100 Notable alumni of
University of Illinois at Chicago
Updated:
The University of Illinois at Chicago is 663rd in the world, 245th in North America, and 226th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the University of Illinois at Chicago sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Justin Hartley
- Occupations
- film actorwriterscreenwritertelevision actoractor
- Biography
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Justin Scott Hartley is an American actor. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions (2002–2006), Oliver Queen on the WB/CW television series Smallville (2006–2011), and Adam Newman on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless (2014–2016) which earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination. He also had recurring roles in the third season of the television drama series Revenge (2013–2014) and in the final three seasons of the drama series Mistresses (2014–2016).
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Janina Gavankar
- Occupations
- television actormusicianfilm actoractorvoice actor
- Biography
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Janina Zione Gavankar is an American actress and musician. She is trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist, and she majored in theatre at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her roles include Eva “Papi” Torres on Showtime’s The L Word, Shiva on The League, Leigh Turner on The Gates, Luna Garza on HBO's True Blood, McKenna Hall on The CW's Arrow, and Diana Thomas on FOX's Sleepy Hollow. In marketing, she also played "Ms. Dewey", a personified search engine and virtual assistant for Microsoft.
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Michael Gross
- Occupations
- film actormodel railroadertelevision actoractorstage actor
- Biography
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Michael Edward Gross is an American television, film, and stage actor. He is notable for playing Steven Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties (1982–1989) and survivalist Burt Gummer in the Tremors film franchise, being the only actor to appear in all the films, television show, and a canceled pilot.
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Kelly Cheung
- Occupations
- actorbeauty pageant contestanttelevision actor
- Biography
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Kelly Cheung is a Hongkonger-American actress, tv host and beauty pageant titleholder. She currently contracted to TVB. She is the winner of Miss Chinese International 2012 and represented Hong Kong at Miss World 2012.
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Adrian Smith
- Occupations
- architect
- Biography
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Adrian D. Smith is an American architect. He designed the world's tallest structure, Burj Khalifa, as well as the building projected to surpass it, the Jeddah Tower. A long-time principal of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, he founded his own architectural partnership firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in Chicago in 2006. Among his other projects, he was the senior architect for Central Park Tower in New York City, Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, and Zifeng Tower in Nanjing.
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Sheryl Underwood
- Occupations
- actorfilm actorradio personality
- Biography
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Sheryl Patrice Underwood is an American comedian, actress and television host. She first rose to prominence in the comedy world as the first female finalist in 1989's Miller Lite Comedy Search. Currently, Underwood is one of the hosts on the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk, becoming the show's longest running co-host, a role she first stepped into in September 2011. She has received one Daytime Emmy Award from seven nominations.
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Curtis Granderson
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Curtis Granderson Jr., nicknamed "the Grandyman", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Miami Marlins.
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Al Jourgensen
- Occupations
- music executiveguitaristsaxophonistdisc jockeycomposer
- Biography
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Alain David Jourgensen is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is the frontman and lyricist of the industrial metal band Ministry, which he founded in 1981 and of which he remains the only constant member. He was the primary musician of several Ministry-related projects, such as Revolting Cocks, Lard, and Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters. Jourgensen is a prominent figure in industrial music, influencing numerous other groups and musicians, both in alternative and industrial-associated acts.
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Joseph Mercola
- Years
- 1954-.. (age 70)
- Occupations
- writerphysicianalternative therapistanti-vaccine activist
- Biography
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Joseph Michael Mercola is an American alternative medicine proponent, osteopathic physician, and Internet business personality. He markets largely unproven dietary supplements and medical devices. On his website, Mercola and colleagues advocate unproven and pseudoscientific alternative health notions including homeopathy and opposition to vaccination. These positions have received persistent criticism. Mercola is a member of several alternative medicine organizations as well as the political advocacy group Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, which promotes scientifically discredited views about medicine and disease. He is the author of two books.
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Bobby Rush
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- In 1994 graduated with Master of Arts
- Occupations
- priestpoliticianinsurance broker
- Biography
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Bobby Lee Rush is an American politician, activist and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 1st congressional district for three decades. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party.
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Carol Moseley Braun
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- Studied in 1969
- Occupations
- lawyerprosecutorpoliticiandiplomat
- Biography
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Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun, is an American diplomat, politician, and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. Prior to her Senate tenure, Moseley Braun was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1979 to 1988 and served as Cook County Recorder of Deeds from 1988 to 1992. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992 after defeating Senator Alan J. Dixon in a Democratic primary. Moseley Braun served one term in the Senate and was defeated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald in 1998.
