Alumni Achievement Award

The Alumni Achievement Award was established in 1957 to recognize alumni of the University of Illinois who have attained outstanding success and national or international distinction in their chosen business, profession or life's work, and whose accomplishments reflect admirably on or bring honor to the institution.

2011 Recipients

Dr. Scott W. Atlas is honored for his leadership in health care education, research and policy. Currently chief of neuroradiology and professor of radiology at Stanford University Medical Center, Atlas is editor of the leading textbook in the field, “Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain and Spine,” now in its fourth edition, and has lectured throughout the world on MRI advances and key economic issues related to technology-based innovation. As a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford, he specializes in domestic and global health care policy, particularly the role of government in pricing, quality, access and innovation. He was a senior adviser and coordinator of the health policy team for a major presidential candidate in 2008 and participated in the World Bank’s Commission on Growth and Development. Internationally recognized as a leader in both education and clinical research, Atlas has received numerous awards and served several terms on the nominating committee for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1977.

Dr. Fu-Kuen Lin is honored for his seminal achievements in biotechnology, which have dramatically improved the lives of millions of people suffering from the debilitating effects of anemia. A native of Taiwan, Lin accepted a research position in 1981 at the newly formed biotechnology company Applied Molecular Genetics, now known as Amgen. There, he led the team that identified and cloned the human gene responsible for the production of erythropoietin (EPO), the hormone that regulates red blood cell production in bone marrow. His discoveries paved the way for biotechnology’s first blockbuster medication, which effectively treats the severe anemia associated with kidney disease, HIV/AIDS, cancer and a host of other disorders, and helped transform Amgen from a small startup into the Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company that it is today. The inventor of seven U.S. patents and recipient of numerous awards and honors for his groundbreaking research, Lin retired from Amgen as director of biomedical sciences in 1998 and continues to serve as a consultant. He earned a doctorate in plant pathology from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in 1971.

Brenton Wadsworth is honored for his pioneering contributions to the golf course construction industry. The Wadsworth Golf Construction Co., which he founded in 1958, is now one of the world’s premier firms of its kind. Over the years, the award-winning company has built or renovated more than 800 facilities throughout the United States and abroad, including Augusta National Golf Club, The Greenbrier, Castle Pines, Shadow Creek, Valhalla and numerous other top-rated courses. Wadsworth also helped found and served many years as chairman of Golf Hosts, the company owning the luxury resorts Innisbrook and Tamarron. To expand his vision that golf is a character-building game that should be accessible to all, he established the Wadsworth Golf Charities Foundation, which partners with communities, hospitals, park districts and schools to sponsor “Links Across America,” creating affordable golf facilities and programs for youth, families, adult beginners and individuals with disabilities. A generous supporter of The First Tee Scholars and other financial aid programs at the University of Illinois, Wadsworth earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1952 in landscape architecture from the College of Fine and Applied Arts.

Previous Recipients