ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Name: Elliot Brazil
Year: Graduated with a BS in 2015
Hometown: Olney, IL is my hometown in this country, but I grew up largely in Asia as a child
Why Illinois? It’s a beautiful campus with great academics, and I followed my older brother there
Research Interest while in school:
Crop research - optimizing chlorophyll levels in leaf canopies to maximize food crop yields
What did you plan to do after graduation? Plant research or industry
What did you actually do? Went into industry
What do you do now? I am a chemist at a Sherwin-Williams plant in Southern Illinois as well as co-own a small business that focuses on testing for and mitigating lead in drinking water, especially in schools and daycares. Our goal is to prevent as many children as possible from drinking water with any lead content in it.
Favorite thing about campus
The brainpower that exists inside of the footprint of campus is perceptible.
Greatest Professional Accomplishment
Sampling and organizing the testing of drinking water from almost 50 schools in downstate Illinois and helping the schools mitigate any lead that was found.
Favorite Invention
The pressure canner. It’s fascinating that humans had to learn to manipulate pressurized environments to get temperatures high enough to sterilize and make food safe.
What three traits define you?
Hard work, tenacity, humor.
Ten years ago, who did you think you would be now?
A doctor! How things change!
What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever had?
Door-to-door canvassing in Arizona during the summertime. The heat mixed with every reaction from being hit on to being threatened made it an almost dream-like experience.
What does true leadership mean to you?
True leadership is being able to say "follow me" and knowing the people with you on your team will be in step with you.
What’s the coolest (or most important) trend you see today?
The trend of decentralization and democratization in so many fields and areas of life thanks to the internet.
Which one would you want most – flying cars, robot housekeepers, or moon cities?
Moon cities; I'd like to see humanity spread itself across the cosmos.
What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13?
You will have trials and hard work ahead but never stop dreaming and working hard.
Recommended book
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. This was a really compelling read for me, especially viewed through the lens of some of the rural poverty I see around me and the real and perceived loss of the "American Dream."
Favorite professor or staff member?
Thomas Rauchfuss - I've never actually told him this in person but he planted the seed of the love of chemistry in me, and taught me to never take myself too seriously but to find joy in my work!
Something about you no one would guess
I raise old-fashioned heritage breeds of pigs!
Go-to snack in a time crunch
Chocolate covered peanuts
Non-education related life hack
When cooking, never skimp on the butter!
What could you teach someone to do in less than 5 minutes?
The Chinese method of counting to ten on one hand.
Who would win a fight between Spiderman and Batman?
Batman, hands down.
Who would play you in a Hollywood movie?
Since I can presumably pick anyone in this hypothetical, I’d force Daniel Day-Lewis out of retirement.