Research Center

JOHN QUARTON
Systems (IT) Research Manager

Hometown:
Litchfield, IL

Alma Mater:
Illinois State University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(Electrical Engineering)

Nicknames:
I had a number of nicknames in school …Q-bert, Q-pon, Q-tip. To my team in Technology Research & Innovation, I’m just “Q.” A former boss was a big James Bond fan, so he gave me the nickname in honor of “Q” — the technology/gadget guy in the films.

Most vivid college memory:
Meeting the woman who I’ve now been married to for over 20 years and many other great friends that I’m still in contact with — most of whom I met during my freshman year at Illinois State University. We’ve all been in each other’s weddings and some of us serve as godparents for each other’s children.

Favorite class in college:
My favorite class in college was an optics class I took at UIUC where we got to make holograms. I thought that was really cool.

Least favorite class in college:
My least favorite class would have to be an operations research class in linear programming. I enjoyed the material, but the volume of homework the professor gave was incredible. I spent many late nights completing homework sets for that class.

College activities/jobs:
I was heavily involved in Sigma Phi Epsilon at both Illinois State University and the University of Illinois. I served as brotherhood development chairman at both universities. My claim to fame was that I coordinated the first boxing tournament involving fraternities at UIUC called “Fite Nite” that grew to be the largest philanthropic event on campus in just a couple of years. I also had summer jobs/internships while in college with Nestle, National Steel and General Electric.

Advice I’d like to give to college students:
Work hard and play hard. Take advantage of the freedom to explore everything your college experience has to offer. Never lose the desire to learn.

Hobbies:
With four sons, I don’t have much time for personal hobbies. I enjoy golf when I get a chance to play and I’m a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Fighting Illini.

Favorite Restaurant in C-U:
Papa Dels has been a favorite of mine since I attended school at UIUC.

Favorite Music:
Rock and jazz

Favorite Movies:
I get kidded by my friends because I’m about 20 years behind in watching movies. My favorite classic movie is It’s a Wonderful Life.

Favorite TV Shows:
The Office

Favorite Quote:
"People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel."
-Unknown

Hero/Role Model:
My mother

Career:
When I graduated from the University of Illinois, I became a systems engineer with General Electric in what was then their Anti-Submarine Warfare Systems Department in Syracuse, N.Y. Upon the birth of our first son, my wife and I decided we wanted to raise our family near the rest of our families in Illinois.

I’ve been with the State Farm Systems Department since 1988 and have served as a programmer/analyst, project manager, and manager in a wide variety of areas. In 2006, I was asked to focus the majority of my time toward expanding our department’s presence at the Research Center. I’ve been splitting my time between Corporate Headquarters (Bloomington) and U of I ever since.

What I like most about my work at the Research Center:
I really enjoy talking to students about State Farm and the technologies we’re researching. I also enjoy matching intern prospects with research projects that complement either their areas of interest or expertise. Students are often shocked by the size and scale of our IT department, the wide variety of applications we build and support, the size and complexity of our network, and the enormous volumes of data we deal with.

My future vision for the Research Center:
Internships with State Farm’s Systems Department will be among the most highly sought after internships on campus. Also, I expect it will be commonplace in a few years for faculty members and students to be jointly involved in research projects of mutual interest and benefit to State Farm and the University of Illinois.

Outside of work, I think I’m really good at:
I used to say putting a golf ball under pressure, but that blew up in my face last year when my college friends found out. I’m pretty good at staying in touch with my four best friends from college and making sure we get a few days together each year to do nothing but play golf, catch up on family and work stuff and reminisce about the past.