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John H. Cox
- Occupations
- lawyerpoliticianradio personalitybusinessperson
- Biography
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John Herman Cox is an American businessman, housing developer, and political activist, who has run for public office several times, mostly recently for Governor of California as a Republican Party candidate.
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Megan Hauserman
- Occupations
- erotic photography modelmodelbroadcaster
- Biography
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Megan Hauserman is an American model and reality television personality, best known for her repeated appearances on VH1 including second season of Rock of Love with Bret Michaels, the first season of I Love Money, and Rock of Love: Charm School. After becoming a fan favorite she was offered her own dating game show: Megan Wants a Millionaire.
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Bernard Shaw
- Occupations
- television presenterjournalist
- Biography
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Bernard Shaw was an American journalist and lead news anchor for CNN from 1980 until his retirement on March 2, 2001. Prior to his time at CNN, he was a reporter and anchor for WNUS, Westinghouse Broadcasting, CBS News, and ABC News.
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Jeremy Hammond
- Occupations
- hackercomputer scientistmusiciansoftware developer
- Biography
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Jeremy Hammond is an American anarchist activist and former computer hacker from Chicago. He founded the computer security training website HackThisSite in 2003. He was first imprisoned over the Protest Warrior hack in 2005 and was later convicted of computer fraud in 2013 for hacking the private intelligence firm Stratfor and releasing data to WikiLeaks, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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Tony Podesta
- Occupations
- lobbyist
- Biography
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Anthony Thomas Podesta is an American lobbyist best known for founding the Podesta Group. The brother of former White House Chief of staff John Podesta, he was formerly one of Washington's most powerful lobbyists and fundraisers.
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Nnedi Okorafor
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- Graduated with Doctor of Philosophy in English
- Occupations
- children's writercomics writerwriterscience fiction writereducator
- Biography
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Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor// is a Nigerian American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her Binti Series and her novels Who Fears Death, Zahrah the Windseeker, Akata Witch, Akata Warrior, Lagoon and Remote Control. She has also written for comics and film.
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Alaa Al Aswany
- Occupations
- novelistnon-fiction writerpolitical activistwritershort story writer
- Biography
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Alaa Al Aswany is an Egyptian writer, novelist, and a founding member of the political movement Kefaya.
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Steve Grand
- Occupations
- pianistsinger-songwritermodelguitarist
- Biography
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Steve Grand is an American singer, songwriter and model from Lemont, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. He became an overnight internet celebrity and the music video of his first hit "All-American Boy" went viral on YouTube in less than a week in July 2013. This attention landed Grand on Good Morning America, CNN and other national media. In addition to being a musician, Grand has become an active figure in the LGBT equality movement. He released his debut album titled All American Boy financed by a successful Kickstarter public funding campaign. The follow-up album Not the End of Me was released in 2018.
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Todd Ricketts
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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Todd M. Ricketts is an American businessman and politician who is a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, a member of the TD Ameritrade board of directors, and a former Republican National Committee Finance Chairman.
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James R. Thompson
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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James Robert Thompson Jr. was an American politician, lobbyist, and federal prosecutor who served as the 37th governor of Illinois from 1977 to 1991. He was Illinois's longest-serving governor, having been elected to four consecutive terms and holding the office for 14 years.
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Brandon J. Dirden
- Years
- 1970s
- Occupations
- actorstage actor
- Biography
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Brandon J. Dirden is an American actor, best known for portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in the Broadway production of Robert Schenkkan's All the Way.
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Jay DeMerit
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Jay Michael DeMerit is an American retired soccer player who played as a center back.
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Lee Soo-jung
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Crystal Yi, known by the stage name Chai or her Korean name Lee Soo-jung (이수정), is a Korean-American singer-songwriter. She is best known for winning SBS's K-pop Star 5.
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Jim McDermott
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- In 1963 graduated with Doctor of Medicine
- Occupations
- politicianpsychiatristmilitary officer
- Biography
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James Adelbert McDermott is an American politician and psychiatrist who was the U.S. representative for Washington's 7th congressional district from 1989 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The 7th District includes most of Seattle, Vashon Island, Tukwila, Burien, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Woodway, and Edmonds. He served on the House Ways and Means Committee and was a member of the House Progressive Caucus. He was formerly the committee chairman, then in 1995, ranking minority member on the House Ethics Committee. On January 4, 2016, he announced that he would not be seeking another congressional term.
