McCormick Faculty Inducted into Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame

Two McCormick School of Engineering faculty members will be inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame this week. Kristian Hammond, professor of computer science and journalism, and Joseph Moskal, research professor of biomedical engineering, are among this year’s nine inductees.

A part of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, the Hall of Fame recognizes innovative business leaders in the Chicago area. Each year, it inducts prominent entrepreneurs who have made a lasting impact on Chicago’s business landscape.

A dinner and awards presentation to celebrate the new inductees will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 6 at the Chicago History Museum.

Hammond is the cofounder and chief scientist of Narrative Science, a company that turns raw, structured data into coherent stories and insights. The company’s core technology, Quill, processes large data sets and transforms them into natural language narratives. Quill generates news articles, interprets financial data for companies, and makes standardized testing outcomes more understandable to students. Before joining Northwestern, Hammond founded the University of Chicago’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. His research is primarily focused on artificial intelligence, machine-generated content, and context-driven information systems. He sits on a policy committee for the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.

Moskal is the founder and chief scientific officer of neuropharmaceutical company Naurex Inc. Well known for his research on the NMDA receptor, Moskal discovered Naurex’s lead molecular therapeutic, GLYX-13, which is now in Phase IIb clinical trials for major, difficult-to-treat depressive disorder. GLYX-13 works within hours and has potential to treat other neurological conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and Alzheimer’s disease. Moskal is also the founding director of McCormick’s Falk Center for Molecular Therapeutics, which translates discoveries with therapeutic potential into clinically useful compounds.

The other 2014 Hall of Fame inductees are Lou Ennuso, Adeptia, Inc.; K’Lynne Johnson, Elevance Renewable Sciences; Chris Krause, NCSA Athletic Recruiting; Michael Luecht, ML Realty Partners; Jeff Mowery, Mowery & Schoenfeld, LLC; Laurette Rondenet-Smith, Edlong Dairy Technologies; Keith Schoenfeld, Mowery & Schoenfeld LLC; and Jeff Yordon, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc.