systems University of Illinois during the early days patients,” says NCI Deputy Director Anna Barker. Society (1985), editor-in-chief of IEEE of the Everitt-Jordan-Van Valkenburg The other six CCNEs are at the Uni- Press (1992-1994), and president of the era,” said Perkins. “These three men had versity of North Carolina; the University American Automatic Control Council a vision of academic excellence that has of California, San Diego; Emory Univer- (1996-1997). inspired me to this day. I also am grateful sity and Georgia Institute of Technology Among his many distinctions, Perkins to colleagues past and present—faculty, (joint center); Harvard University and is a Life Fellow of IEEE (elected as Fellow staff and students—for creating such a Massachusetts General Hospital (joint in 1972) and a recipient of the IEEE Cen- special working environment for more center); Northwestern University; and the tennial Medal (1984). Other awards he than four decades.” California Institute of Technology.

13 ECE Alumni News

ECE welcomes six new faculty members

By Tom Moone

This fall, ECE welcomes six new faculty “This is an ex- Yih-Chun Hu members: Nikita Borisov, Deming Chen, cellent school,” said of his attrac- Yih-Chun Hu, Fei-Fei Li, Ada Poon, and said Deming Chen tion to Illinois, “I Mark Spong. about what attracted think it’s got a great him to Illinois. “I am program. I think that Nikita Borisov very fortunate that I the faculty colleagues comes to Illinois came to this depart- are just world class in having received his ment.” Chen comes to Illinois from the their research.” PhD from the Uni- University of California, Los Angeles. Hu’s own research will focus on com- versity of California, Chen will be examining a hybrid puter security, particularly network secu- Berkeley, in 2005. synthesis of field programmable gate rity. One project he will work on involves His research focuses arrays (FPGAs) and structured applica- developing ways for Internet users to share on computer security and privacy. His tion-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) to computational and other resources with dissertation explored anonymity, technol- provide great power and performance. He each other, and receive some compensa- ogy to protect patterns of communica- will also explore high-level synthesis with tion that they can then use. “For example, tion so as to hide from third parties the architecture design and physical planning, I might do some computation for you identities of parties involved in online and will examine design space for system- today,” said Hu, “and you might do some communication. on-a-chip and embedded systems. for me tomorrow.” Another project will “My intention,” said Borisov, “is for this Chen’s background is very diverse. His expand on the notion of hybrid networks, to be useful for people’s day-to-day Inter- undergraduate degree from China was combining cellular and wireless technol- net use, like Web browsing or e-mail or in chemistry. He then worked for a coal ogy to improve connectivity. Again, this instant messaging.” This work could also chemistry institute in China, a job that project will involve developing some form benefit businesses, which may not want to involved writing computer software. His of compensation to reward cellular users make it public that they are negotiating interest in computer science grew out of for forwarding other people’s messages. with a potential business partner. this job. After coming to the United States Hu is currently teaching lectures in He is also pursuing research in other in 1992, he earned another bachelor’s ECE 428 (Distributed Systems). areas of privacy, such as privacy protection degree in computer science from the Hu recently acquired his private pilot’s of data aggregation, where a researcher University of Pittsburgh. After four years certificate and likes to spend some of his might want to collect aggregate informa- as a system analyst, he went on to UCLA spare time flying. tion while preserving people’s individual for his master’s and PhD. contributions. It was during his graduate career that Fei-Fei Li joins During the fall 2005 semester Borisov Chen recognized his desire to enter aca- ECE from the Cali- taught CS 498CAG (Computer Security) demia. “I love to be around young people,” fornia Institute of with Carl Gunter from the Department of he said. “I want to pass on what I learned Technology in Pasa- Computer Science. “This course is part of to the younger generation.” dena, where she re- the new security curriculum roadmap that In the spring, Chen will be teaching cently completed her we’re developing,” explained Borisov. In ECE 425 (Introduction to VLSI System PhD. Though she addition to this and other courses related Design). For the next academic year, Chen had never been to the Midwest prior to to computer security, Borisov will teach plans to design a new class on either logic taking this position, Illinois’ name loomed courses on distributed systems. systems or embedded systems. large. “If you’re in an [electrical engineer- “The combination of potential col- ing] department,” she said, “you know what leagues [at Illinois] is very hard to find are the good EE departments in the nation. anywhere else,” he said. Of course, Illinois has a big name.”

14 Winter 2005-2006

Li’s research addresses computer and do research,” she said simply. involved in the Control Group in the human vision, focusing on what Li calls The research that she will be pursuing Coordinated Science Lab since that time, “high-level vision.” High-level vision is, in her own estimation, pretty broad and, as he explained, “my research has means taking vision input concerning and cross-disciplinary. She wants to bring always been more closely related to the such aspects as color and shapes, and theoretical aspects of wireless commu- ECE faculty than any other department.” then interpreting it in a meaningful way. nication into efficient implementation. With the recent decision to merge the Rather than seeing something as “blue” To do this she is setting up a test bed to Departments of General Engineering and and “square,” high-level meaning would evaluate wireless protocols from the me- Industrial Engineering into a new Depart- interpret it as a chair or a desk. “My re- dium access control layer to the physical ment of Industrial and Enterprise Systems search in human vision is to look at how layer. She would also like to do research Engineering, Spong decided it was time the brain processes higher-level, categori- on devising more power efficient analog to join ECE formally. cal-level information,” said Li. components. Spong’s research focuses on nonlinear For computer vision, Li focuses on While working on her dissertation, control systems and applications to robots. ways to enable computers—which Li Poon worked at Intel as a senior research One project he is working on involves tele- describes as “just boxes of transistors”—to scientist and then later at a startup founded operation, controlling the movements of make similar types of interpretation. “We by her adviser. In both of these positions, multiple robots over a network. An experi- need to design smart software, artificial she worked on implementation problems ment involving Urbana and Albuquerque, intelligence to enable them to see the similar to those she will be examining in New Mexico, is already underway. “We’re world in a meaningful way,” she said. her research here. Poon believes this will controlling robots in Albuquerque from Illinois should provide a fertile location help her in working with students and our lab here in CSL,” explained Spong. for Li’s research. “It’s very exciting that advising them on the needs of industry. As Another experiment deals with study there are people here working in similar opposed to times in the past, she said, “I biped locomotion in robots to make them fields,” she said, noting that she will surely now think that research and development walk more like humans. be able to engage in collaborative projects are much closer to each other. So we need In the spring 2006, Spong will teach with other researchers. to know what industry is looking for, and ECE 528 (Analysis of Nonlinear Sys- During the fall 2005 semester Li we need to try to do the research to bring tems). Other courses he will be teaching taught ECE 598FL, Computer Vision our theory into application.” for ECE include ECE 470 (Introduction and Learning. This graduate-level course In the spring, Poon will teach ECE 461 to Robotics) and ECE 589 (Robot Con- examines the state of the art in the field (Communications II). For the fall 2006 trol Theory). of computer vision, focusing particularly semester, she plans to develop a course Spong is heavily involved in IEEE and on how different machine learning tech- that will expand on some of the work in this year is president of the IEEE Control niques have been applied to specific areas ECE 461, giving the students an indica- Systems Society. In addition to his re- of computer vision. tion of the process for moving from theory search in control systems, he is also active into implementation. in control systems education, in particular In explaining her Poon is a native of Hong Kong, where with the Control Systems Laboratory. He decision to join the she received her bachelor’s degree, and she helped set up the lab initially, as well as ECE faculty, Ada then did her graduate studies in the Bay some of the experiments used in the lab. Poon described three Area. Comparing Champaign-Urbana to major paths that these two, she said, “It’s very different.” PhD students can go after graduation: Mark Spong joins major corporations, startup companies, ECE from the De- or academia. Though each has advantages partment of General and disadvantages, it was the freedom to Engineering, where pursue her own research interests that he has worked since drew her to an academic career. “I like to 1984. He has been

15 ECE Alumni News

Oscar Gaddy, Illinois Alumnus and professor, dies

ECE Professor Emeritus and alumnus “He recruited the very best graduate Oscar L. Gaddy (PhD ’62) died May 2, students for the research programs at Il- 2005. He was 72. linois, and the industrial affiliates program Gaddy first came to the University that he conceived and created provided the of Illinois after earning a BS and MS in tools for faculty and students to advance electrical engineering from the University the state-of-the-art in photonics and mi- of Kansas. He earned his PhD in 1962, croelectronics research,” Coleman said. beginning his career in the ECE faculty “His distinguished alumnus award, that same year when he was hired as an recognizing his lifelong dedication to the assistant professor of electrical engineer- University of Illinois and overwhelmingly ing. He served as an associate professor supported by faculty and alumni, included from 1965 to 1969, becoming a professor the citation ‘For three decades of technical in 1969 and associate department head for contributions and outstanding service to the graduate and research programs from graduate education in the Department of 1971 to 1984. He also served as faculty Electrical and Computer Engineering.’” coordinator for the ECE Alumni Asso- During his retirement, Gaddy enjoyed ciation and as the department’s graduate researching and experimenting with the coordinator until his retirement in 1993. old classical metal finishing processes Gaddy taught courses in physical used on double guns—especially Parker electronics, including undergraduate Oscar L. Gaddy (PhD ‘62) guns. He became a well-regarded expert metallurgy and semiconductor electronics in this area, writing and publishing articles courses, graduate courses in quantum elec- ing and director of Industrial Research regarding the process of restoration of the tronics, and a course in nonlinear optics Relations, Gaddy helped to initiate an Damascus shotgun barrel. that he developed. His research interests industrial affiliates program in physical Alumni remember him as a remarkable included special photomultiplier vacuum electronics on campus, which attracted teacher and a great friend. “He was a very tubes and thin film infrared detectors. several million dollars in support. special person,” said Samuel White (PhD “Colleagues remember him as a superb His memberships included the Insti- ’78), who now teaches at Indiana Univer- teacher, researcher, and a quiet leader,” tute of Electrical and Electronics Engi- sity-Purdue University Indianapolis in the said ECE Professor Jim Coleman. “His neers, (elected a Fellow in 1974), Sigma School of Engineering and Technology. photomultiplier tube was a critical com- Tau, Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Tau White’s doctoral research in electro-optics ponent of satellite links in the 1960s. He Beta Pi. For his many achievements he was guided by Professor Gaddy. “He was was instrumental in the reputation for was cited in Community Leaders and a big brother, a father, and a great ad- excellence enjoyed by the ECE depart- Noteworthy Americans, Dictionary of In- viser—one of the most intelligent people ment in the ’70s and ’80s that continues ternational Biography of American Men I’ve ever known,” he added. “He’s prob- today.” and Women of Science, Who’s Who in ably the reason I’ve gotten where I am.” In addition to his accomplishments as Engineering, Who’s Who in the Midwest, a teacher, Gaddy worked as a consultant and Who’s Who in America. He won an with industry, including McDonnell- ECE Distinguished Alumni Award in Douglas in St. Louis, Missouri, and Varian 2003, which honors ECE graduates who Associates in Palo Alto, California. Along have made professional and technical with the late Marvin Krasnow, former contributions that bring distinction to the assistant dean of the College of Engineer- ECE Department and University.