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William A. Dembski
- Occupations
- computer scientistwritertheologianmathematicianphilosopher
- Biography
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William Albert Dembski is an American mathematician, philosopher and theologian. He was a proponent of intelligent design (ID) pseudoscience, specifically the concept of specified complexity, and was a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture (CSC). On September 23, 2016, he officially retired from intelligent design, resigning all his "formal associations with the ID community, including Discovery Institute fellowship of 20 years". A February 2021 interview in the CSC's blog Evolution News announced "his return to the intelligent design arena".
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Chuy García
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jesús G. "Chuy" García is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, as well as in the Illinois Senate and on the Chicago City Council before his election to Congress. He was also a candidate for mayor of Chicago in 2015 and 2023. Throughout his career in Chicago and national politics, he has been described as a progressive.
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Toshiko Abe
- Occupations
- politiciannurse
- Biography
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Toshiko Abe is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).
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Polykarp Kusch
- Occupations
- university teacherphysicist
- Biography
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Polykarp Kusch was a German-born American physicist. In 1955, the Nobel Committee gave a divided Nobel Prize for Physics, with one half going to Kusch for his accurate determination that the magnetic moment of the electron was greater than its theoretical value, thus leading to reconsideration of—and innovations in—quantum electrodynamics. (The other 1955 physics laureate was Willis Eugene Lamb, who won for his work on the spectrum of hydrogen.)
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Nancy Cartwright
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- In 1971 graduated with Doctor of Philosophy
- Occupations
- philosopheruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Nancy Cartwright, Lady Hampshire FBA, FAcSS is an American philosopher of science. She is a professor of philosophy at the University of California at San Diego and the University of Durham. Currently, she is the President of the Division for Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.
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Hemant Mehta
- Occupations
- podcasterwriterhigh school teachereditor
- Biography
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Hemant Mehta is an American author, blogger, YouTuber and atheist activist. Mehta is a regular speaker at atheist events, and has been a board member of charitable organizations such as the Secular Student Alliance and the Foundation Beyond Belief.
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Azhar Usman
- Occupations
- actorlawyer
- Biography
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Azhar Muhammad Usman is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer of Indian descent. He is a former lecturer, community activist and lawyer and has been referred to as the "Ayatollah of Comedy" and "Bin Laughin". He is best known as one third of comedy trio Allah Made Me Funny. In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced that Usman had joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, agreeing to play Najaf on the cast of the studio's Ms. Marvel original streaming series for Disney+.
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Larry Bucshon
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- In 1988 graduated with Doctor of Medicine
- Occupations
- physiciansurgeoncardiac surgeonpolitician
- Biography
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Larry Dean Bucshon is an American politician and physician who has been the U.S. representative for Indiana's 8th congressional district since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
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John R. Hodge
- Occupations
- military leaderarmy officer
- Biography
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General John Reed Hodge was a highly decoratedsenior officer of the United States Army. His final assignment before retiring was as chief of Army Field Forces from 1952 to 1953.
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Chen Ching-min
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- In 1990 graduated with Bachelor of Science in Nursing
- Occupations
- nursepolitician
- Biography
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Chen Ching-min is a Taiwanese nurse and politician. The American Academy of Nursing and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland have awarded her fellowship. Politically, Chen is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party and has served as an appointed at-large member of the Legislative Yuan twice, from 2018 to 2020, and from 2022.
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Gertrude Abercrombie
- Occupations
- artistpainter
- Biography
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Gertrude Abercrombie was an American painter based in Chicago. Called "the queen of the bohemian artists", Abercrombie was involved in the Chicago jazz scene and was friends with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan, whose music inspired her own creative work.
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William J. Walker
- Born in
-
United States - Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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William J. Walker is a retired United States Army major general and former Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the 38th House Sergeant at Arms and the first African-American to hold the office. He last served as the 23rd Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard. This responsibility includes command of the District of Columbia Army and Air National Guard units. Walker previously served in the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Special Agent and was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in January 2003, with his final assignment being Deputy Assistant Administrator in Charge of the Office of Strategic Warning Intelligence. Walker is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow.
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Baggio Hušidić
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Adis "Baggio" Hušidić is a Bosnian former footballer. He mainly played as a midfielder but was also deployed as a left-back.
