IIT-Knapp Entrepreneurship Center

Nik Rokop – Managing Director

Nik is Managing Director of the Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology. As a life-long entrepreneur, advisor to and investor in entrepreneurial ventures, Nik has a passion for creating new businesses and helping others succeed. Nik is past President & CEO of nLake Technology Partners, a management, business development and technology commercialization group specializing in nanotechnology. He has 30 years successful entrepreneurial experience in engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing and international operations. His career spans the iron and steel industries, manufacturing, consulting and the Internet. Nik is involved in support of the entrepreneurial community as founding member and current President of the Chicago Microtechnology & Nanotechnology Community, founding member of the BIG Idea Forum, Vice Chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Chicago, and member of the Steering Committee of the Technology Commercialization Task Force. Nik was named one of i-Street Magazine’s Top 100 in Technology & Economic Development in 2002. Nik has given lectures on entrepreneurship and the impact of nanotechnology at Northwestern University, DePaul University, Illinois Institute of Technology and for organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences, the Economic Development Council and the National Investment Bankers Association. He was the project executive on the US-Israel NanoBiotechnology seminar series held in Chicago in 2004. He is involved in business development and consulting for several local technology companies. Nik holds a Professional Engineer’s license in PA and earned his BS in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

David Winkin – Associate Director

David is Associate Director for the Knapp Entrepreneurship Center where he works with entrepreneurs to help them start and grow their companies. Prior to joining IIT, David worked for Walgreen Co. as a Senior Distribution Engineer in Corporate Logistics leading process improvement projects across all thirteen Walgreen distribution centers and most recently as a Project Manager for Strategic Planning at Walgreens. As a Project Manager within the Strategic Planning Department of Walgreen Co., David is lead efforts to expand Walgreens leadership position in the health services market. Prior to this position, David held various operations management positions of increasing responsibility at W.W. Grainger, Tenneco Automotive and Solo Cup Company. David is a member of the Association for Managers of Innovation. David has an MBA and a MS in Financial Markets from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a BBA from Loyola University Chicago.

Jennifer Keplinger – Program Coordinator

Jennifer Keplinger is program coordinator for the Interprofessional Projects Program and the Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to joining IIT, she worked for the Herron School of Art at Indiana University-Indianapolis and DePaul University College of Law. She holds a B.A. in English from DePaul University and is currently pursuing graduate studies in communication and leadership at IIT. Areas of special interest to her include literature, interdisciplinary communication and social entrepreneurship.