{"id":55213,"date":"2024-12-28T18:50:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T19:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/?p=55213"},"modified":"2024-12-28T23:37:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T23:37:31","slug":"beyond-the-boardroom-grainger-college-of-engineerings-rashid-bashir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/2024\/12\/28\/beyond-the-boardroom-grainger-college-of-engineerings-rashid-bashir\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Boardroom: Grainger College of Engineering's Rashid Bashir"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“in my casual ware, I love wearing U of I gear and my same blue jeans. My kids call me a walking advertisement of UIUC,” Rashid Bashir says.<\/p>\n

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\n L. Brian Stauffer\/University of Illinois<\/span>
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How\u2019s this for an immigration success story: Teen brothers, aged 15 and 17, move from their native Pakistan to the United States, landing in Lubbock, Texas, where the youngest gets a part-time job working the grill at McDonald\u2019s and eventually grows up to become dean of the University of Illinois\u2019 Grainger College of Engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was our father\u2019s vision to send us to America for education and to better our lives. I had money for one year and a return ticket,\u201d says RASHID BASHIR<\/strong>, who\u2019s in Year 7 of running higher ed\u2019s No. 9 engineering school, per U.S. News & World Report\u2019s annual rankings.<\/p>\n

You name it, the scholar with two degrees from Purdue has done it in his field \u2014 Bashir has authored 250-plus journal papers, been granted 45 patents and been named a fellow in eight international professional societies.<\/p>\n

The Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, who joined the UI faculty in 2007, took time out to answer questions from Editor Jeff D\u2019Alessio<\/strong> in the 261st installment of our weekly speed read spotlighting leaders of organizations big and small.<\/p>\n

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Grainger College of Engineering Dean Rashid Bashir chats with acclaimed UI alum Steve Chen, who co-founded YouTube.<\/p>\n

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\n University of Illinois<\/span>
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The single-most important question I ask job candidates during interviews is \u2026<\/strong> how would you like to change the world for the better or what Mars-shot goal would you like to achieve in 10 years?<\/p>\n

My philosophy on meetings is …<\/strong> define the purpose, focus on outcomes, assign tasks and walk away with action items.<\/p>\n

My single favorite moment of all-time in this job was \u2026<\/strong> the celebrations of the college naming to Grainger College of Engineering.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the one thing I can\u2019t live without …<\/strong> I hate to say this but my cellphone.<\/p>\n

The three adjectives I hope my staff would use to describe me are \u2026 empathetic, humble and visionary.<\/p>\n

On my office walls, you\u2019ll find \u2026<\/strong> pictures of my family, my professional awards and fellowships of professional societies.<\/p>\n

My professional role model is …<\/strong> in my current research realm, John Rogers, who is now at Northwestern. John is a genius, works super hard and is just a very nice guy.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m frugal in that \u2026<\/strong> in my casual ware, I love wearing U of I gear and my same blue jeans. My kids call me a walking advertisement of UIUC.<\/p>\n

If I could trade places for a week with any other business person in town, I wouldn\u2019t mind switching with \u2026<\/strong> Dr. Jim Leonard, CEO of Carle, to learn and experience the health-care delivery industry from the inside. And health care is such a challenging and important industry.<\/p>\n

I have great regards for Carle \u2014 how it\u2019s running and growing and partnering with us in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine.<\/p>\n

My one unbreakable rule of the workplace is \u2026<\/strong> have respect for each other.<\/p>\n

The first thing I do when I get to work most days is \u2026<\/strong> talk to Cindy Pruitt, my amazing administrative assistant, about the day and the next few days.<\/p>\n

For lunch, I like to \u2026<\/strong> just work through and catch up on email and tasks. Lunch is not a priority if I don\u2019t have meetings.<\/p>\n

I wind down after work by \u2026<\/strong> spending time with family, catching up on news and monologues from the previous night\u2019s comedy shows.<\/p>\n

The most beneficial college classes I took were \u2026<\/strong> two bioengineering graduate elective classes during the last year of my Ph.D. I fell in love with biology and bioengineering.<\/p>\n

That is when I decided to make a switch from electrical engineering and nanotechnology research to integrating nanotechnology with biology and medicine.<\/p>\n

I also took a short course on neuro-electric interface at Princeton and my Ph.D. advisor supported me to take that summer short course, and this further heightened my interest in bioengineering.<\/p>\n

The last good book I read was \u2026<\/strong> \u201cChip War: The Fight for the World\u2019s Most Critical Technology\u201d \u2014 but I now have a stack that I cannot find time to read.<\/p>\n

My exercise routine consists of \u2026<\/strong> at least 30 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on weights \u2014 three to four times a week if I can.<\/p>\n

I knew this is what I wanted to do for a living at age \u2026<\/strong> 25, when I finished my Ph.D. I knew I wanted to do research in bioengineering and be a professor.<\/p>\n

The first job I ever had was \u2026<\/strong> when I was 15\/16, at McDonald\u2019s in Lubbock, Texas, making hamburgers on the 10:1 grill. I learned a lot \u2014 discipline, hard work, customer service. The manager taught all the high schoolers to never stand still and keep smiling.<\/p>\n

I was the proud winner of the store competition, in-town competition and went to state competition \u2014 a great experience.<\/p>\n

The worst job I ever had was …<\/strong> my second job \u2014 at Fur\u2019s Cafeteria in Lubbock, washing dishes. It was tough. I was 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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