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Gery Chico
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Gery J. Chico is an American politician, Chicago lawyer, public official and former Democratic primary candidate for United States Senate.
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Ertharin Cousin
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- 1979-1982 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- diplomatpoliticianinternational forum participant
- Biography
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Ertharin Cousin is an American lawyer who served as the twelfth executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme from 2012 to 2017. Following the completion of her term, Cousin became Payne Distinguished Professor at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, distinguished fellow at the Center on Food Security and the Environment and the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, accepted an appointment as a distinguished fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and became a trustee on the UK based Power of Nutrition Board of Directors.
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Othyus Jeffers
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Othyus Jeffers is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Jeffers played college basketball with the University of Illinois at Chicago for two years, before transferring to Robert Morris University for his senior season. He then started his professional career with the Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League, a minor league basketball organization owned and run by the NBA. He has had stints with three prior NBA teams: the Utah Jazz, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Washington Wizards. He has also spent a short stint in Italy with NGC Cantù. After his playing career, he returned to Robert Morris and served as head coach of the basketball team from 2017 to 2019.
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Santiago Durango
- Years
- 1957-.. (age 67)
- Occupations
- guitaristlawyer
- Biography
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Santiago Alonso Durango is a Colombian–American attorney and retired musician. He is best known for his work with the 1980s punk rock groups Naked Raygun and Big Black.
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Mary Biddinger
- Occupations
- writerpoet
- Biography
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Mary Biddinger is an American poet, editor, and academic.
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André Curbelo
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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André Jael Curbelo Rodríguez is a Puerto Rican college basketball player for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles of the Sun Belt Conference. He previously played for the Illinois Fighting Illini and St. John's Red Storm. Curbelo represents the Puerto Rican national team in international tournaments. Listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and 175 pounds (79 kg), he plays the point guard position.
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Tom Friedman
- Occupations
- sculptorillustratorconceptual artist
- Biography
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Tom Friedman is an American conceptual sculptor. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and received a BFA in graphic illustration from Washington University in St. Louis (1988) and an MFA in sculpture from the University of Illinois at Chicago (1990.). As a conceptual artist he works in diverse media including sculpture, painting, drawing, video, and installation.
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Radovan Jelašić
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- In 1995 graduated with Master of Business Administration
- Occupations
- economist
- Biography
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Radovan Jelašić is a Hungarian-Serbian economist who served as the Governor of the National Bank of Serbia from 2004 to 2010. He has been the CEO of Erste Bank Hungary since June 2011 and is also the chairman of the Hungarian Banking Association.
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Steven Schiff
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- In 1968 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Steven Harvey Schiff was an American politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the first district of New Mexico from 1989 until his death in 1998. Schiff was a Republican.
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Erika Sánchez
- Years
- 1984-.. (age 40)
- Occupations
- writerpoet
- Biography
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Erika L. Sánchez is an American poet and writer. She is the author of poetry collection Lessons on Expulsion and a young adult novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. She was a professor at DePaul University.
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Dan Meis
- Occupations
- architect
- Biography
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Dan Meis, FAIA, RIBA is an American architect best known for designing sports and entertainment facilities including Staples Center, Safeco Field, Paycor Stadium, Stadio Della Roma, and Everton FC's new Everton Stadium. He began his career in Chicago under the mentorship of well-known architect Helmut Jahn, and later included time at sports architecture firms, including co-founding the sports and entertainment practice of NBBJ. Meis currently operates his own independent studio established in 2007, MEIS Architects, with offices in New York City and Los Angeles, California.
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Minyon Moore
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Minyon Moore is an American political activist and civil servant. Moore is the founder of Women Building for the Future, and heads Dewey Square Group's state and local practice. She was formerly chief executive officer and before that chief operating officer of the Democratic National Committee, and before that, assistant to the President of the United States, director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, and director of White House political affairs under President Bill Clinton.
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Josh Mayo
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Joshua Andrew Mayo is an American professional basketball player who last played for Napoli Basket of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
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Anuradha Acharya
- Occupations
- engineer
- Biography
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Anuradha Acharya is an Indian entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Ocimum Bio Solutions and Mapmygenome. She was awarded Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011.
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Richard Hunt
- Occupations
- lithographersculptor
- Biography
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Richard Howard Hunt was an American sculptor. In the second half of the 20th century, he became "the foremost African-American abstract sculptor and artist of public sculpture." Hunt, the descendant of enslaved people brought from West Africa through the Port of Savannah, studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1950s. While there he received multiple prizes for his work. In 1971, he was the first African-American sculptor to have a retrospective at Museum of Modern Art. Hunt has created over 160 public sculpture commissions, more than any other sculptor in prominent locations in 24 states across the United States.
