5/18/2020 Ryann Monahan, Illinois ECE
Illinois ECE Class of 2020 Graduates were celebrated during a Virtual Graduation Celebration held over Zoom May 17, 2020. More than 300 graduates, family members, faculty, and staff joined the virtual event from around the world.
Written by Ryann Monahan, Illinois ECE
Illinois ECE Class of 2020 Graduates were celebrated during a Virtual Graduation Celebration held over Zoom on May 17, 2020, at 8 p.m. (CST). More than 300 graduates, family members, faculty, and staff joined the virtual event from around the world. Each student was recognized, spotlighted, and given a chance to say a few words. The video below was created to honor the graduates. It includes “final thoughts” from graduates, a message from the Co-Chairs of ECESAC, and messages from Illinois ECE alumni.
Illinois ECE Department Head Bruce Hajek shared this message during the virtual celebration:
"Graduates, you are the latest stars in a department whose faculty, students, and graduates have created an incredible legacy, changing the world in unimaginable ways. Founded in 1891, the department and its graduates created sound on film, ultrasound for medical use, the transistor, the integrated circuit, PLATO, the plasma display, practical photonics, the Tesla car, computer-aided design, the Kindle, and many other world-changing things. While these accomplishments exceed those of any other ECE department in the world, it is you, today's graduates, who will do it all over again, inventing the future of our field.
What will your inventions be? Point of presence health care diagnostics? Light, fast, low power, reliable computing? All-electric passenger aircraft? Solutions for sustainable and enhanced living on earth? Colonization of space? The possibilities are unlimited.
I'm proud to be an alumnus of ECE Illinois, and I welcome you to the ranks of alumni who will carry on the legacy of the department, with tenacity and grace, for years to come.
Congratulations graduates of electrical and computer engineering." - Bruce Hajek, Illinois ECE Department Head, Leonard C. and Mary Lou Hoeft Endowed Chair in Engineering
The recording of the virtual celebration is available on YouTube and Illinois Media Space