October 25, 2018
Mayor Emanuel Joins Illinois Tech in
Opening New Kaplan Innovation Center
The first new academic
building on Illinois Tech campus in 40 years, the Kaplan Institute will allow
all students to problem-solve through project-based work in a contemporary,
highly-collaborative space
Mayor's Press
Office 312.744.3334
Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined Illinois Institute
of Technology today to open the new Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation
and Tech Entrepreneurship. The Kaplan Institute – the first new academic
building on Illinois Tech’s campus in nearly 40 years – will foster collaboration
among undergraduate students, faculty, alumni and business partners with the
goal of developing the diverse technical talent needed in today’s business
world.
“Technology and entrepreneurship continue to
be one of Chicago’s fastest growing industry sectors – we as a City recognize
the value of supporting innovation and talent through exceptional universities,
like Illinois Tech," Mayor Emanuel said. “The Kaplan Institute is joining
a long list of academic institutions, data centers and technology-based
co-working spaces in South Side neighborhoods, helping to grow this area as a
thriving center for technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.”
The new building breaks out of the classroom
model to give students myriad ways to invent, create, and discover through
hands-on learning. It contains state-of-the art prototyping and fabrication facilities,
and serves as the home for the university’s renowned Institute of Design.
"Illinois Tech has been a great community
anchor and a strong partner in the neighborhood," said Alderman Pat
Dowell. "I am looking forward to seeing what the innovation center has in
store for the university, our communities and for all the young men and women
that will benefit from its resources."
The Kaplan Institute will be led by veteran
entrepreneur and investor, Howard Tullman, who has been on the forefront of
Chicago’s innovation boom, spending the last five years leading the city’s tech
hub 1871 and decades before leading high-tech start-ups and helping major
educational institutions reinvent themselves.
“The Kaplan Institute’s focus is to turn out
highly qualified, instantly employable students for jobs that haven’t been
invented yet, to use technologies that we are just now working on, and to
address problems that we do not yet know are going to be problems,” said
Tullman, university professor and executive director of the Kaplan Institute.
“In this building, the creative and imaginative ideas of the school’s students
and faculty will become meaningful innovations for our city, region and
beyond.”
The Institute is established in large part
from a gift of $11 million from Ed Kaplan – a 1965 Illinois Tech alumnus and
longtime member of the University’s Board of Trustees – and his wife, Carol.
Kaplan, a Chicagoan who studied mechanical engineering, co-founded Zebra
Technologies, a global leader in bar code technology.
“Through the Kaplan Institute, Illinois Tech
students, faculty and alumni will have all the resources they need to turn
their concepts, ideas and problems into real solutions. Students now have the
opportunity and ability to go beyond the norm of technical education and focus
also on ingenuity and invention,” Kaplan said.
The building itself, designed by John Ronan
Architects, is striking with a bold, glossy façade of bright white ethylene
tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) hovering above a Mies van der Rohe-inspired grid.
Rubbery to the touch, these ETFE foil cushions control solar energy entering
the building through sophisticated pneumatics. The open, white interior spaces
– a blank canvas that fosters the feeling of a single community of users – are
punctuated with Post-It Note colors and sleek Steelcase furniture. At 70,000
square feet, the two-story light and airy space is designed around two
courtyards, bringing in natural light and ventilation. Dry erase paint on the
interior walls transforms them all into teaching surfaces and ideation centers.
For more information, go to iit.edu/kaplan-institute.
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About Illinois Institute of Technology: Illinois Institute of Technology, also
known as Illinois Tech, is a private, technology-focused research university,
located in Chicago, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering,
science, architecture, business, design, human sciences, applied technology,
and law. One of 21 institutions that comprise the Association of Independent
Technological Universities (AITU), Illinois Tech offers exceptional preparation
for professions that require technological sophistication, an innovative
mindset, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Visit iit.edu.