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Robert Podlasek - Higher Education
Bob Podlasek earned a degree in mechanical engineering and economics in 1966 from the University of Illinois, and went on to earn a Ph.D. in 1972, years in which higher education in America was experiencing profound changes. Beginning in 1982 he began teaching engineering courses at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, while also taking on the role of assistant dean for the Engineering College. Professor Podlasek discusses the scholarly and cultural changes that have occurred on college campuses during his sixty year involvement with higher education.
Interview Links
Feature Excerpt
Failing Forward
Abstract
Interview Session 01 (Audio)
Early life, college education at the University of Illinois during 1960s-70s
Interview Session 02 (Audio)
Ten year Working career and 36 year Academic career at Bradley U.
Interview Session 03 (Audio)
Trends in higher education & impact of COVID-19 at Bradley University
Transcript
Photos
Caption:
Bob and his brother Carl enjoyed their visit to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry in 1953. They wore the hats and jackets to give the allusion of a period photo.
Where:
Chicago, Illinois
When:
1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob and friends were near Vienna, Austria in 1963. They drove through Europe in a 1952 Citroen and lived out of it as they camped their way across Europe.
Where:
Vienna, Austria
When:
1963
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob Podlasek in the 1980s, near the time he began his teaching career at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.
Where:
Peoria, Illinois
When:
1980's
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Professor Bob Podlasek’s Bradley University ID card photo from 1982.
Where:
Peoria, Illinois
When:
1982
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption:
Professor Podlasek’s Bradley University Quickcard photo from 1997. It served both as an ID card and a University credit card.
Where:
Peoria, Illinois
When:
1997
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption:
This group of Capstone Senior Design Class students went to Disney World in Orlando, Florida in 1998. The Capstone class is a two-semester course.
Where:
Orlando, Florida
When:
1998
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
One of Bob’s students, on the right, was working on her practicum project while at the Caterpillar Research Center in Mossville, Illinois.
Where:
Mossville, Illinois
When:
circa 1998
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo.
Caption:
Four Fraunhofer Dresden colleagues joined Bob, in the green jacket, on the beach in Del Mar, Ca while attended a meeting in 2000.
Where:
Del Mar, Ca
When:
2000
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
A group of Capstone Senior Design students were at Disney World in Orlando, Florida in 2001. Bob did a total of twenty-two projects with Disney over the years.
Where:
Orlando, Florida
When:
2001
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob and Peggy enjoyed time with their first grandchild, Max Heilman, in 2002. They were visiting their daughter in Riverhead, Long Island where Max’s parents lived.
Where:
Riverhead, Long Island
When:
2002
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Peggy and Bob attended their son’s wedding in Oak Park, Illinois in January 2003.
Where:
Oak Park, Illinois
When:
January 2003
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob’s grandson Max enjoyed playing in the robotics laboratory at Bradley University in July 2008.
Where:
Peoria, Illinois
When:
July 2008
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob visited Stanford University’s Sierra Camp at Fallen Leaf Lake south of Lake Tahoe in 2008.
Where:
Lake Tahoe
When:
2008
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
A group of international students joined Bob at a Stanford University International Student Entrepreneurship contest in 2009.
Where:
Stanford University
When:
2009
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob had the chance to practice on a robotic surgery simulator at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria circa 2010.
Peoria, Illinois
When:
Circa 2010
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob, in the center, was a team member in an Entrepreneurship Conference cooking contest at Stanford University’s Sierra Club Fallen Leaf Lake just south of Lake Tahoe in 2010. Bob’s team came in second.
Where:
Lake Tahoe
2010
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Professor Podlasek had this photo taken for a Bradley University publicity effort in 2012.
Where:
Peoria, Illinois
When:
2012
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption:
Two of Bob’s engineer students visited John Deere during their capstone senior design project in Silvis, Illinois.
Where:
Silvis, Illinois
When:
circa 2014
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob enjoyed his test ride in a Tesla electric car in Palo Alto, California in 2015. He test drove a Tesla several years in a row.
Where:
Palo Alto, California
When:
2015
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Peggy and Bob visited Vermillion Lakes at Banff, Canada in 2015. Peggy rode her bike through the park while Bob drove in front of her, clearing the way of bears.
Where:
Banff, Canada
When:
2015
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob and Peggy enjoyed their time at Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies in 2016.
Where:
Canadian Rockies
When:
2016
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Professor Podlasek’s class visited an IDEO office in Chicago in 2016. Bob’s son Eric is on the far left. The Dean of Engineering, Prof. Lex Akers, is second from the right in the back.
Where:
Chicago, Illinois
When:
2016
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob and Peggy visited Two Jack Lake at Banff National Park in Canada in 2017.
Where:
Canada
When:
2017
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Several of Bob’s students attended a robotic surgery class at a surgery suite in St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, Illinois in 2018. Bob maximized these types of experiences for his students.
Where:
Peoria, Illinois
When:
2018
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob and Bradley University colleagues attended the graduation for Aurelio Delgado, a Venezuelan student, in 2018.
Where:
Peoria, Illinois
When:
2018
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption:
Bob and Peggy celebrated their 50th anniversary at Indigo Restaurant in Springfield, Illinois in 2018.
Where:
Springfield, Illinois
When:
2018
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo