Alumni Welcome

List of 3 news stories.

• 

  Ivan Krstic, Distinguished Alumnus 2024

  There are big jobs – and then there’s Ivan Krstić’s job. Known as one of the world’s top experts in digital security, IKrstić serves as head of security engineering and architecture for Apple, responsible for the end-to-end security of all Apple products. That’s more than 1.5 billion iPhones, iPads, watches and more, used everywhere from kindergarten classes to the halls of government.

   

  Krstić has never shied away from big ambitions and responsibilities. In fact, he landed at Apple at the age of 23 after emailing company founder Steve Jobs in the middle of the night, telling him, “I want to work on things that I can be passionate about…. I could do great things at Apple.” He received a phone call later that next morning.

   

  Born in Croatia, Krstić earned a scholarship to Cranbrook at the age of 15, traveling to the U.S. on his own. His goal was to attend an elite university like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and knew attending a school like Cranbrook could help make that happen.

   

  At Cranbrook, Krstić found teachers who were as enthusiastic about learning as he was, like his chemistry teacher Ed Van Dam who had taught graduate and postdoctoral classes at a university, and his history teacher Bob Cowie who kept a separate apartment just to store all his books. And there was David Watson, Krstić’s faculty advisor on the Crane-Clarion newspaper, who “was always willing to look at my essays and offer suggestions, often with so much red ink that it seemed like he had written more notes than I had written text.”

   

  He adds, “Cranbrook was a deeply formative experience. I was never someone who loved studying, but I studied hard during those years because I found so many of my Cranbrook classes fascinating.”

   

  From the age of five, Krstić had been interested in computers. “I got a Commodore Amiga when I was five, and for its time – this was 1990 – it was dazzling,” he says. When his parents got him a new computer a few years later, he discovered that while it was “useful, it wasn’t at all fun.” So he taught himself to program it, “to make this new computer do what I told it to do,” he says. “Once I figured out how to program, I was completely hooked.”

   

  In his first year at Harvard, Krstić began a volunteer project for Zagreb Children’s Hospital in Croatia, creating an electronic medical record system -- a project he had started at Cranbrook. It was an ambitious effort, but he lacked resources and support and was unable to complete the full system. “It proved too much for an 18-year-old,” he says.

   

  That work, though, inspired his next professional effort, joining One Laptop per Child, a nonprofit launched at MIT with the goal of transforming education for children around the world. “I was keenly aware that if I had not been lucky enough to get a computer when I was young, it’s extremely unlikely I would have discovered my interest in technology, or wound up at Cranbrook, or later Harvard,” he says. He wanted to give that same opportunity to children around the world.

   

  While at One Laptop per Child, Krstić developed the novel Bitfrost computer security system, earning the 21-year-old recognition from MIT Technology Review as one of the top 35 innovators in the world under 35 – its youngest ever honoree. “It was humbling and deeply, deeply meaningful,” he says. “(Receiving the award) felt like an earthquake of validation.”

   

  So, it did not seem so outrageous for the 23-year-old Krstić to send that email to Steve Jobs in the middle of the night. It turned out to be the perfect match, with Krstić creating a security system for Apple that is the envy of developers worldwide.

   

  “In computer security, you’re fighting human adversaries – they’re smart, motivated, and adaptable – so you never get to conquer the problem,” he says. “If you put up a fence, the attacker will bring a ladder. If you electrify the fence, they’ll wear rubber gloves…. (But) if you make it incredibly difficult and expensive to hack your system, most attackers won’t be able to turn a profit even if they break in – so they’ll move on to easier targets.”

   

  Krstić says he’s most proud of the Security Engineering and Architecture team he has built at Apple. “I believe it’s the top security engineering group in the world today,” he says. The team includes top defensive engineers from every industry and academic realm and pairs them with world-class offensive hackers. “We find these people and make them a simple offer: come to Apple and do the best work of your life.”

   

  That goal of continuously improving drives Krstić. “For me, the highest aspiration of computer security is that no one has to think about it, or care, or know that it exists – that we can simply place our trust in the technology that surrounds us, and that the trust won’t be betrayed,” he says. “(Every morning), I tell myself: a better world is possible, and no one will build it if we don’t. And then I get to work.”
  
  To post congratulations to Ivan, visit: https://padlet.com/CKshares/IvanKrstic04
  To register for Reunion 2024, click here: https://bit.ly/ckReunion24reg
  
  Return to the Reunion Page
• 

  Charlene Li '84, Distinguished Alumna 2024

  Charlene Li ’84 possesses an extraordinary ability to see positive possibilities in change. It is one of the many reasons why she is considered the business world’s top expert in disruption, guiding an international roster of clients, audiences and readers through the powerful potential of embracing – and creating – change.  

   

  In fact, it was a pursuit of change that brought her to Cranbrook as a sophomore in 1981. Looking for an academic and artistic challenge, she sought out the rigors of a Cranbrook education.

   

  “As a student, I always loved learning,” says Li. Under the guidance of faculty members like Arlyce Seibert and Lolly Hazard, who Li calls “wonderful teachers,” she learned to embrace that curiosity.

   

  It was Mrs. Hazard, she recalls, who taught her how to write. “I wasn’t very comfortable with words, but I loved my English classes,” she says. Another English teacher, Mrs. Fagenmeyer, gave her a copy of Strunk and White that she quickly memorized. She remembers, too, with fondness Dr. Fred Roth – “and his three pen colors for grading” – and Dr. Jeffrey Welch.

   

  At Cranbrook, Li also pursued her musical passions. “I was a competitive pianist and would spend two to three hours a day practicing,” she says. “I would go up to Heaven (at Kingswood) and practice there.”