16 Winter 2005-2006

Faculty news

Jennifer Bernhard has been Kent Choquette has ac- Zhi-Pei Liang was elected Andrew Singer has been selected to participate in the cepted the position of acting vice president for Confer- named director of the Tech- 2006–2007 Defense Sci- director of the Micro and ences of the IEEE Engi- nology Entrepreneur Center ence Study Group Program Nanotechnology Laboratory neering in Medicine and (TEC). The TEC’s mission organized by the Institute while Ilesanmi Adesida is Biology Society (EMBS). is to promote technology for Defense Analyses. serving as interim dean. He will serve a two-year entrepreneurship through term starting January 2006. formal courses, informal Stephen A. Boppart was J. Gary Eden has been lectures, business plan activi- awarded the 2005 IEEE En- awarded the 2005 LEOS Chang Liu’s new textbook, ties, networking, and other gineering in Medicine and Aron Kressel Award “for “Foundations of MEMS,” experiences. Biology Society (EMBS) sustained contributions to has been published by Pren- Early Career Achievement the development of ultravio- tice Hall. It is the world’s Award at the International let coherent and incoherent first standard textbook in the IEEE EMBS meeting in sources, and to excimer lasers MEMS area. Shanghai, China, in Sep- and microplasma devices.” tember. David Nicol and Dartmouth Steve Kang, former ECE PhD student Guanhua Yan Yoram Bresler has been department head and now (resident in CSL) received selected as an NCSA/UIUC dean of the Baskin College the best paper award at the Faculty Fellow for the of Engineering at University 2005 Conference on Prin- 2005–2006 academic year. of California, Santa Cruz, ciples of Advanced and Dis- has been awarded the 2005 tributed Simulation (PADS), Andreas Cangellaris, Jian- Mac Van Valkenburg Award for their paper “Simulation ming Jin, and Jose Schutt- from the IEEE Circuits and of Network Traffic at Coarse Aine recently completed an Systems Society (CAS). Time Scales.” David Nicol agreement with Cadence was elected to the PADS Design Systems, Inc., for the P. R. Kumar has been Steering Committee for a Development and Integra- awarded the 2006 IEEE 3-year term. tion of Computational En- Control Systems Technical gines for CAD Tools. The Field Award “for contribu- Umberto Ravaioli has project will run for four years tions to adaptive control, accepted the position of as- and will receive $1 million in manufacturing systems and sistant dean in the Academic funding from Cadence. wireless communications.” Programs Office of the Col- lege of Engineering. Patrick Chapman and Yi Jean-Pierre Leburton has Ma have been awarded the been selected as a Fellow of William Sanders has been Office of Naval Research The Electrochemical Society selected as a Donald Biggar Young Investigator Award. “in recognition of his sci- Willett Professor of Engi- entific achievement and his neering. He has also been Weng Chew was selected service to the society.” elected to serve a two-year to serve as a Distinguished term on the ACM Sigmet- Lecturer for IEEE Antennas rics (Special Interest Group and Propagation Society. on Metrics) board of directors.

17 ECE Alumni News

ECE 110: Introducing freshmen to the profession By Tom Moone

Every week of the spring and fall semes- ters, some 300 freshmen are involved in something that most of their peers at other institutions can only dream of: they are at- tending an engineering lecture and work- ing on projects in an engineering lab. For more than a decade, ECE 110 (Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering) has been introducing fresh- men to the engineering profession in a manner that is rare among engineering schools. Most of Illinois’s peer institutions do not provide freshmen with a lab course so early in their curriculum. Like many other ECE courses, ECE 110 comprises a lecture component and a lab component. The lecture portion of the course has three goals: to teach how a number of electrical devices work, to teach how to construct simple mathemati- cal behavioral models for these devices, Photo by Tom Moone. Tom Photo by and to teach how to design and perform ECE Lecturer Marie-Christine Brunet gives a lecture on sequential circuits to students in the simple analyses of circuits and systems ECE 110 (Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering). The course provides freshmen containing these devices. Since this is a with a unique introduction to the field. freshman-level course, the mathematics required is limited to algebraic and geo- difficult turns and a split in the path. No were heard from industry and government metric techniques. joysticks or any type of wireless remote agencies of a pressing need for more en- In the labs, the students use what was control are used. gineers. At the same time, concerns were presented in the lectures to perform ex- ECE Lecturer Marie-Christine Brunet raised by ECE faculty and students that periments that lead to the development of says that the combination of lecture and some students were dropping out of the an autonomous car. “Many students have lab work makes this a “good, well-rounded engineering program before they had little or no experience at all in any aspect of class.” Students get an opportunity early even had their first engineering course. circuit design,” said ECE Lecturer Patri- in their academic career to take the theory The first two years of the program are cia Franke, who oversees the lab portion of they learn in the lecture and apply it in the typically taken up with fulfilling needed the course. “They begin by learning to use lab. Though lectures can deal with ideal prerequisites in mathematics and physics, the equipment in the lab and very quickly components—such as batteries that never as well as fulfilling other general education learn to design, build, and debug compli- wear out—in the lab students learn to deal requirements in social science and hu- cated digital and analog circuitry.” At the with the occasional pitfalls of real-world manities. Many students, it seemed, were end of the semester, a design contest is components. losing interest in pursuing engineering held in which teams of students present ECE Professor Emeritus Tim Trick before they had even had their first course a car that uses infrared sensors to follow recalls that the course had its origin in in the field. In response, said Trick, “I put a strip of white tape through a variety of the early 1990s. At the time, repeated calls together a task force that would look at

18 Winter 2005-2006

our entire curriculum, in particular the without using advanced math, in a way first two years.” that a freshman would be able to grasp. Laura Schmitt The efforts of that task force led to Over the course of its existence, ECE the development of what current students 110 has remained essentially the same. now know as ECE 110. During the first Students have been making their autono- few years as a pilot course, recalled Trick, mous cars since the course’s inception. the course had about twenty students However, some changes have occurred. enrolled. Now, two lecture sections of During the last few weeks of the semes- 150 students each are taught in the fall ter, students have learned all they need to and spring semesters. Brunet teaches one complete their lab projects. Brunet says lecture section and Trick the other. There that at this time invited speakers come are also 12 lab sections of 28 students each into the class to discuss other aspects of semester. electrical and computer engineering. Stu- Brunet said that one of the main dents are exposed to such topics as digital purposes of ECE 110 is to provide some signal processing and analog-to-digital guidance to students entering ECE. Stu- conversion. dents often enroll in ECE because they Brunet is fascinated by the variety of After 10 years as editor of the like computers. “So they come in the field people who are attracted to the course. ECE Alumni News, and 15 because engineering sounds good, but they The class is required by ECE and the years with the Department don’t really know the amount of work that Department of General Engineering, but of Electrical and Computer lies behind,” she said. “It’s not unusual that as space is available, students from other Engineering, Laura Schmitt has left her job at the University to after this class, they realize that, OK, this parts of the University can take the course. devote more time to raising is not really what I want to do for the rest Usually these are students from other her children. During her years of my life. . . . It’s the type of class that engineering departments, but not always. of service to the department, helps them to get a small feel of what “One semester we had a student who was Laura has been a driving force electrical and computer engineering is a theater major,” said Brunet. “He was very in publicizing and celebrating really all about, and helps them make early interested in lighting for the stage, and he the accomplishments of decisions on what they want to do.” just took the class for fun to learn about this exemplary department. What they want to do may not include electrical components.” Though all with whom she has a career as an, engineer. But that is OK, interacted over the years will since students can then go on to study a miss her keen judgment and field where they can be successful. Ap- professionalism on a daily basis, proximately 70% of the students remain Laura will continue to provide within the College of Engineering. the occasional article or profile for this publication. Though he retired last year, Trick still teaches one of the lecture sections of the course. “I think it’s a lot of fun,” said Trick. “I like teaching the spectrum of topics that we cover, which includes devices, circuits, and systems.” What Trick particularly enjoys is the challenge he has in trying to take complicated topics and present them,

19 ECE Alumni News

ECE seeks input for accreditation process Alumni and other constituent feedback needed for ABET assessment By Narayana Rao, ECE Associate Head

During its 2001 review by the Accredita- prerequisite for the practice of, or for years and ask them to complete a survey tion Board for Engineering and Technol- advanced study in, electrical and com- evaluating the department’s success at ogy (ABET), ECE did more than just puter engineering, including its scientific achieving these objectives and outcomes. meet the requirements of ABET’s new principles, rigorous analysis, and creative It is vital that as many alumni as possible accreditation process, called “Engineering design. respond thoughtfully to the survey. Criteria 2000,” or EC2K. Our department Stay tuned to the pages of Alumni established a model for accreditation that 2. Breadth. To provide students with the News for reports about ECE’s progress in other departments around the country broad education, including knowledge of preparing for the 2007 ABET assessment. have emulated as they came under scrutiny important current issues in engineering If you receive a survey, please respond to from ABET. with emphasis on electrical and computer it. And in the meantime, you can check EC2K requires departments to set Pro- engineering, necessary for productive ca- www.ece.uiuc.edu/abet for further back- gram Educational Objectives consistent reers in the public or private sectors, or for ground about EC2K and reports from our with the missions of their institutions as the pursuit of graduate education. successful 2001 review. Please direct any well as with ABET criteria; to implement comments to [email protected]. processes, based on the needs of various 3. Professionalism. To develop skills for constituencies, in which the Objectives clear communication and responsible are determined and periodically evaluated; teamwork, and to inculcate professional Know an exceptional and to show evidence that these evaluation attitudes and ethics, so that students are fellow alum? results are applied back into a continuing prepared for the complex modern work Nominate him or her process of program development and environment and for lifelong learning. for an ECE award improvement. Accordingly, several years ago our 4. Learning Environment. To provide The ECE Distinguished Alumni Award honors graduates who have made department defined its objectives and an environment that enables students to professional and technical contribu- established processes for their evaluation, pursue their goals in an innovative pro- tions that bring distinction to the which include regular input from con- gram that is rigorous, challenging, open, department and the university. This stituencies such as students, employers, and supportive. award is presented each year to four faculty, and alumni. In 1999, we shared or five exceptional alumni at the fall the objectives with alumni in the pages While articulation of these objectives banquet on campus. There are more than 19,000 ECE alumni worldwide. of Alumni News, and the following year was prompted by EC2K, the objectives we surveyed alumni to learn how they represent the traditional, uncompromising The ECE Young Alumni Achievement evaluated ECE’s success at achieving the core values and strengths of one of the Award recognizes alumni younger objectives. Now, ECE calls on alumni to nation’s top-ranked ECE departments. than 40 years old who have made participates in the department’s ABET The objectives are linked to a set of outstanding professional contribu- tions to their field. This award is also review process for 2007. Program Outcomes—14 statements that presented at the annual fall banquet There are four Program Educational describe more specifically what students on campus. Objectives that apply to the electrical and are expected to know and be able to do by computer engineering curricula: the time of graduation (see www.ece.uiuc. See www.ece.uiuc.edu/alumni/index. edu/abet/peo&po.html). html for more information on the 1. Depth. To provide students with under- Within the next year, ECE will contact nomination process and the awards. standing of the fundamental knowledge alumni who have graduated in the last 10

