“My wife, Anne, and I were able to have fulfilling careers because of our graduate education,” Dantzig said. “We see this scholarship fund as an opportunity to give some of that back, to enable future generations of students to be able to attend graduate school and to develop their careers.”
Recipients of the fund will have a research focus in biomechanics, biomaterials, or bioengineering. Dantzig is interested in supporting these areas because his career in engineering and his wife’s career in life sciences both had the goal of improving quality of life.
“We see the intersection of engineering and biological research providing opportunities to improve people’s lives directly,” Dantzig said.
Dantzig became a professor emeritus in 2008 after teaching at Illinois for 28 years.
“The highlight of my career at Illinois was that I was able to work with so many great people—the high caliber of students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and outstanding colleagues both at Illinois, and in the international community,” he said.