— Sameer, Technical.ly editor for Baltimore and DC 

Rishi Jaitly, a Virginia Tech professor and advisor for OpenAI whose resume includes stints at some of the world's biggest tech companies, sees the arts and related fields as crucial to the tech sector — and not opposed or tangential to it. 

"A world in which the humanities are more accessible and available," Jaitly said, "is a world that's more curious [and] more compassionate."

That's why he created the Institute for Leadership in Technology, which recently wrapped its first cohort of 11 mid-career professionals. Comprising a mix of startup leaders and employees at massive regional companies like Amazon and Boeing, the class spent two semesters learning how the arts, religion and other humanities fields shape leadership practices across history. Members supplemented the seminars  with their own writing and trips to places like Miami. 

➡️ Learn more about the program's first year in Kaela Roeder's latest

We’re putting together our latest RealLIST Engineers feature and we need your help. This annual series recognizes influential technologists and developers whose impact extends beyond their technical prowess. We do this list in each of our markets — here's a look at last year’s Baltimore honorees.

Now for this year: Do you know anybody perfect for the list? Are you that person? If so, learn more here and submit a nomination here.

➡️ Send us your fave engineers so we can shout them out

• As a cyberattack's fallout and updated protocols leave them taking on more work, nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital and other providers say these threats show how major healthcare entities are prioritizing systems protection over worker and patient well-being. [Baltimore Banner]

• The second cohort of the Maryland Innovation Lab, a program linking international and local companies to foster innovation, will focus on supply chain and logistics solutions. [Maryland Department of Commerce]

• Out in Kent Island, Choptank Fiber will be upgrading broadband infrastructure as part of a multiagency, state-funded project to make the Chesapeake Bay Business Park better connected. [Queen Anne's County Economic and Tourism Development]

• Bloomberg Philanthropies gifted its founder's alma mater Johns Hopkins $1 billion to make most medical students' tuition totally free, as well as provide more financial aid across other graduate schools. [The Hub/Baltimore Sun]

• Defense contractor TRAX International Corp. hired 460 people, with plans to add at least 31 more this summer, through a $692 million contract with the Aberdeen Test Center. The contract aims to help the US Army agency test military vehicles and combat responses at Aberdeen Proving Ground. [Biz Journal]

• Annapolis-based SIXGEN acquired fellow cyber company Secure Enterprise Engineering of Hanover for an undisclosed amount late last month. [Sixgen/Biz Journal]