breaking NEW GROUND - Illinois Institute of Technology

INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS
and interprofessional
STUDIES
The Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship
Center was made possible by a
$1 million gift from entrepreneur
Jules F. Knapp and matching funds
from university regents Robert A.
Pritzker and Robert W. Galvin.
The Institute of Business and
Interprofessional Studies (IBIS)
extends learning beyond the
classroom and provides students
with the tools they need to put
ideas to work.
Through IIT’s signature Interprofessional
Projects (IPRO) program, the university
has collaborated with more than two
dozen Chicago-area organizations, giving
students the opportunity to participate in
one or more of the 75 projects undertaken
during the year. Through these experiences,
students gain problem-solving
skills while tackling real-world technical
and business issues. Multidisciplinary
teams of students have worked on
such complex projects as developing
a non-invasive blood glucose monitor,
creating new cell phone technologies
and services, and shaping a business strategy for a
portable system that generates potable water and power.
“By participating in the IPRO program, our students
graduate with a unique portfolio of academic and practical
experiences that solidly prepares them for professional
success,” says IBIS Director Dennis Roberson.
IBIS is also providing students with leadership training
through the IIT Leadership Academy and its various
programs. Whether they are joining an existing company
or starting up their own—which they learn how to
do through IBIS’ Ed Kaplan Entrepreneurial Studies
Program—students are able to turn ideas into reality.
All of these initiatives are supported by IBIS’ core
academic offerings, with particular focus on the innovative
new undergraduate “Techno-Business” program.
Top left: As part of a new focus on service, the IPRO program is
increasing the number of collaborative projects conducted with
other non-profit and community organizations, such as this one
with the Museum of Science and Industry. Here, a student talks
with IPRO Director Tom Jacobius about her team’s prototype exhibit,
designed to show MSI visitors how blood-flow between mother and
fetus changes over time.
Now in its seventeenth year, the National
Center for Food Safety and Technology’s
(NCFST) successful consortium of academia,
government, and industry continues to
lead cutting-edge research on new food
technologies.
Focusing on key food safety issues, the Center has
recently responded to international concern about
acrylamide, a potentially toxic chemical that
appears to be produced in foods that have been
cooked or processed at a high temperature. The
Center is also examining the safety of microwave
pasteurization of eggs and the use of ultraviolet light
to reduce pathogens in fruit juice, and is testing the
effects of various food-processing techniques on
food allergens.
To further ensure food safety, the Center offers a
course in “Security and Risk Management in the
Food Industry,” intended for food suppliers, processors,
and buyers who need help in developing a food
security program. Sections of the course focus on
key areas of concern: threat assessment; biological,
chemical, radiological, and physical agents; food
security prerequisite programs; and operational risk
management developed by the FDA.
NCFST researchers have also created a new database
to record the genetic sequences of food allergens and
pathogens, which will help scientists detect and identify
in food the presence of dangerous
organisms, such as E. coli and salmonella.
Top right: Food being processed during the NCFSThosted
“Fundamentals of HPP for Food Safety and
Extended Shelf Life – An Introductory Workshop for
Industry” for the purpose of introducing this new technology
to industry.
Middle right: High Pressure Processing machine.
Bottom right: Food safety workshop attendees include
food technologists from industry as well as NCFST faculty,
staff, and graduate students. For some students,
it was their first opportunity to collaborate with
industry professionals.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
food safety and
TECHNOLOGY
Bottom left: Students participate in IIT’s annual Sophomore
Leadership Camp.
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