20 Winter 2005-2006

Katsinas, Hill join ECE staff By Tom Moone

leadership poten- ment, our strategic direction, and the areas tial; demonstrate of need that we have,” he said, “and then excellence, creativ- listen to what they’re passionate about.” ity, and initiative Hill will work to match the passions and in their businesses interests of potential donors with the or professions; and needs of the department. provide valuable Since starting his job during the sum- service by devoting mer, Hill has found that he really enjoys time and energy to the atmosphere at ECE. “The caliber of improve the quality our faculty and alumni is impressive,” he of life for others in said. Though that caliber of people can the community. make his job easier in some ways, Hill does Jonathan Hill Beth Katsinas Because the not want to simply keep things as they Beth Katsinas joined ECE as the new di- position Katsinas has is a new one in ECE, are—he wants to move higher. “We have a rector of External Relations this past June. she sees this as an opportunity to mold the good endowment, but we need to make it a She will oversee a variety of public rela- position and help determine the future great endowment.” Hill explained, “I think tions efforts, including interaction with for her role in ECE. “I’m really open and endowments are a key to our long-term the media, corporations, and alumni. I want to hear from alumni, faculty, staff, growth as a department and for remaining One of her major tasks will be publicity and students anything they think that preeminent in research and innovation,” for faculty and their research. “My primary external relations can do for ECE,” she said Hill. Avenues for endowment support objectives are to make sure that the things said. are numerous, encompassing faculty chairs that faculty are working on are well known ECE has also added Jonathan Hill as and professorships, as well as fellowships and that we do things that enhance the director of Development. In describing and scholarships. reputation of our faculty and department,” his vision, Hill says that he wants “ECE Any suggestions, comments, or ques- said Katsinas. Illinois to be recognized not only as a tions for Hill and Katsinas are welcome. Prior to joining ECE, Katsinas spent campus and worldwide leader in educa- Hill can be reached at [email protected] five years as the director for the University tion, research, and innovation, but also and Katsinas at [email protected]. of Illinois Office of Training for Business as a leader in private support for our Professionals. This office provides work- programs.” shops, business training, and certificate Hill spent four and a half years at programs for professionals within the Michigan State University working in University and from the outside commu- the development office of the College nity. This office’s most prominent event of Engineering there. Prior to that, he is the Biennial Conference for Women, worked in development for the Leukemia one of the longest-running conferences and Lymphoma Society. for women in the country. “Some people have described develop- One accomplishment of which Katsi- ment as a contact sport,” said Hill. “You nas is particularly proud is receiving the can’t do this job unless you meet people. Athena award from the Champaign You have to develop relationships.” Hill County Chamber of Commerce in 2004. will therefore spend about 50 percent of This award honors individuals who as- his time on the road. “I need to meet with sist other women in reaching their full people and update them on the depart-

21 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Alumni Association Board president’s message

The university has complet- outstanding job in helping Clearly our standing as ed the fall term and we have mature the program. one of the top five electrical another exemplary group of I personally made a and computer engineering students who have indicated dozen or so calls this year schools (as ranked by “US they will pursue degrees in and found it to be a rich and News and World Report”) is Electrical and Computer rewarding experience. When a principal factor for choos- Engineering. I heard the enthusiasm of ing the University of Illinois. One of the projects both the incoming students Your alumni board has set undertaken by your ECE and, in some cases, their a goal of further improving alumni board is the fresh- parents regarding the reasons our ranking. As an alumnus, man-calling program. One for choosing Illinois, I felt each of you can help by tell- of our board members, proud to be an alumnus. We ing young people about the Jennifer Sterling (BS ’89, followed up on these calls strength of our ECE depart- Sherel Horsley MS ’90), has spearheaded by hosting a luncheon in ment and by your financial this program for a number Champaign on September support of the University. of years and has done an 22 for our new freshmen. ECE Alumni Board new member: Dirk Meyer By Tom Moone

his bachelor’s degree. While In 1996, Meyer joined more in my control than they Illinois’ reputation reflected AMD as the director of en- are now. But I would say well on the young Meyer, it gineering for what eventually that’s always the case as you is now Meyer’s reputation became known as the Athlon move up the management that reflects well on his alma microprocessor, a processor chain.” mater. that had a major impact on For his early career That first job was with the computing world. success, Meyer credits the Intel Corporation in Chan- In 1999 Meyer became emphasis placed on lab work dler, Arizona, where Meyer vice president of engineering during his time at Illinois. designed the 80C51 and for AMD’s microprocessor “My first experiences at Intel 80C196 microcontrollers. area. In 2001 he became the were actually lab oriented,” In 1986, he joined Digital general manager of AMD’s he said. “I think laboratory Dirk Meyer (BSEE ’83), Equipment Corporation, microprocessor business at learning brings an approach president and chief operat- where he was involved in AMD, overseeing all aspects and a depth of knowledge ing officer of the Micro- CPU design and system of that segment of AMD’s that you can’t get from a processor Solutions Sector architecture development. operations. book.” One key course for of Advanced Micro De- He was one of the first Meyer expresses some re- Meyer was Theory and Fab- vices (AMD), said that “the members of the design team gret that he no longer works rication of Integrated Circuit education that I got at the that developed the Alpha directly on the design of Devices (ECE 444). “That University of Illinois, and microprocessors, which are microprocessors. “It was cer- was a pretty amazing class the quality and the reputa- widely recognized for their tainly fun,” he recalled. “In a at the time, and still is,” said tion of the institution” really record-setting performance lot of ways it was somewhat Meyer. In this course, Meyer contributed to his landing and for setting new stan- simpler in that the factors built discrete semiconductor his first job after completing dards for performance. contributing to success were components, but at the time,

Continued on page 23 22 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

ECE Alumni Board new member: Denise Turic By Tom Moone

Dirk Meyer continued from page 22 ics, which was working on tion that she needed early in nonvolatile static RAMs, her career. “I was way ahead the technology available in real-time clocks, and bat- of a lot of other people in the lab was somewhat more tery management. In 1995, just really knowing about primitive than now. she joined Cirrus Logic, a process engineering and Meyer said, “When I company that made graph- knowing about how semi- took the class some 20-odd ics controllers. In 1999 she conductors are made,” she years ago, the devices were so moved to PowerSmart as the said. “That was very impor- big that we made our masks fourth person in its Dallas tant early on.” with a magic marker. You office. Microchip Technol- She credits the course could actually see with your ogy acquired PowerSmart in with giving her a clearer

naked eye the transistors and Photo by Chuck Mercer. 2002. view of how engineering diodes that we were build- For Denise Turic (BSEE Turic still focuses on worked in industry. “So ing.” ’88), one benefit of joining the PowerSmart line at much of the other stuff is In 2000, Meyer received the ECE Alumni Board is Microchip. Looking back theory and books and equa- the Maurice Wilkes Award that she will have an excuse over her career, Turic said, tions, which are important,” for his significant architec- to return to the campus for “This is probably my favorite she said, “but, boy, getting tural contributions to Alpha the first time in twelve years. position,” adding, “I think to see how complicated and and X86 processor designs. “Everybody keeps telling me I’ve finally found the niche difficult it is to actually build The Wilkes Award is given stories [about the changes], where I really add the most a product is huge.” annually by the Association and I can’t wait,” she said. value.” In her job she has The University of Il- of Computing Machinery “North of Green is just been able to bring together linois name also gave her for outstanding contribu- completely different.” her previous positions in an edge in the early part tions to computer architec- The Grainger Engineer- product engineering, quality, of her career. “I remember ture. Meyer also has over ing Library is one major and design together with her when I was at Illinois,” said thirty patents to his name. change since she was last background in memory to Turic, “professors would say, In terms of what he on campus. “The old library bring benefits to Microchip’s when people heard you were hopes to bring to the table was on the second floor of customers. Turic writes all from Illinois it would open as a member of the alumni Engineering Hall,” she re- the technical documentation doors. I was thinking, oh board, Meyer said, “I think called, “and they were having for the PowerSmart prod- that’s crazy. That’s not going I can represent one of the supports on the first floor ucts, including data sheets to happen.” But, as Turic department’s stakeholders— because of all the books and and applications notes, and found out, this was exactly namely the industrial sector,” stuff—it was caving in.” she also gives a number of what happened. After be- adding that he wants to help Now a principal market- presentations each year to ing grilled by experienced the department “balance ing engineer for Microchip customers or at conferences. colleagues who then asked the demands of the various Technology, Inc., Turic had Remembering her un- where she had gotten her stakeholders and help them her first job after complet- dergraduate years, Turic said degree, Turic’s response of more clearly define what ing her bachelor’s degree that one class she took at Illinois quickly changed excellence is and how to get with STMicroelectronics in Illinois that really stands out their attitudes. As Turic there.” Carrollton, Texas. There, she in her memory is ECE 444, recalled, “Suddenly, it was focused on product engi- Theory and Fabrication of like, ‘Oh, well, maybe you neering. In 1991, she started Integrated Circuit Devices. will understand. Maybe you work with a new startup, The course gave her a head can contribute’.” Benchmarq Microelectron- start on the type of informa-

23 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

ECE Alumni Board new member: Christopher George By Laura Schmitt less networking, financial pus, and I have continued Sheryle systems, online auctions, and to come back to campus to gaming systems. He helps visit, to be a guest lecturer at Carpenter clients—from individual seminars or student society inventors to large corpora- meetings, and to attend tions and universities—build basketball and football coordinated patent portfo- games,” George said. “Being lios. And he has worked on on the Alumni Board allows lawsuits related to gaming me to remain involved and systems, lighting controls, to hopefully give back to the and multimedia communica- department which enabled tions. me to have such a promising Christopher George (BSCE The most challenging future.” aspect of his work has been George said he will work

Photo by Tom Moone. Tom Photo by ’97, MSEE ’99) decided client counseling. “It’s one to maintain the interactions Sheryle Carpenter retired to become a patent lawyer at the end of September because it provided a unique thing to write a patent ap- between alumni and stu- after 19 years with ECE. opportunity to combine plication or draft a motion, dents, and perhaps find new Many ECE students technical skills, legal analysis, but it’s quite another to ways for the two groups to remember Carpenter and extensive interpersonal create a portfolio of patents network. Currently, alumni as the one who would interaction. “You must juggle to serve a client’s business and students interact via the let them know they had many different clients and and/or research interests and ECE Web Board, the ECE received an award or many different technolo- to answer a client’s strategic Freshman Calling program, scholarship. “That was gies in any given day, must questions as he seeks to start annual mock interviews, and the good part of my keep your technical skills up a business and protect his occasional career-oriented job,” said Carpenter. “I key technology with patents, seminars. did happy things.” In her sharp, and must be good at trademarks, and other intel- Although his work sched- retirement, Carpenter expressing your thoughts and lectual property protection,” ule is demanding, George is looking forward to arguments verbally and in spending more time with writing,” George said. “I like George explained. does find time to be with his her grandchildren and the variety and the pressure To help him meet that wife and son Christopher, to volunteering at her to constantly shift gears and challenge, George has who was born in October church. Photo by Tom think quickly on my feet.” enrolled in the U of I’s 2005. He also enjoys follow- Moone. George attended the online program for strategic ing Illini sports and attended University of Illinois Law technology management. nearly every home basketball School, earning his juris doc- As an ECE student, game in last year’s historic torate in 2002. He practices George was very involved season. He and fellow ECE intellectual property law with in extracurricular activities, and law school alumnus McAndrews, Held & Malloy including the ECE student Richard Stockton (BSEE in Chicago. He works on advisory committee, so he ’97) are starting an intellec- patent applications across a gladly accepted the invita- tual property alumni group wide range of technologies tion to join the ECE Alumni and mentoring program. including imaging systems, Board. “I loved being medical devices, telecom- involved in the department, munication systems, wire- the college, and the cam-