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Nirmalya Kumar
- Years
- 1960-.. (age 64)
- Occupations
- teacher
- Biography
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Nirmalya Kumar is Professor of Marketing of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University. He has served on the Boards of ACC Limited, Ambuja Cements, Bata India, BP Ergo, Defaqto, Tata Capital, Tata Chemicals, Tata Industries, Tata Limited (UK), Tata Unistore, Ultratech, and Zensar Technologies. He received the 2021 Mahajan Award for Lifetime Contributions to Marketing Strategy by the Marketing Strategy SIG of the American Marketing Association (AMA).
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Kevin Folta
- Born in
- United States
- Occupations
- researcherhorticulturistpodcaster
- Biography
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Kevin M. Folta is a professor of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida. From 2007 to 2010 he helped lead the project to sequence the strawberry genome, and continues to research photomorphogenesis in plants and compounds responsible for flavor in strawberries. Folta has been active as a science communicator since 2002, especially relating to biotechnology. He has faced controversy over what his critics say are his industry connections. In 2017 he was elected as a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
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Richard Kling
- Years
- 20th Century
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Richard Kling is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Chicago–Kent College of Law in Chicago, Illinois, where he has been teaching since 1981. He teaches evidence, forensic science, and professional responsibility. He has personally tried over 500 jury trials, including 28 capital cases, and currently has a full-time Clinical Criminal practice through the Law Offices of the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Richard Kling is well respected in the Chicago legal community and is regularly featured in Chicago local news to discuss legal news topics ranging from the Rod Blagojevich corruption charges to the Drew Peterson murder trial.
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Frank Hu
- Years
- 1966-.. (age 58)
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- In 1996 graduated with Doctor of Philosophy
- Occupations
- epidemiologist
- Biography
-
Frank B. Hu is a Chinese American nutrition and diabetes researcher. He is Chair of the Department of Nutrition and the Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School.
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Hasia Diner
- Occupations
- university teacherhistorian
- Biography
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Hasia R. Diner is an American historian. Diner is the Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History; Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, History; Director of the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History at New York University and Interim Director of Glucksman Ireland House NYU.
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Michael Collins
- Occupations
- novelistultramarathon runner
- Biography
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Michael Collins is an Irish novelist and international ultra-distance runner. His novel The Keepers of Truth was shortlisted for the 2000 Booker Prize. He has also won the Irish Novel of the Year Award and the Lucien Barriere Literary Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival. Collins is a graduate of Oxford University.
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Mike Bidlo
- Occupations
- sculptorpainterartistperformance artist
- Biography
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Michael Bidlo is an American conceptual artist who employs painting, sculpture, drawing, performance, and other forms of "social sculpture."
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Iris Martinez
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Iris Y. Martinez is an American politician and administrator. In 2020, she was elected clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. She previously served as a member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 20th district from 2003 until becoming clerk. A member of the Democratic Party, she rose to Assistant Majority Leader in the State Senate. As court clerk and as a state senator, she is the first Latina to have held either of those offices.
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George J. Efstathiou
- Occupations
- architect
- Biography
-
George J. Efstathiou, FAIA, RIBA is an American architect of Greek descent. George joined Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP in 1974, where he served as Managing Partner and later Consulting Partner in the Chicago office until 2016. He is currently leading the consulting practice of Efstathiou Consulting LLC which serves clients in the architecture, planning, interiors design as well as others in the real estate and corporate communities.
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Tai Odiase
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
-
Tai Odiase is an American professional basketball player for Prometey of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. Standing at 2.06 m (6'9"), he plays the center position. After playing four years of college basketball at UIC, Odiase entered the 2018 NBA draft, but he was not selected in the draft's two rounds.
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Rudy Moise
- Occupations
- film producerphysicianlawyer
- Biography
-
Rudolph Moise is the owner and medical director of Comprehensive Medical Aesthetics in Miami. Prior to becoming a physician, he served as a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force for more than 21 years, earning the rank of colonel, the highest position awarded to an American of Haitian descent at that time. In July 2023, Dr. Moise was awarded the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden.
