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IIT Renames Student Radio Station in Honor of Electrical Engineering Alumnus A. Sidney Katz

Illinois Institute of Technology is pleased to announce the renaming of the university’s WIIT radio facility to the A. Sidney Katz Radio Studio, in recognition of and with gratitude to the generosity of A. Sidney Katz, a 1962 electrical engineering alumnus. The studio broadcasts as WIIT 88.9-FM in Chicago, and as www.radio.iit.edu on the web.

During his time as a student at IIT, Katz worked as an engineering technician and a part-time math tutor, while hosting a DJ program at the student radio station which was then housed in the basement of a campus fraternity house. After graduating from IIT, Katz served as an engineering technician with Filmotype Corp., and as a patent examiner in the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. He earned a law degree from George Washington University in 1966 and later went on to co-found the Chicago-based intellectual property firm, Welsh & Katz, Ltd. In 2008, after 25 years of business, Welsh & Katz, Ltd., then a 45-lawyer firm specializing in the high-technology, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical fields, merged with Husch Blackwell LLP, a general practice firm of approximately 600 attorneys, with offices in 14 cities. After the merger, Husch Blackwell doubled the size of its intellectual property practice group and increased its intellectual property litigation capabilities.

As managing partner of Husch Blackwell’s Chicago office, which practices as Husch Blackwell Welsh Katz, Katz is currently engaged in client counseling, licensing, and litigation concerning all areas of intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights. He also serves as the chairman of the National IP Group at the firm.

Katz is a widely respected and cited author in the field of intellectual property law and the recipient of numerous awards including the Award of Distinction from the Patent Resources Group, the Torch of Learning Award from Hebrew University, and the Judge Learned Hand Human Relations Award from the AJC. He is a member of the International Board of Governors of Hebrew University, and was recently made an Honorary Fellow of the university. Katz is also on the IP Advisory Board to the Dean at the George Washington University Law School. A Life Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, he has received significant recognition for his work in the protection of computer programs and video games under copyright laws.

A dedication ceremony will be held at noon on Thursday, February 17, outside of the radio station in the McCormick Tribune Campus Center. For more information on this generous gift by Sid Katz, please contact Stuart Gold at sgold@iit.edu or (312) 567-5062. For more information about IIT’s student radio station, please visit http://radio.iit.edu/blog.

IIT’s New On-Campus Wind Turbine to Support Green Jobs, Research, and Education

A newly funded IIT wind energy project will focus on increasing clean energy generation, while supporting the long-term development of a clean energy workforce.
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IIT will lead a consortium of partners from private industry, state and local governments, and universities, which has been selected for $8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to support research and programs on wind energy in the United States. ECE's Distinguished Bodine Professor Mohammad Shahidehpour will serve as principal investigator.

The consortium members will research the wind energy challenges identified in the U.S. Department of Energy's "20% Wind Energy by 2030" report, including wind technology, grid system integration, and workforce challenges. The consortium's plan relies on IIT experts in electrical and computer engineering; mechanical, materials, and aerospace engineering; architecture; business; and members of the Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research to tackle these challenges.

Many of the university's departments and research centers will also work together to offer wind energy courses addressing the technical, operational, social, and environmental aspects of wind energy in consultation with industry. To ensure student involvement in the project, fellowships will be offered annually to undergraduate and graduate students in wind energy engineering fields of study. Faculty and students from international university consortium members will also be invited to IIT to attend workshops and to share ideas with their American counterparts.

The wind energy consortium will work with small wind turbine manufacturer Viryd Technologies to procure and install an 8KW Viryd wind turbine on IIT's Main Campus, and to deliver a second turbine to one of IIT's engineering laboratories to perform turbine reliability studies. The consortium will also work with wind energy developer Invenergy to install a 1.5MW GE wind turbine adjacent to a wind farm in Marseilles, Ill. The close proximity of IIT's Marseilles turbine to an existing wind farm provides an ideal opportunity to study turbine-to-turbine wake interaction, wind farm interaction, and wind energy efficiencies in addition to turbine reliability studies.

"IIT has been a leader in electric power research and education since the 1930s," says Bodine Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Mohammad Shahidehpour, who is principle investigator for the consortium. "We are excited to continue this work, together with our consortium partners, to meet the energy challenges of the twenty-first century." Shahidehpour is also leading the DOE-funded Perfect Power project, which integrates renewable energy into a groundbreaking approach to electricity distribution and management, as well as a study on the best locations for wind energy integration into the eastern portion of the United States electricity grid.

Other university consortium members include the University of Chicago, Southern Illinois University, and four prestigious international universities with strong wind energy programs.

IIT Establishes $12.6 Million Smart Grid Training Center

Illinois Institute of Technology has received $5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to support a total $12.6 million collaborative effort to establish a Smart Grid Education and Workforce Training Center.
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Cost share of $7.6 million will be provided by the State of Illinois, partner universities, and other collaborating members to complete the center within three years. The center will offer smart grid technology courses and certificate programs for people of all ages via on-campus and distance-learning classes.

IIT�s current smart grid and power engineering infrastructures led by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will help train groups from utilities, corporations, labor unions, veterans, K-12 educators, universities, and community colleges to take on global challenges in smart grid technology, energy independence, clean tech, and sustainable energy. The new center is expected to train nearly 49,000 people in a three year period.After the three-year funding period, the center will operate as a self-sustained entity by continuing its instructor-led and internet-based training courses and instituting a fee-based membership program with multi-grade activities for its members.

Enhancements to the Illinois Economy:

New, sustainable green jobs / retrained Illinois Workforce�Train the existing workforce through universities and the Illinois Community College network in order to retain and expand the manufacturing jobs in Illinois and meet the global challenges in smart grid.�
Labor � IIT will work with labor representatives to develop curriculum that can be integrated into existing labor training initiatives for energy efficiency-involved trades: electricians, carpenters, sheet metal workers, plumbers and transportation workers.
Veterans�The center will provide energy training programs tailored to the educational needs of veterans, including flexible distance learning courses for service people who are currently deployed.� IIT�s Yellow Ribbon program provides free tuition for returning veterans.
Chicago Public Schools� The center will also provide teachers with access to down-to-earth courses, field trips, �Energy Detective� programs, workshops, and webinars on the smart grid, plug-in hybrid cars, and renewable energy topics so they can teach their students in easy to understand terms.

Located at IIT Main Campus, the center will house industry-sponsored, state-of-the-art software packages to facilitate its workforce training courses. The training will include university-level degree and certificate programs focusing on smart grid technology, and additional programs led by community colleges. As part of the plan, $400,000 has been committed to providing competitive grants to help community colleges develop associate degree programs in smart grid technology.

The project�s team is led by principal investigator and IIT Professor Mohammad Shahidehpour, who is an expert on smart grid research and education and an active researcher for IIT�s Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER). Melissa Gordon, executive director of Operation Green Jobs and an expert on job training and counseling, will serve as executive director and partner with an advisory board of six expert executives from industry, academia, training organizations, and government agencies.

The center�s 100 participating members include three US-based and five international universities, 49 community colleges and high schools, six city and government entities, eight Labor Unions and councils, one national laboratory, five transmission and distribution systems operators, five professional training organizations, 16 smart grid manufacturers and software companies, and 13 energy consulting companies.

IIT has long-standing experience in green energy research, education, and training culminating in the establishment of WISER and more than $25 million in funding for current smart grid and wind energy projects. Current projects include the $12 million installation of Perfect Power�IIT�s on-campus smart grid implementation�in addition to the $8 million ARRA funded Wind Energy Consortium to forward the integration of wind power in the US and implement and study an on-campus wind turbine.