24 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

ECE Alumni Board new member: Kevin Warren By Laura Schmitt turn on a display and see a graduate, they can do almost an image, for example, of a anything because they’ve had Bobbie National Geographic cover, such a broad engineering that looks like the cover it- experience and superb train- Payne self, and you know the huge ing. Few schools produce amounts of data flowing into students like this.” that display, it’s very gratify- As a board member, he ing to see your work pay off.” wants to help ECE and In 1995, he became the College of Engineer- manager of the group—a ing remain among the top position he held for four schools in the country. “I’m

Photo by Chuck Mercer. years. After a short stint as a a consumer of the Illinois Kevin Warren (BSEE ’83, technical assistant to a vice engineering product so I MSEE ’84, PhD ’90), direc- president for research, War- plan to give the department tor of Design and Technol- ren became senior manager input on what industry is ECE secretary Bobbie ogy Integration for IBM’s of the research team that looking for in students,” he Payne retired in June Systems and Technology trailblazes design methodol- said. “I also want to help the ogy for IBM’s microproces- department be all it can be. after 27 years of Group, has enjoyed a 13- service to ECE. Most year career with Big Blue sors. As senior manager of The board is looking at ways the VLSI Design Group, he it can help get the word out recently she had served that has taken him from as secretary to ECE led the research team that about Illinois and ECE’s research scientist to the professors Nick Holonyak participates in all of IBM’s excellence.” executive suites. He started Jr. and Milton Feng. “It his IBM career in 1992 at processor development ef- In his spare time, Warren was an interesting job,” the T.J. Watson Research forts, including the recent is helping his church prepare said Payne of her years Center, working with the Cell development. for its 250th anniversary by spent in the old EERL Flat Panel Display Systems Throughout his career, transcribing old documents building before moving Group. He was part of a Warren has remained loyal and putting them on the to the state-of-of-the-art facilities at the Micro team that built a full-color to his alma mater. He joined Web. He recently came and Nanotechnology high-resolution (5 million the ECE Alumni Board in across the charter from King July 2005 because, he said, George II granting permis- Laboratory. Since retiring, pixels at 150 pixels per inch) Payne has bought a liquid crystal display—one he owes his career to his sion to start the church. He Illinois ECE education. has also enjoyed watching new house, and has of the world’s first such taken two cruises on the “When I started at IBM, a his two sons, both born in LCDs. Mississippi. According to Warren, manager told me that I had Urbana during graduate the display work was among ‘learned how to learn’ at Il- school, grow up—one of the most rewarding research linois, which meant he could whom is now at the Uni- he conducted. “You get put me on any project and versity of Delaware study- immediate feedback on the I’d know how to get started ing biology; the other is a quality of your efforts when and could get the job done,” sophomore in high school. you work with displays,” he Warren said. “Illinois trains said. “You can see artifacts students to have a very solid, of problems directly on the very methodical, engineering display itself. When you thought process. When they

25 ECEECE Alumni Alumni News News Winter 2005

Mary Wood Celebrates 80th birthday with ECE By Laura Schmitt

oversaw the staff ’s tran- gram organized we would turn to Mary sition from typewriters initially as a sounding board,” said Drazba, to word processors. an international program manager with “I didn’t know Fluid Management Inc. “She was always how to operate them,” there for us.” said Wood, recalling Drazba credits Wood for encouraging the new word process- her to get involved in undergraduate re- ing machines. “But I search, which resulted in an undergraduate do remember Ed Ernst scholarship. “I never would have reached telling me: ‘Mary you my full potential if ‘mom’ wasn’t in the don’t have to know how wings cheering me on,” Drazba said. to do the job of every- In 1993, Wood was recognized for her body you supervise.’ dedicated service to the Alumni Board when she received the ECE Alumni As- ECE alumnus Taylor McCormick (BSEE ’80) (center), who lives That has been a good in Half Moon Bay, CA, visited Wood (right) and ECE Alumni lesson to learn through sociation Marcia Peterman Award, which Coordinator Emma Marshall (left) in March 2005 shortly after life whether it be at is named for the longtime departmental Wood’s husband died. “He wanted to spend quality time with work or as a volunteer staff member and first board secretary. The me,” said Wood, about the former student who calls her “mom.” doing committee work. Peterman Award is presented annually to Although she doesn’t look a day over 60, Let others do their job.” a former board member for outstanding retired ECE staff member Mary Wood Wood retired in 1987, but continued service. celebrated her 80th birthday with mem- to work part-time for four years, helping Since her retirement, Wood was for- bers of her ECE family on May 3, 2005, Emma Marshall, ECE’s alumni coordi- tunate to travel with her husband Gene at the Champaign Country Club. Dozens nator, take over the alumni and student “Woody” Wood, to Hawaii, Australia, of ECE alumni, faculty, and staff turned affairs office. Switzerland, Alaska, and several other out to honor their friend and former Wood said her greatest accomplish- states. In March 2005, her husband passed colleague. ment was establishing so many wonderful away. Since then, she has stayed busy by During her 20-plus years in the depart- friendships with students, faculty, staff, volunteering as an usher for children’s ment, Wood is best known for her work and alumni. shows at the Krannert Center for the Per- with student organizations and the ECE “My office was always open to any of forming Arts, volunteering at her church, Alumni Association. Wood started in the the students that needed help from the visiting her daughter Nancy in Seattle, Electrical Engineering Department in associate heads, and I established many and seeing friends. She enjoys going to August 1967 as a secretary in the Radio endearing friendships,” said Wood. local ECE events, and recently caught Astronomy Lab. A year later she moved One of those friendships was with up with friends and colleagues at the fall into the associate head’s office, working Shirley Drazba (BSEE ’79), a former 2005 ECE distinguished alumni banquet as secretary to Wendell Miller, who with officer in the IEEE student chapter on in September. secretary Marcia Peterman was establish- campus. Drazba recalled how she and two “I still keep in touch as much as I can, ing the department’s Alumni Association. other IEEE officers—Taylor McCormick valuing all the friendships,” she said. “I ap- During the next two decades, Wood also (BSEE ’80) and Andrea Mravca Hamel preciate how well the department treated worked for Associate Heads Ed Ernst and (BSEE ’80, MSEE ’81)—nicknamed me. It’s a fantastic department.” Oscar Gaddy. Wood “mom” because she was so helpful Wood took over supervision of the and encouraging. department’s clerical staff in 1984 and “When we needed help getting a pro-

26 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Undergraduate research benefits from an alumni-supported fund By Tom Moone

Last year, though a junior gold.” they finish their under- in ECE at the time, Kalou The funds the students graduate degrees and go on Cheong was encouraged by receive may be used for ma- to graduate school, industry, her adviser, ECE Professor terials and supplies, equip- or other endeavors. Joe Lyding, to undertake a ment, computer software, Cheong agrees that this senior thesis project. The etc. The courses for which fund can help encourage year-long independent study students may use this fund- students to really try an project that she and Lyding ing are ECE 396 (Honors independent study. “I think agreed upon was a scanning Project), ECE 397 (Electri- the independent funding tunneling microscope (STM) cal and Computer Engineer- is a very good incentive for study of single-walled carbon ing Problems), ECE 497 undergraduates,” she said. nanotubes (SWNT) on pris- (Senior Researc h Project), Having a source for inde- tine Au(111) substrates. The and ECE 499 (Senior The- pendent funding could make project would gain a better sis, a continuation of ECE students less hesitant about understanding of the SWNT 497). asking professors to take interactions with the gold To receive funding, them on as undergraduate substrate and investigate students fill out an Under- researchers, and could en- optimal parameters for the graduate Independent Study courage others to undertake carbon nanotubes. Funding Request Form, a senior thesis earlier in their Photo by Tom Moone. Tom Photo by Normally, an undergradu- which includes a brief proj- academic career. Cheong ECE senior Kalou Cheong used ate would have difficulty ect description and detailed money she received through the said, “This funding is a way funding the purchase of gold itemization of the items and ECE Alumni Independent Study to assist in making [research and nanotubes required for their costs needed for the Fund to purchase materials she opportunities] happen.” such an ambitious project. project. They also need an used in experiments analyzing Alumni who would Fortunately for Cheong, instructor’s signature. An the interactions of single-walled like their donations to the carbon nanotubes on gold associate department head University of Illinois to ECE has a newly established substrates. ECE Alumni Independent then makes final approval of go towards supporting the Study Fund. Through this the funding request. ECE Alumni Independent ECE Annual Fund. When fund, students can receive up Financial support for this Study Fund can note the he found out about this new to $500 to offset expenses fund comes from the annual name of the fund or specify fund, he was very interested incurred through research. giving that alumni provide to the fund’s account number in contributing. Cheong’s was one of five the department. But alumni (335024) on the contribu- Tolli likes that this fund undergraduate projects ap- can specify that their contri- tion form to the University. encourages inquiry among proved for funding last year. butions go to this fund. You can contribute to the students who have curios- “I could purchase nano- Dominic Tolli (BSEE University and department ity and talent. “It’s allowing tubes of different dimen- ’87, MSEE ’90) was the online by visiting www.ece. students with some very sions, and I could purchase first alumnus to contribute uiuc.edu/alumni and click- natural and early talent to a little bit of gold,” said directly to this fund. “I’ve ing “Make a Gift.” really utilize that talent,” he Cheong. “The funding really always been interested in said. Tolli believes that this helped me to get the op- funding individual engi- fund can encourage students portunity to try a lot of stuff, neering projects being done to utilize and develop the like different combinations by students,” said Tolli, a creativity they will need once of the nanotubes and the regular contributor to the

27 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Alumnus finds big clue in bird navigation riddle By Jamie Hutchinson

In the competitive world of science, researchers do well to abide by the adage “The early bird gets the worm.” But there are always excep- tions. ECE alumnus Bill Cochran (BSEE ‘67) only recently got around to pub- lishing an idea that first oc- curred to him over 30 years Cochran, working for ECE ago. He still got his worm. Professor George Swenson In 1972 Cochran, then around 1960, mounts a platform working for the Illinois Nat- built on the Everitt Lab roof ural History Survey (INHS), and used to test the antenna was studying the migration for a satellite transmitter. Below Cochran are (left to right) of peregrine falcons be- ECE alumnus Bill Cochran takes the wheel of his 1982 Chevy Caprice Swenson, Joseph Smith (BSEE tween Greenland and South station wagon equipped with electronics for animal tracking. The ‘64), Joseph Hemmer (BSEE ‘64), America. He suspected the vertical shaft connects to an overhead direction finding antenna, and Carl Stubenrauch (BSEE ‘62, which tends to attract the attention of police as Cochran drives birds used Earth’s magnetic MSEE ‘64). country roads in pursuit of birds. field to find their way, but he knew there was no constant Monticello Road field site to the west—80 degrees three coauthors. Mouritsen, magnetic field heading that southwest of Champaign. counterclockwise from their based in Germany, provided birds could use to fly from There, Cochran subjected natural, northerly headings. Helmholz coils for the new Greenland to South Ameri- the birds during sunset to an Next night, with no artificial study and Wikelski is a for- ca. “Then it popped into my artificial magnetic field point- field treatment, the birds mer Illinois biology profes- head,” he recalled. “What if ing east, not north. At dark, recalibrated their compasses sor now based at Princeton. they frequently calibrated the he released the birds and with the natural field and The paper has caused a magnetic field?” tracked them electronically in took off to the north—just as stir among ornithologists, A few years later, Cochran a car equipped with a radio untreated, control birds had who have long known that tested his idea using thrushes direction-finding antenna. done the first night. migrating birds can use the that pass through Illinois in Sure enough, the tricked Cochran wrote up the magnetic field, sun, weather, the spring. These nocturnal, birds flew west, not north. results and sent a paper to geographic landmarks, and migratory songbirds take According to Cochran, that Science magazine. Science perhaps even stars as navi- off each night after sunset meant the birds had set their accepted the paper, but never gational aids, but who have in their flight from South headings during sunset by published it due to lack of lacked good field studies America to Canada. Cochran sensing the angle between space. Finally in May 2004, demonstrating just how birds suspected the thrushes used the sun and the artificial, Science published a new integrate the various aids. the setting sun to calibrate eastward pointing field. paper with the same thesis, Cochran has provided valu- a magnetic compass. So he Upon release into the Earth’s written by Cochran and able insight into the problem, captured birds at the Illinois field, which pointed 80 de- colleagues Martin Wikelski but he stresses that his study forestry plantation on South grees counterclockwise from and Henrik Mouritsen. The is not the last word. “Nothing Race Street, fitted them with Cochran’s artificial field, the paper draws on Cochran’s is forever. And this won’t be transmitters, and put them birds clung to their estab- old data, as well as new data forever—somebody’s going in outdoor cages at the ECE lished headings by swerving collected in 2003 by the to find out more.” 28 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Featured alumni careers Ubell: A patent success By Erin Lukehart AT&T. The case grew into Qualcomm, where each side a multi-jurisdictional lawsuit accused the other of infring- When Franklin Ubell that spanned five years, he ing patents in the field of (BSEE ’71) looks back on said, including one grueling RF semiconductor chip and his first semester at the year where he was on the CDMA cellular technology. University of Illinois, he road for 180 days. “Some of the technolo- recalls being “the typical After Jackson and Jones, gies were power control, wide-eyed freshman”—eager Ubell successfully set up his as well as power savings to dive in but not quite sure own law firm in Newport features that are built into what to expect. By the time Beach for about 15 years. cell phones,” he said. “In he completed his degree, he Once he saw that smaller patent litigation, the wit- had served as chairman of “boutique” firms were nesses are usually engineers the Dean’s Advisory Com- beginning to fade out in with PhD’s who are design- mittee and of the Engineer- favor of bigger firms, Ubell ing equipment, and you have ing Student–Faculty Liaison decided to move to a large to be able to depose them as Committee, won Eta Kappa firm environment. He cur- well as understand technical Nu’s Outstanding Senior Franklin Ubell rently works for Greenberg documents.” Award and was named a applied and was accepted to Traurig, a firm staffed with Working in this field Knight of St. Pat, graduated George Washington Univer- 1,400 lawyers nationwide. often means long hours and first in his class, and was sity, which has a specialty in Ubell, a supporter of late nights, Ubell said, but one of two college seniors patent law. the University’s athletics the rewards are numerous. selected nationally by NASA While attending law scholarship fund and season “One of the reasons why I to participate in a summer school, Ubell worked for ticket holder to Illini football decided to go into patent fellowship program in design Burroughs Corporation games, remains fond of his law was the opportunity to at Houston’s manned space- (now Unisys) and became days in ECE and the con- use writing and speaking craft center. a U.S. Patent Agent. He nections he forged with fac- skills, while still enjoying “That’s really where I got vividly remembers the daily ulty. Murray Babcock was the technology and being on my background in computers grind: “I’d work an eight- one memorable professor. “I the cutting edge of technical and terminology,” said Ubell, hour day, get off at 5 p.m., can remember having some developments,” he said. “It’s now an intellectual property drive down to law school for difficulties with my circuit never boring.” litigator. At the NASA pro- classes from 6 to 9 p.m., do class, and I got to know gram he worked with IBM a few hours of studying, and Professor Babcock pretty representatives contracted to then start all over again.” well by spending a few hours Stay in touch design computer systems for The hard work paid in his office. The individual the space shuttle. off—Burroughs offered instruction really helped me Your fellow alums would It was also during his Ubell a job in California out. Tim Trick, my adviser, like to know what you senior year that Ubell upon completion of his juris was also very influential.” are doing. Visit www. interviewed with General doctorate. Trick was one of the ece.uiuc.edu/alumni/ Electric, and the company When Ubell eventu- professors Ubell originally alumnews.html to send informed him of a program ally decided to transition sought out to discuss his us news about your in Washington, DC, to train from the corporate world budding interest in law. job, your family, awards engineers to become patent into private law practice, he Patent law is particularly you’ve won, or any lawyers. He had already joined Jackson and Jones, a well suited to engineers, interesting activities you taken the LSAT, but now firm that was in the process Ubell explained. He once are involved in. felt more certain about of defending a small data represented Conexant pursuing law school. He modem manufacturer against Systems in a lawsuit against 29 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Engineering twins By Laura Schmitt

When they were children, and started Concern Line, a identical twin brothers telephone hot line for people Siavush (BSEE ‘69) and with personal problems. The Daryoush (BSEE ‘69) engineers had special phone Batmanghelidj used to bet lines installed in their homes their friends and relatives so they could field calls from that they couldn’t tell the troubled people in their boys apart. The boys won all own community around the the time. In high school, the clock. They organized vari- twins had to write an essay ous social service, welfare, on the topic of their choice health, legal, and religious as part of a literature exam. support professionals, to Without any discussion whom callers would be re- between them, they both ferred for further assistance. wrote a story about an old “This was before hot-line man who predicted a flood Daryoush Batman from the 1969 Sia Batman from the 1969 Illio concepts, so it was pioneer- along a riverbed. As young Illio yearbook yearbook. ing stuff at the time” said professionals in the early Daryoush. “We kept it going 1970s, they lived and worked second. Of course he lives positively as a can-do for about two years and then together, and they left en- in my mind continuously. I culture, and people wanted we both realized that profes- gineering for a few years to know...the color of shirt and to emulate that,” said Sia, re- sional help was really needed help impoverished people in tie that he might be wearing calling why he and Daryoush for some of these people that their community. on a particular day without decided to attend college in were calling in and it wasn’t Now almost 60, the Bat- even talking to him that the United States. “After a sufficient to hear them out.” man twins (everyone calls day.” year and a half at SIU, we During this time, the them that) still resemble Originally from Iran, knew that Urbana-Cham- brothers earned master’s each other but they are the Batman twins came to paign was where we really degrees in economics from discernible—Sia’s hair is the United States in 1963 should be to study engineer- Bowling Green University. more gray than his brother’s. to study engineering at ing.” In 1972, they left RCA and Despite the change in their Southern Illinois University When they graduated in became economists with the appearance, the brothers’ in Carbondale. In the fall 1969, the twins took jobs Community Action Com- personal bond is as strong as of 1965, they transferred with RCA’s Solid State mission in Findlay, where ever, just like their desire to to Illinois, bringing with Division in Findlay, Ohio, they organized and secured help others through commu- them their younger brother working with bipolar digital funds for Findlay’s first nity service. Sooroush, whom they intergrated circuits. Not Family Planning Clinic, “The physical distance enrolled at University High completely satisfied with the which served hundreds of between us is just imagi- School. Their older brother technical work, they soon poor women. They started nary,” said Daryoush about Anoosh soon transferred became active in their com- Mobile Meals on Wheels, the miles that separate from California, and the munity. which provided nutritious him in Northern Virginia four Batman brothers lived In 1970, touched by a meals for elderly residents from his twin in Southern in a house at the corner of television documentary in four Ohio counties. And California. “I can conjure University and Wright near about a teenage runaway, the they oversaw a new mobile his great smile, or serious the engineering campus. brothers enlisted the help of clinic, which provided health thoughtful look in a split “After the second world three other RCA engineers services for poor residents war, America was viewed

30 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

and migrant workers. around the time of the 1979 prominent positions in the “I got to the almost 20- “Just imagine some- revolution that overthrew the shah’s government; five were foot-high iron gates of Evin one who definitely looked shah and installed Ayatollah arrested by the Revolution- [prison], and it took me an- foreign, like me, talking to Khomeini to power. Had the ary Guard and held in the other three hours to literally these crusty farmers, who revolution not occurred, Sia infamous Evin prison where force my entry in,” Daryoush weren’t used to the idea of would have stayed in Iran. political prisoners were held, said. “I struck a deal with the government helping people,” “Yes, I would have stayed... including Daryoush and his questioning assistant pros- Sia recalled. “I don’t know but constantly visited Ameri- wife Fati in May 1980. ecutor of the Revolutionary how I did it, but I would ca,” said Sia. “I love America, After the revolution, BGE Court that they could keep stand up in front of groups me... provided they would of 500 or more, and I would release Fati and my office go on television, and it didn’t manager who was also taken phase me at all. But I knew in for questioning.” it was the right thing to do.” The guards did release In the fall of 1974, the the office manager, but they brothers left Ohio for New retained Fati for another two York City, where they weeks, despite the promise started a doctoral program Daryoush had secured from in public policy at New York guards to release her. Dary- University. Their studies oush was released more than were cut short when they re- a week later provided he give ceived word that their father, the Revolutionary Courts a deputy minister in the Ira- a year’s salary and posted a nian Foreign Ministry, had significant property bond. died in Iran. They returned Discouraged by the for the funeral and also to repressive atmosphere in help their mother and sister. Iran in the early 1980s, the They ended up staying, put- brothers and their families ting their engineering skills decided to leave Iran, but to work again. doing so required patience The brothers joined a Siavush (right) and Daryoush Batmanghelidj pose for a photo on the and secrecy—and a bit of Bardeen Quad in September 2004--their first visit to campus since family development/con- good luck. Sia traveled to graduating in 1969. struction company. Sia the U.S. consulate in An- worked on the Tochal for what it gave me, and for became a prime takeover kara, Turkey, to apply for a Tele-cabin project, a 7.5 what it stands for: liberty and target by the Revolutionary visa to bring his family out km gondola just north of freedom. I had hundreds of Guard, explained Daryoush. of Iran. He had planned to Tehran. Daryoush man- friends who I could not stay In the process of trying to plead with the officials there aged a railroad project in the away from for too long.” stem back the takeover, Fati, about the hardships he and southern port city of Bandar Coming from a promi- a BGE employee, was taken his family endured after the Shahpour and he eventually nent family that owned many to prison for questioning. revolution. became CEO of Batman businesses drew the attention Daryoush was across town “I was going to go in Group Enterprises (BGE). of the new theocratic govern- at the time, but when he there begging, saying my The twins married within ment. Many members of the learned of her situation, he dad was a diplomat, my three days of each other— Batmanghelidj family held rushed to the prison. wife’s father had been killed

Continued on page 32 31 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Engineering twins continued from page 31 in the revolution, and my look at it carefully for it had were very dogmatic in Iran, donated computers and uncle was an ambassador,” been flipped backward. He very indoctrinated and hard- enhanced memory modules said Sia. “But the night be- and his family were allowed line thinking. School systems used in the local school fore my father came to me in to board their flight. “It was were completely topsy-turvy. district’s science labs. He’s a dream and he said: ‘Stand just a miracle, all of us being I didn’t want to lead one life also helping a school build on your own feet.’ Instead, able to come out,” said Sia. outside of the house and a a walkway and garden with I told him all we’d done in Daryoush’s journey out of totally different life inside an outdoor amphitheater—a America.” Iran wasn’t quite as dra- the house so we decided to project whose design was The official he met with matic but it was every bit as leave.” After a lengthy court inspired by the Bardeen was impressed and granted stressful. After his release process, Daryoush and his Gardens behind Engineering him the papers he needed from Evin, he was forced to family left Iran in 1987. Hall, which Sia saw on his to enter the United States. relinquish some control of Sia and his family settled first trip back to the Illinois Sia returned to Iran and told BGE to the government. He in Orange County, CA, campus in September 2004. his wife that they and the spent years under immense where he and his wife raised He is also launching an children would be leaving. pressure sorting out the their two children. For the internship program at Giga- “I had to be quiet about it,” company’s layers of debts (all past six years, Sia has worked ram for graduate students at he said. “I went back and of which were legal prior to as an OEM account man- California State at Fullerton. didn’t even tell my brother 1979 in the normal course ager with Gigaram, a leading Daryoush served on the or mother until the very last of company expansion) and manufacturer of memory board of the Iranian Com- week before my flight out of resolving the proper owner- modules. Prior to that, he munity School in Vienna, Tehran.” ship of family assets. was test and manufacturing VA, which teaches 200 K-12 On March 21, 1985, Sia “Sorting this mess liter- manager at Western Digital, students Farsi, the native and his family went to the ally took me down to the overseeing 1,200 employees language of Iran. He orga- Tehran airport. Before they lowest, darkest corner of self making PC mother boards. nized a grass-roots move- could board their flight they pity a sane man can bring Daryoush and his family ment to elect Mark Warner were searched and ques- upon himself,” Daryoush settled in Northern Vir- governor of Virginia in tioned separately by guards. said. “I was up against a to- ginia, where he rejoined 2000, and he maintains ties Sia had accidentally left the tally ruthless, unsympathetic the reconstituted family with the governor’s office. consulate official’s card in his revolutionary court system. development company. Now Recently, he began develop- wallet. He watched in horror I thank God for leaving at called Batman Corp., the ing projects to help the Gulf as a guard flipped through my side a genuinely warm, firm is heavily involved in Coast region recently im- his wallet. “I knew if he saw understanding, and caring land acquisition and com- pacted by hurricanes Katrina that, I would probably be wife who helped me through mercial development of of- and Rita. accused of something and the endless nights.” fice and real estate property. As for the future? Dary- taken to prison for a long The birth of Daryoush’s He is currently executive oush would like to work in time,” Sia said. “They were daughter Sarvenaz in 1983 vice president, working on some capacity to relieve in- really skeptical of everybody, also helped him through this a number of mixed-use ternational poverty. Sia plans even their own shadows. time. Not long after, he and projects, including a large to write books and run for They thought America was his wife decided they should age-restricted community elected office in California. going to come back into the leave Iran. “It was sort of a housing development. “That would be the ulti- country.” double standard life you had They have continued mate ‘community’ project. It Perhaps by luck or by to lead at that time,” he said. their public service work. Sia would also be a good way to fate, Sia said, the guard “For the first 10 or 15 years is coordinating, on behalf of find engaging and enchant- touched the card but didn’t after the revolution, things Gigaram, a project to equip ing friends, wouldn’t it?”

32 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Read My Lips: ECE Alum Boosts Computers’ Ability to Hear By Doug Peterson

Her name is Sally and she of the two together made it as noisy an environment can both listen and talk. This come out as “Da-da.” as you can find. For these may not sound so incredible Our ears can be easily environments, Chu and his until you discover that Sally deceived, but when accurate colleagues are working on is a car—an experimental visual clues are added to the a headset with a camera automobile developed at mix, deception is much less mounted on a boom. The IBM Laboratories. likely. camera reads your lips and Sally can greet you when Taking speech recogni- then the system combines you get into the car, give you tion even further, Chu has the visual with the audio to driving directions to specific spearheaded IBM’s involve- boost communication ac- destinations, keep you ap- ment in a large European curacy. prised of highway traffic, project that aims to give Chu’s research is an send e-mails on command, intelligence to rooms them- extension of his graduate and suggest restaurants selves. The project, known work on speech recognition based on your preferences. Stephen Chu as Computers in the Human at Illinois, done under the If the camera mounted on Interaction Loop (CHIL), guidance of ECE profes- the dashboard notices that speaker, potentially boosting features “CHIL Rooms,” sor Tom Huang. At IBM, you’re getting drowsy, Sally speech recognition signifi- which are equipped with Chu’s role has been to find can even play games such as cantly,” Chu said. The IBM cameras and microphones. better strategies for combin- “Name That Tune” to keep system’s effectiveness de- These rooms act as invisible ing audio and visual signals. you alert. pends on many factors, such electronic secretaries, keep- Traditionally, the signals Futuristic features, such as background noise levels, ing track of what is happen- are processed in one of two as being able to tell a car to but he said that adding the ing, said Chu. ways. Audio and visual turn on the air conditioning visual element has increased For instance, he said, a signals are sometimes com- or radio, are already begin- speech recognition from smart conference room could bined before they’re sent to a ning to show up in today’s 30 percent to 80 percent in listen in on meetings and speech recognizer; and other automobiles, such as the some cases. send a transcript to your times, they are sent to the Honda Acura, said Stephen Absent lip movements, computer. If you pop in late speech recognizer separately Chu, an ECE alumnus (MS certain sounds are difficult for the meeting, the room and combined later. Chu has ’98, PhD ’03). However, to distinguish; people often could send your laptop a bul- developed new algorithms Chu added, much remains have to resort to tactics such leted summary of what has that take advantage of both to be done in perfecting as saying, “That’s P as in been discussed so far. The of these approaches at the the ability of computers to ‘Paul,’” to get others to fully room could even identify same time, further improv- recognize speech, especially comprehend a word over the unfamiliar people in the ing speech recognition. in noisy environments like a phone. meeting using face recogni- As the visual component car. To demonstrate the tion software. becomes a greater part of Today, most speech rec- power of visual clues, Chu “We’re trying to design speech recognition, Chu said ognition systems rely solely demonstrated “the McGurk a set of services that are the systems have to deal with on audio signals. But Chu, a Effect” for television and invisible to the user,” he challenges such as constantly research scientist with IBM’s film star Alan Alda on a seg- added. “The computer would changing shadows that move Watson Research Center ment of the PBS show Sci- always be doing things in across the face of the person in Yorktown Heights, New entific American Frontiers. the background, providing speaking, making it harder York, is combining visual In the demonstration, Alda information and services. It for the computer to track a signals with audio signals to was convinced that Chu was gives you more tools at your person’s mouth. But Chu be- boost accuracy. Such systems saying “Da-da” on a video disposal.” lieves the systems are up to give new meaning to the clip. But in reality, Chu was Yet another use for the task. As he put it: “More phrase, “Read my lips.” mouthing the words “Ga-ga” IBM’s speech recognition and more, computers are “The camera can look while the audio was saying system is on the stock trad- able to hear, see, and think.” at lip movements of the “Ba-ba” The combination ing floor, which is about And read lips.

33 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Danner: Handyman’s career takes a turn for the better By Jamie Hutchinson

ECE alumnus Greg Dan- with the SalMar through the seeing the company’s staple ner (BSEE’71, MSEE ’74) 1980s, and Danner would product—analog telephone calls it “moving sideways”—a become his right-hand man, hardware that you’ll find in career track whereby he keeping the machine in the majority of hotels and jumped from small busi- working order. motels in the U.S., as well ness to small business for 25 After grad school, Dan- as in many offices. Danner years, working mostly as a ner joined Grafyx, a small works with clients to design fix-it guy, only to see each company based in Cham- their phone systems, com- enterprise swept away by the paign’s Campustown, which municates the specifications tides of the market. But five built high-end stereo speak- to Scitec’s factory in south- years ago, Danner’s trajec- ers. Grafyx hired Danner as eastern China, and oversees tory changed from “moving chief engineer, overseeing quality control. sideways” to “up the ladder.” the design and production “Scitec succeeds because Greg Danner He joined Scitec, Inc., a of very good speakers, some we have a team on both global leader in telephone a synthesizer. “Literally, we of which are still in use. But sides of the Pacific,” Dan- hardware and IP telephony, modeled a trombone sound,” by 1983, the high-end audio ner added. “We [in the U.S.] as an electronics engineer recalled Danner. “Then we market had contracted to the identify customer needs and and has since been promoted built a bank of filters to point where Grafyx could write the specs. They [in to director of technology. emulate the ‘comb’ frequency no longer survive, and the China] make it. Some Asian Danner, an Urbana native response of the instrument. company went bankrupt. companies will try to sell and son of civil engineer- It’s called a comb response Danner then worked for something over here that is ing professor, the late Ellis because it passes several a couple of retail high-end just wrong for the market. Danner, enrolled at Illinois narrow frequency bands, like outlets in Champaign-Ur- We know what will sell.” It with an eye toward combin- the teeth of a comb. Then bana until the “big box” also helps that the company’s ing his love of music with his we built a nonlinear function stores came along and put CEO, Dr. Bing N. Sun, a in-bred knack for engineer- generator, fed it through the them out of business. In former Beckman Institute ing. It wasn’t long before he comb filter, and we ended up the meantime, he had been research scientist, knows discovered ECE professor with the trombone sound.” doing repair work on the how to do business in China. (now emeritus) James Beau- Through EMS, Dan- side, and in the 1990s he In 2004, Danner revisited champ (PhD ’65), an expert ner met Illinois composer ran his own neighborhood his electronic music days in musical acoustics, analysis Salvatore Martirano, who electronics repair shop in by restoring the SalMar and synthesis of musical was developing his “SalMar Urbana. For a few years, Construction for a special sound, and computer music. Construction,” an ana- VCR repair filled the void concert featuring Martirano’s For his master’s degree, log, electronic, interactive left by plunging demand for old student, composer David Danner stayed at Illinois and composing machine now stereo, TV, and radio repair. Rosenboom. “I was skepti- worked with Beauchamp in considered to be a milestone But as prices fell, so did the cal it would work,” he said. the campus Experimental in the history of electronic incentive to get VCRs fixed. “It hadn’t even been plugged Music Studios (EMS). music. “That’s why my thesis Danner closed the shop and in for 14 years!” But it did The two upgraded the took an extra year to finish,” went to work for Scitec. work, and Danner received a EMS, installing a new con- reflected Danner fondly. “All those jobs gave big ovation for his efforts. sole designed by Beauchamp, “I would go into the lab to me good background for while Danner did most work, but I’d always end up managing technology for a of the wiring, testing, and down the hall in Sal’s of- company that actually makes debugging. For his thesis, fice!” Martirano continued the stuff,” said Danner. His Danner designed and built performing internationally biggest responsibility is over-

34 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Google: A High Impact Career By Erin Lukehart

“In every position I’ve consumer Internet was really cessful and growing, but also taken, I’ve always worked on starting to take off.” has the kind of impact that something that I’ve believed In 1996, Huber was hired Google has on millions of in and felt excited about,” by @Home Network (which people every day in mak- says Jeff Huber (BSCE ’89). later joined with Excite to ing information universally “I’ve always felt that if you become Excite@Home), accessible. What’s drawn me follow your passions, the rest and was one of the first 100 here is the commitment to will follow.” people at the broadband making big things happen.” Huber has much to be Internet service. excited about. Since he Over time his responsi- joined Google in 2003, bilities expanded to be senior the company has tripled vice president of engineering in growth, both in terms Jeff Huber and product development for of number of employees as Giving made explains. He completed his the company. “It was a good easier well as revenues. As vice core EE courses and then fo- match because I really cared president of engineering cused on software engineer- about the products, and The generosity of ECE’s alumni and friends makes for the search engine giant, ing, developing a pre-Mosaic wanted all of my friends and a significant difference he is responsible for the graphical browser of Internet family to have broadband as the department works company’s advertising and content, based on the usenet Internet access,” he says. to keep its facilities and commerce-related products news system, for his senior Prior to joining Google in programs among the best like AdWords, AdSense, and project. 2003, Huber also worked for in the world. Froogle. After graduating, Huber a couple of years at eBay as ECE has made it easier Huber has always been went into technology the vice president for archi- for you to contribute by interested in the intersection consulting with McKinsey tecture and systems develop- establishing an online giving site. Simply go of technology and business. & Company, a group of ment. to my.ece.uiuc.edu/ and He began his own start-up management consultants Huber’s advice for select “Make a Gift” under for software development who were starting up a tech- students looking to break “Quick Links.” You can and computer equipment nology practice that Huber into his field? “Google is make your contribution sales, Venture Computing, helped to get off the ground. technically very strong and with any of the four major credit cards. If your while still in high school. After successfully deliver- intensive,” he explains. “Put employer has a matching He continued the business ing several large systems emphasis behind the most gift program, you can from Devonshire Drive in projects, Huber decided to challenging computer sci- indicate this at the site, Champaign as a college further develop his business ence classes you can find, but doubling or even tripling student, enlisting the help of sense by pursuing an MBA also learn about business and your gift. a few friends. at Harvard Business School, what your customers really Your gift will help A native of East which he completed in 1994. want.” the department in a Dubuque, Illinois, Huber “It felt like an opportunity to From running his own variety of productive w a y s — f ro m f u n d i n g was attracted to the Uni- broaden perspective. I was startup company to work- student scholarships to versity of Illinois both as an interested in the business ing for a major player like supporting faculty and Illini fan and because he was side of things and it’s a great Google, Huber is content student recruitment, to interested in engineering. “I place to build a network,” with the path his career has supporting alumni and knew by reputation that it he explains. “And when I followed. “It’s exciting to be other special events. was a fantastic program,” he came out of Harvard, the at a company that is suc-

35 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Alumni class notes

oper of power management lege of Engineering at Illinois. 1961 semiconductors for mobile 2005 IEEE has named Jagdishkumar The Big Ten Medal of Honor consumer electronic devices, Retired U.S. Army Col. Thomas Aggarwal (MS ’61, PhD ’64) to was awarded to Jack Ingram AnalogicTech announced their Clinton Musgrave (MSEE ’50) receive the 2005 IEEE Leon K. (BSEE ’05) for his demonstrat- initial public offering in August passed away Wednesday, May Kirchmayer Graduate Teach- ed proficiency in scholarship of 2005. 11, 2005. ing Award. The award honors and athletics. Aggarwal for inspiring graduate Bill Jacaway (BSEE ’50) died students to achieve excellence 1983 March 14, 2004. Bill served through mentoring, teach- MIPS Technologies, Inc., a Obituaries Vernon Clifford Westberg in the Air Force during World ing and guidance of research leading provider of industry- (BSEE ’33) died January 22, War II and spent his entire ca- in computer vision and signal standard processor architectures 2005. In 1957, Mr. Westberg reer with the Boeing Company processing. and cores for digital consumer started his own manufacturing in Seattle, WA. and business applications, an- business, Auto Meter Products, nounced in January 2005 that Inc., and served as president Joseph McCluhan (BSEE ’50) 1973 Rob Herb (BSEE ’83) had been Don Wills (BSCE ’73) was and then chairman of the board. died on January 22, 2005. Mr. appointed to its board of direc- inducted into the Hall of He was a member of the Soci- McCluhan was an engineer for tors. Mr. Herb had previously Achievement for the Mon- ety of Automotive Engineers Central Illinois Light for 35 served as AMD’s executive VP mouth Elementary School on for 40 years. years and a member of the Illini and chief sales and marketing May 6, 2005. He has been the Club. officer. co-owner of Subject, Wills & Richard Edward Johnston Company, Produce Pro Inc., (BSEE ’47) died on November Norman Poole (BSEE ’51), Dr. Sanjeev Renjen (PhD ’83) and DB/C Software Co. for 18, 2004. In 1947 he received died at the age of 75 on April has been named senior vice almost 30 years. Mr. Wills his private pilot license with the 12, 2005. He worked on the president of engineering and currently resides in Western first class at the University of technical staff of AT&T Bell operations for TeleCIS Wire- Springs, IL. Illinois. He was employed with Laboratories. less, Inc., a leading developer IBM for 36 years before his of multi-protocol broadband retirement in 1985. Edgar Stelter (BSEE ’51) 1974 wireless access (BWA) chips. passed away January 22, 2005. In his new role, Dr. Renjen will On March 8, 2005, Intel Edward McCartney (BSEE He retired from General Elec- oversee the company’s product Corporation named William ’47) passed away March 24, tric in 1990 after 35 years as an development and production of Holt (BSEE ’74) as the new 2005. He was a retired electrical engineer. His expertise was in its ASICs. co-general manager of the engineer for Commonwealth the field of Heavy Military. Technology and Manufactur- Edison. ing Group. Mr. Holt previously Elwood Schmidt (BSEE ’52) served as the vice president and 1998 Alumni Andrew Trick (BS CE Donald Steeper (BSEE ’48) passed away March 27, 2005 at director of Logic Technology ’98; MSEE ’01) and Teresa died at the age of 77 on January the age of 75. He was employed Development. Soledad Trick (BSEE ’98) are 14, 2005. Mr. Steeper worked by Sperry Gyroscope Company the proud parents of their for 39 years as an electrical and Raytheon during his career. 1978 first child, a baby boy named engineer at General Electric Hughes Supply, Inc. announced Timothy Soledad Trick, born in Schenectady, NY, and was a John Frederick Williams February 9, 2005, that Neal March 28, 2005. The proud senior IEEE member. (MSEE ’53) died on April 3, Keating (BSEE ’78) had been grandparents are ECE professor 2005. His interest in engineer- appointed chief operating Tim and Dorothe Trick. Bruce W. Everitt (BSEE ’50), ing subjects, particularly aircraft officer. Mr. Keating had most died September 27, 2005, control systems, was a lifelong recently served as an executive in Green Valley , AZ, at age pursuit. Mr.Williams retired director of GKN, Plc and CEO 2004 77. Since 1964, Bruce was a from Honeywell. Carrie Fabbrini (BSEE ’04) for GKN Aerospace. Boston-based financial analyst married Brian DeYoung Janu- and technology investor in the Charles William Wells (BSEE ary 1, 2005, in Evanston, IL. high-tech and medical areas ’56) died March 25, 2005. He 1980 The couple currently resides in for corporate communications, enjoyed a 40-year career with Congratulations to Richard Champaign, IL. investor relations, corporate fi- Illinois Power Company and re- Williams (BSEE ’80), ECE nance, and venture investments. tired as executive vice president Alumni Board member and Bruce was the son of William in 1996. President, CEO, and CTO L. Everitt, former ECE depart- John Charles Olson (BSEE ‘57) of AnalogicTech. A devel- ment head and dean of the Col- died May 15, 2005. He was 74.

36 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

ECE celebrates alumni achievement at banquet By Tom Moone

Mr. Olson worked for West- On September 23, a banquet ern Electric Co. and for the sponsored by ECE recog- Defense Department for almost 40 years. nized four recipients of the Distinguished Alumnus Raymond Weiherman (BSEE Award: Raymond Chin, ’58), died March 21, 2005, at W. Kent Fuchs, Roger L. the age of 75. He was an IEEE Johnson, and Howard P. member and was employed as a senior engineer at Barber-Col- Zinschlag. Also recognized man from 1958 until retiring at the banquet were Ste- in 1989. phen A. Boppart as this year’s recipient of the ECE Robert Charles Kramp (BSEE ’60) died April 10, 2005 at the Young Alumni Achieve- age of 67. Mr. Kramp worked ment Award, Daryl Farley over 39 years for Inland Steel, Varney as the recipient of Photo by Chuck Mercer. Bechtel, Westinghouse, Oak- the Marcia Peterman Award, On September 23, the 2005 ECE Distinguished Alumni Awards were presented to four individuals. Seated: W. Kent Fuchs and Roger L. land Army Base, and the US and Professor Bill Perkins Coast Guard. Johnson. Back: ECE Alumni Association President Sherel D. Horsley, as a retiring faculty member Raymond Chin, and Howard P. Zinschlag. John Holmquest Sr. (BSEE (see article p.13). ’60) died on February 25, 2005 Raymond Chin (BSEE Chin served as a general sor at Purdue University at the age of 71. He served as a ’76, MSEE ’77, PhD ’80) is partner for two venture firms from 1996 to 2002. lieutenant in the Navy and was and on the boards of mul- Fuchs’s research interests a member of the IEEE. chairman of Mtone Wireless Corporation in Santa Clara, tiple companies and profes- include dependable comput- sional organizations and has ing and failure diagnosis. His Kenneth W. Heizer (PhDEE California. He has served ’62) passed away April 30, 2005. as its chairman since the spoken numerous times at teaching includes logic de- Professor Heizer retired from company’s inception in 1994 Illinois on entrepreneurship. sign, computer organization, SMU in 1992 after 41 years of and as its CEO from 1996 “I consider myself to fault-tolerant computing, teaching, receiving the honor of to 2003. Mtone established be fortunate to be associ- and testing. He has received Professor Emeritus of Engi- neering. the first mobile information ated with the University of several awards for excellence, services in China by offering Illinois,” said Chin when he including appointment as Lester O. Jones (BSEE ’70) mobile Internet information received his award, noting University Scholar while at died January 10, 2005. He was and mobile stock trading that Illinois provided “the the University of Illinois. the founder and owner of J.J. services in 1998 with China people that really influenced Fuchs states that Jones & Company, Ltd, an electrical contracting company Telecom. Its innovative the things I do today.” throughout his career he has in Carol Stream, IL. wireless network and mobile W. Kent Fuchs (MSEE been blessed with excep- devices integrated a data ’82, PhD ’85) is the Joseph tional colleagues, mentors, Robert Smith (BSEE ’77) died broadcast stream and two- Silbert Dean of the College and students. He is a Fellow on April 4, 2005 at the age of 54. Mr. Smith owned and oper- way data channel. of Engineering at Cornell of the IEEE and a Fellow of ated Modern Control Company As chairman of Proxim University, where he has the ACM. and was an electrical engineer. Inc., Chin led the company been since 2002. He was a Of his award, Fuchs said, to pioneer the first commer- member of the ECE faculty “This is more heartfelt than cial Wireless LANs in 1992, from 1985 to 1996. He was national awards because it which launched the WLAN the head of the School of comes from your family.” industry. The company had Electrical and Computer Roger L. Johnson its initial public offering Engineering and the Mi- (BSEE ’65, MSEE ’66, PhD in 1993. He served on its chael J. and Catherine R. ’70) said of his years at Il- board until 2002. Birck Distinguished Profes- linois, “I worked with many Continued on page 38 37 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

ECE celebrates lular and molecular level can be generated in order to alumni... diagnose a variety of diseases, continued from page 37 such as cancer. people who were top notch.” Boppart also is a physician Now chairman and CEO with an MD and combines of Information Technology, his imaging research with Ltd., in La Jolla, California, clinical patient care. He was Johnson participated during named one of the top 100 his Illinois years in the early innovators in the world by development of the PLATO Technology Review Maga- network and the invention zine in 2002. He received and development of the Photo by Chuck Mercer. the College of Engineering ECE Associate Professor Stephen A. Boppart (right) received the 2005 plasma display panel (PDP). Everitt Award for Teach- Young Alumni Achievement Award. He is shown here with his wife, Marni. In 1970, he joined the ECE ing Excellence in 2003 and 2005, and the National Sci- faculty, teaching courses in working in the fields of in- (ISA) International Profes- integrated circuit and display strumentation, systems, and sional Society and served ence Foundation CAREER technology. automation. He was nation- as its president from 1993 Award in 2004. He also - He joined Science Ap- ally recognized in 1991 as to 1994. He served on the received the 2005 IEEE En gineering in Medicine and plications International Cor- a computer control pioneer ECE Alumni Board and Biology Society Early Career poration (SAIC) in 1977, for his contributions at the was recipient of the Illinois Achievement Award. retiring from there in 1997, Monsanto Company in Loyalty Award in 1996. Speaking of the satisfac- at which time he was senior developing a unique founda- Zinschlag remains active in tion that he and other faculty vice president of technology. tion for the computeriza- ISA and currently works as a members feel when working Following his retirement tion of the process world. consultant. at ECE, Boppart said, “We from SAIC, Johnson joined This work, originally done On receiving his award, have found something that Information Technology, in 1968, involved creat- Zinschlag said, “I’m honored we really love to do.” Ltd. (ITL), as chairman and ing a successful computer and really humbled because The Marcia Peterman CEO. ITL is a technology system designed specifically I’m being counted as part of Award is presented annu- consulting firm providing for process control, coupled this prestigious group.” ally at this banquet to a flat panel display and mobile with a very first cathode ray The recipient of the former ECE Alumni Board computer system design ser- tube display, providing a 2005 ECE Young Alumni Member for dedicated vices to a variety of corporate breakthrough needed for the Achievement Award, service as a member of the and government clients. world of digital process con- Stephen A. Boppart Dr. Johnson served on trol for process and power (BSEE ’90, MSEE ’91) is board. This year’s recipient was Daryl Farley Varney the board of directors for plants to be born. an associate professor in (BSEE ’83, MSEE ’85), who the National Center for Early in his career he de- ECE at Illinois. He heads was a member of the ECE Advanced Information signed and developed state- the Biophotonics Imaging Alumni Board from 1989 to Components Manufactur- of-the-art memory systems Laboratory at the Beckman 2004, serving as president ing (NCAICM) at Sandia for the computer industry. Institute. Using advanced from 1998 to 2001. While National Laboratories. He is He later designed and devel- imaging techniques such as serving on the board, she a Member of the IEEE and oped digital control systems optical coherence tomog- helped establish the first was granted the position of for the controlled growth of raphy (OCT), nonlinear alumni–student mentoring Fellow in the Society for In- silicon ingots, the base mate- interferometric vibrational program, Alumni–Student formation Display in 1986. rial for silicon wafers, for the imaging (NIVI), and Connections. She received Howard P. Zinschlag semiconductor industry. In multiphoton microscopy, the Orange and Blue Ap- (BSEE ’59) retired in 1998 1986 he was elected a Fel- high-resolution, real-time, preciation Award in 2004. from MEMC Electronic low of the Instrumentation, noninvasive images of Material, Inc., after 40 years Systems, and Automation biological tissue at the cel-

38 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

College service award goes to ECE alum Jack Kilby, “Illirunt” inventor went on to bigger things 1923-2005 By Jamie Hutchinson continued from page 1 An ECE alumnus has won where he was responsible for the 2005 College of Engi- the design and product engi- neering Alumni Award for neering work on hearing aid Distinguished Service. Dr. amplifiers. In 1958, he joined Henry S. “Hank” Magnuski Texas Instruments (TI) in Dallas. During the summer (BSEE ’65) received the of that year, working with bor- honor last spring, in recogni- rowed and improvised equip- tion of his contributions to ment, he conceived and built the development of Inter- the first electronic circuit in net-based telecommunica- which all of the components, tions products. He won the Henry S. “Hank” Magnuski and the Illirunt as it appeared in the both active and passive, were ECE Distinguished Alumni Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette in June 1965. “Whiskers” helped fabricated in a single piece of Award in 1998 the robot avoid walls. Dark circular areas are photocells to help the semiconductor material half Magnuski designed machine find light. Reproduced by permission of The News-Gazette, Inc. Permission does not imply endorsement by the newspaper. the size of a paper clip. the first PC/fax board and Kilby went on to pioneer software package, which ment for the Telecommuni- during his career. military and commercial ap- he brought to market in cations Industry Association. Magnuski has come a plications of microchip tech- 1985 through his company Magnuski’s contributions long way from the “Illirunt.” nology. He also co-invented GammaLink. In 1994, the don’t stop with technol- That was the name he gave the hand-held calculator and company merged with Dia- ogy and entrepreneurship. to his senior design proj- the thermal printer that was logic Corp., a manufacturer He and his wife Cynthia ect, a robot built under the used in portable data terminals. of voice cards for PC. The provided the gift to establish direction of ECE professor In 1970, he took a leave combined companies became the Magnuski Professorship Murray Babcock. Actually a of absence from TI to work part of Intel in 1999. in ECE, now occupied by very impressive creation for as an independent inventor. In 1995, Magnuski department head Richard a college student at the time, From 1978 to 1984, he held founded Internet Video Blahut. Earlier, the Mag- the Illirunt could negotiate the position of Distinguished Services, Inc., in California. nuskis had created a fund to walls and other obstacles, Professor of Electrical En- IVS specialized in storage support the work of out- and seek out light. The gineering at Texas A&M and distribution of high- standing young ECE faculty. machine’s control system was University. In later years, he quality video over the web. In his philanthropic efforts, probabilistic, not determinis- maintained a schedule of work and travel on industry While serving as CEO and Magnuski invokes the mem- tic, making its behavior more and government consulting president, Magnuski created ory of his father, a longtime unpredictable and lifelike. assignments throughout the MediaMart, one of the first Motorola employee who de- From Illinois, Magnuski world. He also served as a electronic commerce sites. signed the circuits that were went on to MIT for gradu- director of several corpora- Now with NCast Corp., used in the first portable FM ate school. Before getting tions. which he cofounded in two-way radios, or “walkie- involved in telecommuni- “I’d like to be remembered 1998, Magnuski develops talkies.” The elder Magnuski cations work, he managed as a good engineer,” said Kilby, and markets Internet-based fled his native Poland in computer systems used in “to think that my work has video and teleconferencing 1939, shortly before the “human factors” and psycho- had some contribution to systems. In years past, he Nazi invasion. He accumu- logical research conducted at society and made this at least has also been active with lated 25 patents in VHF and Bell Laboratories. a more comfortable place to facsimile standards develop- microwave communications live.”

39 ECE Alumni News Winter 2005

Huang wins Okawa Prize By Steve McGaughey, Beckman Institute Writer

As an original Beckman ing and sustaining contribu- ect. “It’s more like a lifetime Institute faculty member, tions to the theory of image achievement award,” he said. ECE Professor Thomas sequence analysis and its Huang received his Sc.D. Huang has earned many applications to video com- degree in Electrical Engi- awards and honors over the pression, pattern recogni- neering from the Massachu- years, including two of the tion, and animation.” The setts Institute of Technology most prestigious in electrical prize includes a certificate, in 1963. He is the William engineering. In November, gold medal, and cash award L. Everitt Distinguished Huang will have a third cita- of 10 million yen, or about Professor in ECE. His wide- tion to put at the top of his $90,000. He was honored ranging work involving im- awards list, an honor given at a ceremony in Tokyo on ages—including areas such to only one or two scientists November 24. as human–computer inter- in the world per year. Huang said he thought faces, multimedia databases, Huang has been named he was being considered for and 3-D modeling, analysis, the Okawa Prize winner the prize, but didn’t expect it and animation of the human for 2005 by the Okawa Thomas Huang until receiving an announce- face, hands and body—has Foundation of Japan. Each analysis, signal process- ment by e-mail. “Like most been groundbreaking. year, one foreign scientist ing, and human–computer awards, you get some sort of The selection committee is honored, along with one interfaces. Huang, co-chair indirect indication somebody for the Okawa Prize includes Japanese winner from busi- of Beckman’s Human-Com- is considering you, but you university and scientific in- ness or academia, for their puter Intelligent Interaction don’t really know whether it stitute presidents from Japan. contributions to the infor- Research Initiative, won the is true or not,” he said. “I was The Okawa Foundation for mation and telecommunica- Jack S. Kilby Medal in 2000 very surprised and honored.” Information and Telecom- tions fields. The Japanese and the King-Sun Fu prize Huang, leader of the Im- munications is a nonprofit winner may be a scientist or in 2002, the top awards, age Formation and Process- organization providing businessman. respectively, in the fields of ing group at Beckman, joins funding for studies in those Huang said he counts signal processing and pattern former UIUC Chancellor fields. The Okawa Prize was two honors above the rest recognition. Thomas Everhart as a win- established in 1992 to honor when it comes to the many Huang puts the Okawa ner of the award. Japanese contributors, and awards he has earned as a Prize in the same category. Huang said the Okawa in 1996 was expanded to leading researcher in image His citation is “for pioneer- Prize isn’t for any one proj- include foreign scientists.

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