From Illinois Tech to Amazon Alexa

At Illinois Tech you’re inspired to dream as much as you are empowered to do. Graduate alumnus Rohit Prasad (M.S. EE ’99), vice president and head scientist of Amazon Alexa AI, says Illinois Tech’s excellent faculty mentorship fostered his growth and helped him follow his passions.

“I was fortunate to have a great graduate school adviser who trained me up for industry and what was going to be my passion,” Prasad says. “I thank him for all the rigor that he instilled in me in terms of scientific advances—how it’s not just about having the best algorithm you can think of, but how to prove it with sound methodology, and whether it works in a real-world setting. That preparation, of not just being an academic, but actually making your inventions matter in the real world, I learned from my adviser.”

This personalized attention, coupled with Illinois Tech’s state-of-the-art facilities and close relationships with industry partners, allowed Prasad to thrive. Now he is living his passions by inventing the future of AI.

“It’s critical as a budding student, whether you’re an undergraduate student or a graduate student, to have a passion,” Prasad says. “If you follow your passion you’re ultimately going to make the right decisions that fulfill your dreams.”