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Walter Burnett, Jr
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Walter Burnett Jr. is an American politician who has served as the alderman for Chicago's 27th ward since his first election in 1995. The 27th ward includes the West Loop, Greektown, East Garfield Park, Near North Side, Old Town, West Humboldt Park, West Town, Goose Island and the Illinois Medical District. As of 2023 he is the vice mayor of Chicago.
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James Cappleman
- Occupations
- social worker
- Biography
-
James Cappleman is an American politician and a member of the Chicago City Council. He was elected to the Council in 2011 as the alderman for the city's 46th ward, which includes parts of the Uptown and Lakeview neighborhoods. He won re-election in 2015 and 2019.
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George Crabtree
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- In 1974 graduated with Doctor of Philosophy in condensed matter physics
- Occupations
- university teacherphysicist
- Biography
-
George William Crabtree was an American physicist known for his highly cited research on superconducting materials and, since 2012, for his directorship of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) at Argonne National Laboratory.
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Siva Sivananthan
- Occupations
- academic
- Biography
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Professor Sivalingam Sivananthan is an American academic, scientist, businessman and Director of the Microphysics Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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Ma. Luisa Aguilar Igloria
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Luisa A. Igloria is a Filipina American poet and author of various award-winning collections, and is the most recent Poet Laureate of Virginia (2020-2022).
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Andre Vasquez
- Occupations
- musician
- Biography
-
Andre Vasquez is a Chicago politician, community organizer, and former rapper. He is the alderman of the city's 40th ward. He won election to that office after defeating incumbent Patrick O'Connor in the 2019 Chicago aldermanic elections. Vasquez is a member of the Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
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Richard McNally
- Occupations
- researcherpsychologist
- Biography
-
Richard McNally is an American psychologist and director of clinical training at Harvard University's department of psychology. As a clinical psychologist and experimental psycho-pathologist, McNally studies anxiety disorders and related syndromes, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and complicated grief.
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Carolina Cruz-Neira
- Years
- 20th Century
- Occupations
- computer scientist
- Biography
-
Carolina Cruz-Neira is a Spanish-Venezuelan-American computer engineer, researcher, designer, educator, and a pioneer of virtual reality. She is known for inventing the cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE). She previously worked at Iowa State University (ISU), University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette), University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock), and she is currently an Agere Chair Professor at University of Central Florida (UCF).
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Charles Blackstone
- Occupations
- novelistwriter
- Biography
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Charles Blackstone is an American writer. His most recent novel is the semi-autobiographical Vintage Attraction (2013).
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Michael Noland
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Michael Noland is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 22nd District from 2007 to 2017. In November 2018, he was elected Kane County Circuit Court Judge in the 16th Judicial Circuit of Illinois.
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Stanley J. Korsmeyer
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- Graduated with Doctor of Medicine
- Occupations
- oncologistuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Stanley Joel Korsmeyer was an American research scientist known for his work on B cell lymphomas and apoptosis. Born and educated in the US state of Illinois, Korsmeyer spent most of his career as a professor at Washington University School of Medicine and later the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s as a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute. There he co-discovered the genetic cause of most cases of the cancer follicular lymphoma – the misregulation of the gene Bcl-2. Korsmeyer went on to start his own laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis, further studying the role of Bcl-2 in cell biology. His group's work expanded the paradigm of cancer-causing genes, providing the first example of how interfering with programmed cell death could lead to cancer development. Korsmeyer authored over 250 scientific papers over the course of his career. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences at the age of 45. Korsmeyer died of lung cancer in 2005, at the age of 54.
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Sheila Tlou
- Occupations
- politicianchancellornurseteacher
- Biography
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Professor Sheila Dinotshe Tlou is a Botswana nurse, specialist in HIV/AIDS and women's health, and a nursing educator. She was Minister of Health from 2004 to 2008. Professor Tlou is a distinguished advocate for human resources for health issues. She is a recognized visionary leader and champion.
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Georges C. Benjamin
- Occupations
- international forum participantphysician
- Biography
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Georges C. Benjamin is an American public health official who has served as Executive Director of the American Public Health Association since 2002, and previously as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Cabinet of Governor Parris Glendening from 1999 to 2002. He is a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. Benjamin is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
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Renato Turano
- Occupations
- politicianentrepreneur
- Biography
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Renato Guerino Turano was an Italian and American politician and businessman. He served in the Italian Senate from 2006 to 2008 as a representative of Italian citizens in North America and Central America and was re-elected to the same position in the 2013 Italian general election.