   

  Li also showed a strong affinity for science and math, and hoped to become a doctor. Outside of class, she was an active student, joining yearbook and the school newspaper.

   

  From Cranbrook, Li went on to Harvard, with enough AP credits in hand to create her own major as a freshman: neurobiology. “I wanted to do an MD/PhD to learn about intelligence and consciousness, but the science and technology had not advanced enough to let me do that.” She shifted her focus to an honors concentration in social science.

   

  Much as she had at Cranbrook, Li took full advantage extracurricular activities at Harvard, including Model U.N. “I loved the leadership aspect of Model U.N.,” she says. “I loved creating a team, thinking about the direction of an organization, running things and starting things. That’s how I got into business.”

   

  In the late-1980s, the path to leadership roles in business was not an easy one for women. And, the fact that, as her parents put it, Li was a “short, Asian woman and everyone in business is a tall, white man” concerned her mother and father, both immigrants from China.

   

  But, Li says, she knew how to type 100 words a minute and because of that, “would always be able to find work.” That confidence was a comfort to her parents, who were deeply supportive.

   

  Li earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, graduating in 1993 just as the Internet was making itself known. “I realized it was going to change the world,” Li says. “I looked at the content online and realized that journalism was going to be the field most affected.”

   

  Running toward the unknown, she took a job at the San Jose Mercury News in Silicon Valley and worked to bring them online, one of the first newspapers to make that leap.

   

  “I’ve been running toward disruption my whole career,” Li says. “I had this confidence early on that I could do things in a different way. (As a young person), I was often the only person of color in the room. I’m very comfortable being uncomfortable.”

   

  She spent several years as a principal analyst at Forrester Research, focused on interactive advertising, search marketing and the rise of social media. In 2008, she launched Altimeter Group, to disrupt and challenge established analyst firms. After selling Altimeter, she joined PA Consulting, as chief research officer. Today, she leads Quantum Networks Group as well as a thriving career as an author, speaker and thought leader.

   

  Li has provided guidance to some of the world’s best-known companies, including Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase and IBM. A highly sought speaker, she has taken the stage at the World Economic Forum, TED and South by Southwest. She has authored six New York Times best sellers including The Disruption Mindset, Open Leadership and Groundswell. Her latest book is Winning with Generative AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success.

   

  Writing continues to be a passion for Li. “I hear from people who say (that something I’ve written) was transformational for them. It’s so humbling to hear that, to go to work every day and think it may help people or to know that I’ve made a difference.”

   

  To young people just starting out, Li encourages them to “get over any fear of change or failure – failure is a good thing,” she says, adding that it can be the stepping stone to success.  

   

  Li continues to move forward, ushering people toward the promise of positive change. “I like to give people an ‘a-ha’ moment,” she says. “I help them break through that complexity so that they can walk out a little lighter, more confident and excited to do new things.”
  
  To post congratulations to Charlene, visit: https://padlet.com/CKshares/CharleneLi84
  To register for Reunion 2024, click here: https://bit.ly/ckReunion24reg
  
  Return to the Reunion Page
• 

  Dr. Cathy Sybert Olkin ‘84: NASA’s Lucy Mission to Explore the Trojan Asteroids

  Cathy Sybert Olkin is a Cranbrook Kingswood alumna from the class of 1984 and a renowned planetary science who has worked on some groundbreaking missions. She was named Distinguished Alumna in 2019. She will speak at the Cranbrook Institute of Science Women In Science Series on Wednesday, May 8 starting at 6 p.m about her work on NASA’s Lucy mission. This groundbreaking mission sent the first spacecraft to visit asteroids. The spacecraft shares an orbit with Jupiter and the Trojan Asteroids, remnants from planetary formation that hold clues to understanding the formation and evolution of our solar system. Over the course of 12 years, the Lucy spacecraft will visit 11 asteroids. Join Dr. Cathy Olkin to learn about the mission and hear the initial results from the Lucy mission’s first flyby of a small main belt asteroid.
  
  

  From 2014 to 2022, Dr. Olkin was Deputy Principal Investigator of NASA’s Lucy mission. Dr. Olkin worked to ensure that the flight system can achieve the mission’s scientific objectives like understanding the asteroids’ geology, surface composition, bulk properties, and thermal properties. Additionally, Dr. Olkin was an Institute Scientist at Southwest Research Institute where she served as the Deputy Project Scientist for NASA’s New Horizons mission. She was the Instrument Principal Investigator for its Ralph instrument, a color camera and infrared imaging spectrometer that provided information on the color and composition of Pluto’s surface.

  
  Now, as a Principal Scientist at Muon Space, she strives to develop a constellation of satellites to detect and monitor fires across the globe. Her work aims to provide firefighters with high-quality, low-latency information for the management of fire responses, and to provide scientists with data to both model fires and understand the climate impacts. Olkin holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT and Stanford respectively. She earned a PhD in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences from MIT with studies of Triton’s atmosphere from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory and other ground-based facilities. She is passionate about the next generation of engineers and scientists and serves as a mentor through programs like FIRST Robotics and the L’SPACE Academy.
  
  

  Program Schedule:
  5:00pm: Doors open. Guests can enjoy museum exhibits, including our traveling exhibit, Galileo, along with light refreshments. Plus, receive 10% off in the science shop!
  6:00 - 7:00pm: Lecture and Q&A
  7:00 - 8:00pm: Galleries open

  Tickets are $10 for adult members and $5 for children members ages 2-12. Tickets are $15 for adult non-members; $10 for children non-members ages 2-12. All children under age 2 are free.

  A portion of this event is sponsored by the Women Rock Science experience.

  This event is geared toward ages 12 and up.

  Register for this event through the CIS website: https://bit.ly/ckOlkinCIS24
  
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