Since 1890 Armour College of Engineering at Illinois Tech has been educating world-class engineers who go on to make an impact in service to humanity. Alumni innovators from Armour College include Marty Cooper (EE ’50, M.S. ’57), the inventor of the cell phone; Anita Burke (ME ’90), former chief engineer for the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado trucks; Rohit Prasad (M.S. EE ’99), the head scientist for Amazon Alexa; Piyush Desai (M.S. EE ’04, Ph.D. ’09) motor designer and cofounder of Turntide Technologies; and many more.
Armour College of Engineering: Bringing New Ideas into the World
Legacy of Innovation
Before alumnus Marty Cooper (Electrical Engineering ’50, M.S. ’57) invented the cell phone, he was learning to innovate at Illinois Tech. “I’ve been really fortunate—and one fortunate thing was that I got to go to Illinois Tech, where I got a really good fundamental grounding,” says Cooper, who is an advocate for the wireless revolutions in education, health care, and collaboration.
Read His Story
Becoming a Pioneer
Omar Tawakol was awarded for research paving the path to help people with spinal cord injuries walk again.
Omar Tawakol (BME ’18, Ph.D. BME Candidate)
Senior Energy Engineer, Elevate
Building the framework for an equitable future in sustainability
Honnie Aguilar Leinartas (M.S. CE ’14)
Technical Program Manager, Tesla
How hands-on experiences prepare you for the workforce
Ava Kelly (EE, M.S. EE ’22)
Manufacturing Associate, Moderna
Illinois Tech prepared Tejaswini Ramakrishna Hegde to become part of the team manufacturing Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Tejaswini Ramakrishna Hegde (M.A.S. PHME ’21)
Railway Track Designer, Gannett Fleming
Daniel Rappoport says Chicago is the Silicon Valley of the railroad industry.
Daniel Rappoport (CE ’21)
Career Oriented
Seth Graham’s NASA internship helped land him a job at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Seth Graham (ME/M.Eng. MAE ’22)News
Commencement 2026: A Milestone Moment
On Saturday, May 16, 2026, Illinois Tech’s 2025–26 graduating class of 2,972 students will celebrate the next milestone on their life’s journey during the university’s 157th Commencement ceremony at...
‘Every Feature Is Intentional’: Designing and Building Inside and Outside the Classroom
There is a certain allure, Olisaemaka Nzeribe (ME ’26) says, to designing and building your own contraptions. “I like the idea of not needing to buy everything I own in the future,” says Nzeribe, who...
A Profound Impact: Engineering Professor Named Outstanding Educator
Illinois Tech Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering Mohammad Heidarinejad was awarded the 2026 Outstanding Educator Award by the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) of the American...
Research in Service to Humanity
Distinctively Armour
We integrate theory and practice, leading our students to tackle complex, real-world problems. Our newly launched Armour Academy offers students individualized planning, industry mentorship, and guaranteed experiences through Illinois Tech’s one-of-a-kind Elevate program.
Learn More
Engineering at Illinois Tech
The only tech-focused university in Chicago.
Learn MoreFeatured Faculty
Marcella Vaicik
Director of Illinois Tech Fulton Labs
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Ren Wang
Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Hamid Arastoopour
Henry R. Linden Endowed Chair in Engineering
Director of the Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER)
Affiliate Professor, Stuart School of Business
• Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering and Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering
Brent Stephens
Department Chair
Arthur W. Hill Endowed Chair in Sustainability
Professor of Architectural Engineering
Director of Architectural Engineering
Director of Environmental Engineering
Kenneth M Tichauer
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Associate Chair of Graduate Affairs in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Matthew Spenko
Interim Department Chair
Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Co-Pi, CARNATIONS
Mohammad Heidarinejad
Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering
Georgia Papavasiliou
Department Chair
Professor of Chemical Engineering