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Barbara A. Schaal
- Occupations
- biologist
- Biography
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Barbara Anna Schaal American scientist, evolutionary biologist, is a professor at Washington University in St. Louis and served as vice president of the National Academy of Sciences from 2005 to 2013. She is the first woman to be elected vice president of the academy. From 2009 to 2017, Schaal served on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
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Ariel Reboyras
- Occupations
- teacher
- Biography
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Ariel Reboyras is alderman of the 30th ward of the City of Chicago; he was first elected in 2003. He was previously a deputy commissioner in the general service department.
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Robert H. Gray
- Occupations
- astronomer
- Biography
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Robert Hansen Gray was an American data analyst, author, and astronomer, and author of The Elusive Wow: Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
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Pat McMahon
- Enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago
- Studied in 2005-2008
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Pat McMahon is an American soccer player.
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Helen Mirra
- Occupations
- painterinstallation artistvideo artist
- Biography
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Hendl Helen Mirra is an American conceptual artist. "[Like Henry David Thoreau, she is a] maximalist in a minimalist robe", with an idiosyncratic practice. She is engaged with ideas common to buddhist and pragmatist philosophies, and since 2008 her art practice has been integrated with walking. She has said of walking: "It is an unskilled activity, and a modest activity, and a free activity, and an always-available activity, and an equipment-free activity, and an active activity." In an essay on Mirra's work, Yukio Lippit described her engagement thus: "Mirra’s practice champions walking as a specific form of thinking that bypasses language. Indeed, one senses that she shares with Zen Buddhists in particular a deep skepticism towards language as an authentic mechanism of discovery." At the same time, she has often worked with language as a primary material.
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Maxine Chernoff
- Occupations
- novelistwriterpoet
- Biography
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Maxine Chernoff is an American novelist, writer, poet, academic and literary magazine editor.
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Ravindra Bapat
- Years
- 1954-.. (age 70)
- Occupations
- statisticianmathematician
- Biography
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Ravindra B. Bapat is an Indian mathematician known for the Bapat–Beg theorem.
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Al Riley
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Al Riley is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 38th District between January, 2007 and January 2019. The district includes all or portions of Country Club Hills, Flossmoor, Frankfort, Frankfort Square, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Markham, Matteson, Oak Forest, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Richton Park, Tinley Park, and University Park.
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Diana Pavlac Glyer
- Occupations
- literary criticjournalist
- Biography
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Diana Pavlac Glyer is an American author, speaker and teacher whose work centers on C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and the Inklings. She teaches in the Honors College at Azusa Pacific University in California.
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Kathleen de la Peña McCook
- Years
- 1942-.. (age 82)
- Occupations
- librarianuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Kathleen de la Peña McCook is a library scholar and librarian. Much of her work centers around human rights, First Amendment issues, and the freedom of information.
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Jennifer Quinn
- Occupations
- university teacheracademicmathematician
- Biography
-
Jennifer J. Quinn is an American mathematician specializing in combinatorics, and professor of mathematics at the University of Washington Tacoma. She sits on the board of governors of the Mathematical Association of America, and is serving as its president for the years 2021 and 2022. From 2004 to 2008 she was co-editor of Math Horizons.
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Ludvig Hektoen
- Occupations
- pathologistsurgeon
- Biography
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Ludvig Hektoen was an American pathologist known for his work in the fields of pathology, microbiology and immunology. Hektoen was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences in 1918, and served as president of many professional societies, including the American Association of Immunologists in 1927 and the American Society for Microbiology in 1929. He was the founding editor of the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in 1926 and edited several other medical journals. He was knighted to the Order of St. Olav in 1929, and in 1933, he became professor emeritus of pathology at the University of Chicago. The Hektoen Institute for Medical Research—formerly the John McCormick Institute of Infectious Diseases—now bears his name.
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M. Miriam Herrera
- Occupations
- writerpoet
- Biography
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M. Miriam Herrera is an American author and poet. She teaches at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and currently teaches Introduction to Mexican Studies as well as Composition and Rhetoric and Creative Writing. She is a Lecturer with the Department of Writing Language Studies, and a Mexican American Studies Program (MASC) Affiliate. Her poetry often explores Mexican-American or Chicano life and her Crypto-Jewish and Cherokee heritage, but mainly the universal themes of nature, family, myth, and the transcendent experience.
