9/15/2025 Jackson Brunner
Assistant Professor Chris Anderson was recently selected as the only Illinois representative among 74 outstanding early-career engineers for the prestigious 2025 Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. Anderson was chosen for his groundbreaking work on quantum computing systems and participated in the Sept. 14-17 symposium, organized by the National Academy of Engineering.
Written by Jackson Brunner
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering is proud to announce Assistant Professor Chris Anderson has been selected to participate in the 2025 Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, organized by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Anderson is the only representative from Illinois among the 74 “outstanding” early-career engineers chosen for this prestigious and highly selective program.
The symposium, scheduled for Sept. 14-17 at the University of Pennsylvania, brings together exceptional engineers from across disciplines to share innovative techniques, facilitate collaboration and build professional networks among the next generation of engineering leaders.
"I'm excited to be selected for this prestigious symposium and explore emerging areas in engineering with leaders from diverse fields," said Anderson. "The cross-disciplinary nature of this program aligns perfectly with my own research and the collaborative approaches needed to tackle today's most challenging engineering problems."
This year's symposium will explore four cutting-edge themes:
- Advances in Neural Engineering
- Next-Generation Computing/Quantum Computing
- Fusion Energy
- Sustainable Aerial Mobility
Anderson was selected in particular for his work on quantum computing systems spanning multiple engineering disciplines.
“It’s great to be able to represent the strength of quantum engineering at Illinois, and highlight the role materials science plays in impacting next generation computing," Anderson continued.
Participants are nominated by fellow engineers and represent a diverse mix of disciplines from industry, academia and government. Since the program's inception in 1995, more than 5,000 early-career engineers have participated, many of whom have become national leaders in the engineering community and national academy members.
Illinois Grainger Engineering Affiliations
Chris Anderson is an Illinois Grainger Engineering assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and is affiliated with both the Department of Physics and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is a member of the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center, the Materials Research Laboratory and the Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Lab.