MITPeople is a quarterly newsletter for the alumni and friends of the Master of Information Technology Program.
Published by Erin Perez, Associate Director
Spring 2007 Edition
In this issue:
- Graduation News
- Faculty News and Updates
- Technology Executive’s Club – with a Special Offer for MITP Students and Alumni
- Student Advisory Board
- Class of 2009 Update
- Upcoming Information Sessions
- Alumni Volunteer Alert
- Help Us Stay in Touch
- Special Notice from Kellogg’s Manufacturing Business Conference
Graduation News
Twenty-one hard-working MITP students are expected to graduate on Friday, June 15, 2007. After two years of hard work, studying and wondering “is it over yet?” these deserving students will participate in their graduation ceremony in the Ryan Auditorium of the Technological Institute. Graduates and families will join us for a luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn following the ceremony. We congratulate this deserving bunch and look forward to working with them as MITP alumni!
| 2007 Graduates (anticipated): | |
| Samuel Annor | Kevin Lynch |
| Nicholas Chodorow | Paul Matijevic |
| Frank Doyle | Ed McCulloch |
| Sean Farney | Jim Moriarty |
| Will Fiedler | Peter Mozdzierz |
| Joel Heilprin | Alex Roussev |
| Jorgen Hesselberg | Greg Schrader |
| Navin Johri | Susanna Sung |
| Sarah Kronk | Chris Tartaglia |
| Michael Leonard | Ron Widitz |
| Jason Lynch |
Faculty News and Updates
Mike Borella
Dr. Borella will be teaching his last course for the MITP during the spring quarter of 2007. Professor Borella, the instructor for Communications Networks, has consistently been one of the top-rated instructors in the program for bringing his blend of academic theory and real-world experience to the classroom. We will certainly miss him! Dr. Borella had this to say about his experience with MITP and his future plans:
What a difference a few years make. Back in 2000, when I first taught at MITP, I was a fledgling manager at a large, established high-tech company. I didn’t do much business travel. I was married but had no children. The prospect of spending a good chunk of my Saturdays 35 miles away from home lecturing to carefully-selected group of master’s students seemed like a reasonable, if not worthy, way of investing my time. At that point, I assumed that I would teach my course for one or two years and then that would be that.
Late last year, I found myself a Vice President of a small, growing startup company. I’m traveling to Asia and Europe regularly. My two children are 6 and 3, and expect their dad to spend Saturdays with them, especially as he doesn’t have much of an opportunity for spending such time during the week. And I’m still teaching at MITP every Spring.
What hasn’t changed is MITP. It is still time well spent for me, and hopefully for my students as well. If anything, the program continues to improve, the quality of the students remains high, and I’d like to think that my course gets a little better each year.
However, I’ve realized that I can only push the envelope so far. My familial and business commitments are greater than they ever have been previously. Since starting at Fastmobile in early November, I’ve had the pedal to the floor as I’ve ramped up to learn new technologies, business strategies and getting to know the team. Weekends have been precious time with the family, going on short outings or just playing around the house. My wife and kids graciously tolerate my need to check email and be on conference calls even when I’m supposed to be giving them my undivided attention.
All of the above has led to my decision to step down from my position in MITP after this semester. It was not an easy decision by any means, but a necessary one. With the increased demands on my time, the basic nuts-and-bolts of instruction, such as preparing lectures, homework, exams, and grading, will be at risk. And ultimately, if I cannot convince myself that I’ll be able to deliver the proper experience to students, then it in is the best interest of both MITP and myself and the students that I move aside and allow someone else to do so.
I’d like to thank MITP for the opportunity to be a part of the program for the last eight years and for some unforgettable memories. Especially the students…the ones who asked the questions that stumped me. Those who tolerated my infamous sarcasm and bad jokes. The class that made it through a midterm for which I stayed home due to my wife being down with a kidney stone. The students who turned out to be my customers, suppliers or colleagues. The former students who write me about how they have used what they learned in my class. Many others who did little or big things to make my MITP experience memorable. Thank you all.
Finally, I’d like to thank the MITP administration and faculty. I’m in the habit of joking with friends that Northwestern makes it so easy on me all I have to do is show up, talk and leave. But seriously, the staff couldn’t do much more to smooth the process for me.
I have and continue to stay in touch with my former MITP students. Let’s not let that stop. Drop me a line from time to time and let me know how you are doing. I’ll write back from 39,000 feet.