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Samantha Brennan
- Years
- 1964-.. (age 60)
- Occupations
- philosopher
- Biography
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Samantha J. Brennan is a British-born philosopher and scholar of women's studies who is currently dean of the College of Arts and faculty member in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Guelph. She was previously a professor in the Department of Women's Studies and Feminist Research at Western University, Canada. She remains a member of Western's Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the graduate faculty of the Departments of Political Science and of Philosophy. Brennan was Department Chair of Philosophy at Western from 2002 to 2007, and 2008–2011. She is a past president of the Canadian Philosophical Association.
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Freddrenna Lyle
- Born in
- United States
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Freddrenna Margaret Lyle serves as Judge of the First Municipal District of State of Illinois' Circuit Court of Cook County. Appointed on December 16, 2011 by all seven Illinois Supreme Court Justices. She served as alderman of the 6th Ward of the City of Chicago for 13 years.
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Laura Kina
- Occupations
- artist
- Biography
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Laura Kina is an artist. Kina was born in Riverside, California. and raised in Poulsbo, Washington. She moved to Chicago, Illinois, to Pilsen neighborhood in 1990 to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied with Michiko Itatani, the revered fashion designer and Ray Yoshida, earning her B.F.A. in 1994. Furthermore, and henceforth, in 2001, Kina received her M.F.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where she studied under Kerry James Marshall and Phyllis Bramson. She is a fan of Anna Sui and Anna Delvey.
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Nancy Davidson
- Occupations
- video artistdesignersculptorartist
- Biography
-
Nancy Davidson is an American artist best known for large-scale inflatable sculptures regarded as hyper-feminized abstractions of the human female form. Bulbous and flesh-like, the sculptures resemble buttocks and breasts and employ erotic cultural signifiers in their shape and decoration. Davidson's work spans art media but centers around sculpture. It is largely post-minimal in character and described by commentators as providing a feminist counterpoint to the male-dominated, minimalist sculpture of the 1960s, as well as to cultural tropes involving bodies that the works themselves invoke. Of particular note are Davidson's use of humor and a sense of absurdity to seemingly both celebrate and subvert these tropes, inviting their investigation but without the seriousness and moralism that often accompany critical works. Sculpture Magazine critic Robert Raczka wrote that "The confectionary color and oversize scale" of Davidson's sculpture creates a "playfully upbeat mood that allows feminist and gender issues to rise to the surface at irregular intervals, without didacticism." The New Art Examiner's Susan Canning described it as establishing "a context where all can revel in the transgressive and liberating power of the grotesque."
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Kali Nikitas
- Years
- 1964-2012 (aged 48)
- Occupations
- graphic designer
- Biography
-
Kali Nikitas received an MFA from CalArts in graphic design a BFA in graphic design from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has an unconventional practice by wearing many hats. She is an academic administrator and trained graphic designer. She is a curator of events and a connector of talent to opportunity. She has worked with cities to enrich the lives of their citizens through art and design.
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Carl Faingold
- Occupations
- neuroscientist
- Biography
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Carl L. Faingold is an American neuroscientist who is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pharmacology of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois; he is a founding faculty member of both the department and the School of Medicine. He has had an extensive career as a medical and graduate student educator as well as a researcher into brain mechanisms. He is a specialist in the actions of drugs on brain activity at the level of the single neuron as it relates to networks of neurons in awake behaving animals.
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Simone Muench
- Occupations
- writerpoet
- Biography
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Simone Muench is an American poet and a professor of creative writing and film studies. She was raised in the small town of Benson, Louisiana and also Arkansas. She completed her bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Colorado in Boulder, received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is director of the Writing Program at Lewis University in Romeoville.
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Zerefeh Bashur
- Years
- 1884-1968 (aged 84)
- Occupations
- physician
- Biography
-
Zerefeh Bashur, MD was the first female licensed physician in the Levant.
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Corey Postiglione
- Occupations
- art critic
- Biography
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Corey Postiglione is an American artist, art critic and educator. He is a member of the American Abstract Artists in New York, and known for precise, often minimalist work that "both spans and explores the collective passage from modernism to postmodernism" in contemporary art practice and theory. New Art Examiner co-founder Jane Allen, writing in 1976, described him as "an important influence on the development of contemporary Chicago abstraction." In 2008, Chicago Tribuneart critic Alan G. Artner wrote "Postiglione has created a strong, consistent body of work that developed in cycles, now edging closer to representation, now moving further away, but remaining rigorous in approach to form as well as seductive in markmaking and color."
