Last modified: Thursday, April 18, 2002
Drillenburg joins Dean's Advisory Council for IU School of Informatics
Utilize IT founder asked to serve first-of-its-kind school dedicated to teaching the technical, psychological and social aspects of information technology
Chris Drillenburg, president and founder of Utilize IT LLC, has been appointed as a member of the Dean's Advisory Council for Indiana University's School of Informatics.
With programs at IU's Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses, the School of Informatics has the mission of educating students and conducting research in state-of-the-art information science and technology, with an emphasis on its human applications and interdisciplinary skills. The School is the first of its kind in the United States.
As a member of the Dean's Advisory Council, Drillenburg will, with others on the council, assist in obtaining support for the School of Informatics, encourage research internships and collaborations with industry, facilitate the careers of students through guidance and input into the curriculum, and promote communication between the school and the wider community.
Drillenburg founded Utilize IT LLC, a manufacturing information technology service provider, in January of this year. Prior to founding Utilize IT, Drillenburg was president of Compex USA Inc. He joined Compex in 1992 as manager of Compex Nederland B.V., Compex's Dutch subsidiary. Drillenburg had previous positions in Europe at Heineken and Unilever. He has a master's degree in Informatics from the University of Delft in The Netherlands.
Drillenburg also is a member of the council's Curriculum and Research Committee, which in addition to providing guidance in those areas, advises the dean on best practices in the application of information technology in business and industry.
"Chris has been working in the industry on the cutting edge of informatics for most of his career," said Dean Michael Dunn. "His expertise as an informacist, entrepreneur and administrator in information technology industries will be invaluable to us as we work together to build what we believe is one of the most innovative and timely programs in the country."
Drillenburg said, "Information technology projects are often technology-driven. This causes discrepancies between technology and business requirements. Consequently, most IT systems are not fully utilized, nor are all business benefits obtained. The Indiana University School of Informatics focuses on the application of IT and, therefore, offers the high-demanding market exactly what it needs. I am very pleased to be part of this initiative that will allow companies to get the desirable benefits from their IT investments."
About IU School of Informatics
The Indiana Higher Education Commission approved IU's School of Informatics in November 1999. Since admissions began in the fall of 2000, the school has enrolled nearly 900 students. IU's School of Informatics offers undergraduate degrees in informatics and new media and graduate degrees in health informatics, bioinformatics, chemical informatics, human-computer interaction, and media arts and sciences.
The School of Informatics is constructing a new classroom and laboratory building, the Informatics Complex, on the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis campus, which is scheduled for completion in 2003. An existing facility is being restored to become the new home of the School of Informatics on the Bloomington campus.
The Dean's Advisory Council is composed of 28 members. They are: Don Aquilano, managing director, Gazelle TechVentures Inc.; Sally Huffine Breen, executive vice president, Onex Inc; H. Patrick Callahan, partner and attorney, Baker and Daniels; John Cauffman, president and CEO, CDS Holdings; Albert Chen, president and CEO, Telamon Corp.; Gina Del Santo, director, Learning Resource Center and Exploratory Majors Program, Butler University; Gerry Dick, president, GrowIndiana Media Ventures LLC; Chris Drillenburg, founder of Utilize IT; W. Roy Dunbar, vice president, chief information officer, Eli Lilly; Stephen L. Ferguson, executive vice president, Cook Group Inc.; Donna Gastevich, president, Indiana Information Technology Association (INITA); John Gibbs, executive vice president and co-founder of Interactive Intelligence; Larry Gigerich, managing director, Ginovus; Arthur G. Hansen, member, Indiana Commission for Higher Education; Mark Hill, president, Baker Hill Corp.; Tom Hirons, president, Hirons and Company Advertising Inc.; Peter H. Kroener, president and CEO, Siemens Real Estate; Laura Larimer, chief information officer, State of Indiana; Perry Lipe, senior vice president and chief information officer, ArvinMeritor; Lee Marchant, president, Indiana State Chamber of Commerce; Jane Martin, managing director of capital investments, Village Ventures Inc.; Dr. Michael J. Mirro, medical director, Stucky Research Center; William Monachino, regional vice president, Computer Associates International Inc.; Samuel L. Odle, senior vice president and COO, Clarian Health; Robert Reed, university relations, Microsoft; Donald Scifres, director of Cummins Business Systems and Corporate Systems, Cummins Engine Co.; David N. Shane, executive vice president, LDI Ltd.; and James Tackett, executive director of external affairs, Ameritech Indiana.
About Indiana University
Indiana University is one of the oldest state universities in the Midwest and also one of the largest universities in the United States, with more than 110,000 students, faculty and staff on eight campuses. IU has a growing national and international reputation in the areas of information technology and advanced networking. IU was named by Time magazine as 2001 College of the Year among research institutions. More information about IU is available on the Web at www.indiana.edu. More information about the School of Informatics is available at 812-856-5754 or www.informatics.indiana.edu.
About Utilize IT
Utilize IT LLC focuses on marrying business/manufacturing/quality and information technology for the food and beverage industry, the consumer packaged goods industry, and the life sciences industry. Key activities are business case development for projects, software selection and system implementation. The target application areas are product life cycle management, laboratory information systems, SPC, tracking and tracing, and manufacturing execution. Utilize IT is based in Naperville, Ill., at 630-922-8206 and on the Web at https://www.utilize-it.com.
