Peter G. Lykos

Pioneer in the use of computers in the classroom, Lykos was a key figure in creating a computer center at IIT and launching its Computer Science department.

A Chicago native, he was the son of Greek immigrants. He answered his country's call at Roosevelt High School for volunteers to enter the World War II Navy V-5 training program, becoming a "seasoned" veteran by the age of 19. Upon discharge, he propelled himself to an academic career which led to Wright Junior College, Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and finally the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, PA, for a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1955.

He then returned to Chicago, joining the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and it was this institution, faculty, and above all, these students, to which Lykos would dedicate the remainder of his professional life. An Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at IIT, he joined the Department of Chemistry in 1955, retiring in 2013. He had a distinguished academic career as a physical chemist and a strong interest in the area of computers in chemistry, now known as Computational Chemistry.

Lykos was a pioneer in the use of computers in the classroom, introducing them to IIT classes in 1959, and was also instrumental in the development of IIT's Saturday program, teaching computer science to thousands of high school students and their teachers in the 1960s. He took a two-year leave of absence from IIT beginning in 1971 to assist the National Science Foundation in creating a new Computer Science Division Section—Computer Impact on Society. He was an active member of the American Chemical Society and helped create the ACS Division of Computers in Chemistry in 1974. He also brought time-share computing to Chicago's area high schools and created IIT/V, a distance learning initiative reaching out to companies in the Midwest.

In his later years, Lykos mentored cross-disciplinary teams addressing contemporary topics such as robotics and developed two courses on the science of climate change. He was also passionate about the Inter-professional Projects (IPRO) Program, and his last IPRO project, entitled Global Warming and Community Outreach, reflected that interest. His legacy to the Department of Chemistry lives on through his philanthropic efforts. Lykos was instrumental in raising an endowment honoring IIT chemistry academicians Martin and Mary Kilpatrick, which supports the Kilpatrick Lecture Series as well as the Kilpatrick Fellowship and Kilpatrick Scholarship in chemistry at IIT.

His extracurricular professional activities included launching what would become a series of 12 international conferences on computers in chemistry research and education spanning 30 years, longtime prominent participation in the American Chemical Society championing advancements in chemistry education structure, content, and methods, and a similarly focused two-year appointment to the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. Lykos was also active in civic affairs in Oak Park, IL, which was home to his family from 1959 onward. This began with organizing a grassroots effort to create the first two parks with recreation centers in south Oak Park in the 1960s.