 This project was made possible by William Wallace Grainger, a University of Illinois electrical engineering graduate, class of 1919.Grainger made his fortune by launching a small, mail-order electrical supplies and components business that eventually grew into W. W. Grainger, a Fortune 500 industrial supply company that is named for the entrepreneur.Grainger felt a professional commitment to make technology accessible to everyone and it was in that same spirit that his son, David Grainger, donated more than $18 million to fund the construction of the new library Information Center.