Mike Borella
mike@borella.net
March 2007
Yan Chen
Dr. Yan Chen joins the MITP this spring as the new instructor for MITP 458: Information Security and Assurance. Yan Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Northwestern University. He got his Ph.D. in Computer Science at University of California at Berkeley in 2003. He has over ten years of experience in network security, network measurement, P2P systems and wireless and ad hoc networks from both academic and industry. He won the Department of Energy (DOE) Early CAREER award in 2005 and the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Awards in 2004 and 2005 with his colleagues. Besides publishing in premier conferences such as ACM SIGCOMM, he has served as chair or on the technical program committee (TPC) of many major networking and security conferences. He started several security courses at Northwestern University, including the EECS 350 Introduction to Computer Security and EECS 450 Internet Security. He was awarded as a Searle Junior Fellow by the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence of Northwestern University in 2004. More information can be found at http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~ychen/.
Hooman Mohseni
Dr. Mohseni, instructor for MITP: Emerging Technologies – Nanotechnology and Assistant Professor in McCormick’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, has been identified by The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as among 24 rising stars in university microsystems research to receive Young Faculty Award.
Subject to negotiation, each award recipient will receive a grant of approximately $150,000 to be used to further develop and validate their research idea during the coming year. Hooman's project is entitled "Electrically Tunable Quantum Dots for Adaptive Infrared Imaging". The winners were selected through a three-stage, competitive process. DARPA initially received brief abstracts from approximately 150 young faculty applicants from universities all over the country.
Technology Executive’s Club – Special Offer for MITP Students and Alumni!
The Technology Executives Club is a Thought Leadership Exchange for IT executives, business executives responsible for IT, and technology providers to explore the business view of Information Technology best practices in the enterprise. The Club provides Educational Seminars and an online repository of whitepapers and articles.
In 2005, the MITP joined the Technology Executive’s Club as a way to bring information about our program to technology employees around Chicago and Milwaukee. Recently, we have invited our current students to attend their seminars, which feature leading experts discussing the hottest IT topics and trends today. These events present ideal opportunities for individuals to network with other IT professionals and to learn valuable information about what other companies are doing today. One MITP students decided to join the Club after her participation in a recent event because she saw so much value in the networking and learning opportunities.
As a student or alumni of Northwestern University’s MITP program, Club President Alex Jarett offers you a complementary ticket for you to attend one of our upcoming events, as well as access to the Club’s online Library. To visit the Library go to http://www.technologyexecutivesclub.com/Library.php To receive your free ticket, check out the event calendar at http://www.technologyexecutivesclub.com/eventcalendars.php and then contact Maria Tuthill at 847-837-3900, x1 and mention that you read about the Club in the MITP newsletter.
Student Advisory Board
Following on the heels of our new and still developing Alumni Advisory Board, the MITP has created a Student Advisory Board. This group, made up of elected members of both classes, was formed to provide additional guidance to the administration, particularly on issues regarding current course issues and/or concerns. Members will meet regularly as a group to discuss ongoing issues related to classes, administration, and other areas of importance. Board members will also help keep their classmates informed on issues coming out of the MITP office. We thank the 7 new members of this board for their willingness to serve and their dedication to helping to improve the MITP for theirs and future classes.
Class of 2009 Update
It’s only April, but the Class of 2009 is already shaping up to be our largest in several years! To date, we have received commitments from 16 students, and we still have several applications in the works! With several more information sessions this spring, we are hopeful that this class will be our largest since 2002.
If you know of individuals who may be interested in the program, please encourage them to apply as soon as possible. Enrollment in the new class is limited to 35, and we don’t want qualified students to miss out on their chance. Remember that if you refer a student to the MITP, their $50 application fee is waived, and if they enroll this fall, you will receive a thank you gift from us.
Upcoming Information Sessions
The MITP will be holding its final information sessions of the spring on May 5, 8, and 9. If you have friends or colleagues who might be interested in the program, please encourage them to attend one of these sessions. Interested people can register and get more details at http://www.mitp.northwestern.edu/openhouse.html
Open House (guests can attend classes)
Saturday, May 5, 2007
10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Evanston Campus
2145 Sheridan Road, L324
Information Sessions
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
6-8 p.m.
Evanston Campus
2145 Sheridan Road, L324
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
6-8 p.m.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
230 S. LaSalle
We are also looking for alumni and student volunteers to participate in our panels on May 8 and/or 9. Please contact Erin if you’re available.
Alumni Volunteer Alert!
We are in need of alumni volunteers who would like to help organize Orientation for the Class of 2009, Homecoming 2007 and future MITP Happy Hour events! Please contact George Nejmeh at gjn485@northwestern.edu if you’d like to help!
Help Us Stay in Touch
Over the years, we’ve lost touch with some alumni as addresses, phone number, emails, and jobs have changed. Please help us stay connected to you by updating your MITP Online Directory information at https://mitp.northwestern.edu/online/login.php or by contacting George at gjn485@northwestern.edu.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Randy Pond, Senior Vice President, Operations, Processes & Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. CONFERENCE PANEL TOPICS
ADDITIONAL EVENTS
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