TLI: The Year in Review
2024 is nearly behind us, but before the curtain falls on this eventful year, let's jump into the Wayback Machine and take a look back at what went on here at TLI over the last 12 months. It's certainly been a busy year!
January: Marcia Cole was named the new Fellow for our Security Technologies graduate program. She replaced Patria Lawton, who had just been named the Director of Graduate Studies for the institute. Dr. Lawton was also named to Twin Cities Business's annual "TCB 100" list.
February: We interviewed our new DGS Pat Lawton about her plans, including an updated and streamlined curriculum. The institute was recognized for supporting the deployments of military reservists on staff, and we had a great conversation with alumnus and tech-sector VC Adam Choe.
March: Ali Akbari, a MOT '24 student who hails from Iran, talked to us about how complications with his student visa led to his international trip taking place at a Deloitte smart factory in Wichita. He also shared how helpful the TLI staff were to him during his time at the institute. Mark Sanders led the annual Makeathon over at the Toaster, the fascinating tech space in Walter Library. TLI and Minnesota chapter of Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) co-hosted the Cyber Security Training 101 event on campus, and security analyst Marsha Kimes was the keynote speaker at our networking event.
April: Graduation for TLI class of '24, and we had a terrific conversation with Brian Johnson (MDI '25). TLI took part in the annual Design of Medical Devices (DMD) conference, and General Mills employees spent a week on campus for our Technical Leadership Essentials (TLE) 4.0 workshop.
May: Our MOT students embarked on their international trip, and we ran a series of postcards from Southeast Asia, with each student taking a turn at chronicling their adventures overseas. The Minnesota Semiconductor Manufacturing Consortium, which includes TLI and the U's Nano Center, turned one year old and announced that it had been awarded a massive $120 million CHIPS Act grant.
June: Wen Zhou became the first Ph.D student to complete the MOT graduate minor. We interviewed TLI advisory board member Mats Heimdahl, and we covered the first event held by the Minnesota CHIPS Workforce Coalition.
July: Randy Ross added "Industry Liasion" to his portfolio here at the Institute. TLI and MNCEO announced additional funding for the microfabrication training initiative.
August: The Minnesota Semiconductor Manufacturing Consortium (MSMC) announced the creation of new training modules for semiconductor mictrofabrication. Our newest TLI students arrived on campus for orientation. TLI played host to the Business Accelerator for Student Entrepreneurs (BASE), led by Erik Halass.
September: Electroposium 2.0 revved up the crowd at McNamara Alumni Center, and TLI faculty member Arun Kothanath was honored as a Visionary Academic Leader by the 14th Annual Cyber Security Summit.
October: Faculty member Mac McKeen penned a look back at his 35-year career in the regulatory end of the medical device industry. We partnered with our friends at the Institute for Engineering in Medicine to raise the TLI flag at the MD&M conference. It was also the most wonderful time of the year for ST Fellow Marcia Cole: Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
November: Eric Butterwick (MOT '23) hosted a Bridging For Growth event on campus, bringing Minnesota public and private entities together with business owners from Nordic countries who would like to expand their operations to Minnesota. MDI Fellow Mark Wehde talked to us about optimism in the use of new technology, and TLI's own Rocio Duarte was nominated for a CSE Outstanding Service Award.
December: Professor Alfred "Alfie" Marcus hung up his spurs at the TLI ranch after more than two decades. Anders Olmanson (MDI '17) was featured in the winter issue of CSE's quarterly publication Inventing Tomorrow.