Note: Izi is a dedicated life-long learner and, as soon as AI models came out for use, he began toying with them and training his chat bot. After Brian approached Izi about an article, Izi had an idea. This article was initially drafted by his own agent fed with some information Izi provided about himself. Editing then took place by Brian and Izi.
Isaac (Izi) Roussel never planned on a career in IT. In fact, he was perfectly happy in a chemistry lab until the spreadsheets started calling.
“I was working as a chemist and our lab had this massive data problem,” Isaac recalls. “Everything was done with pen and paper. I was the only one who wasn’t terrified of the IBM PC in the corner. So I started poking around with Lotus 1-2-3. No hard drive. Just me, a floppy disk, and a spreadsheet that blinked like it knew something I didn’t.”
That blink turned into a career.
With that small change, efficiency went way up. He ended up leading a project to integrate raw data from all of the lab’s hundreds of instruments into a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) that could generate customized reports to clients. In the course of that project, he went back to school and took programming classes. The company also sent him for Oracle training.
He later transitioned into finance as a programmer and grew into leading a large software development team. “It turns out I was better at organizing data and solving tech problems than titrating acids and bases.”
Today, Izi is the Education Systems Manager for the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at Michigan Medicine. He’s working with the HITS team to build a Salesforce-based trainee tracking system that helps the school manage graduate education and training grants.
“It’s the kind of system that sounds boring—until you realize how many people depend on it to do their jobs well,” he says. “I love making things that make other people’s work easier. That’s what IT should be: serving the customer, not the other way around.”
Outside of work, Isaac’s resume takes a turn for the epic. He’s a fantasy writer. He has two novels in progress, one set right at the University of Michigan, and has written several short stories published on Substack. He is also a seasoned Dungeon Master (gaming since 1977) and a lifelong lover of sci-fi and mythology.
“I was the kid reading Tolkien and sketching out Elvish alphabets in the margins of my homework,” he says. “I also played around with Egyptian hieroglyphs and even tried to teach myself some Klingon. Languages are a passion—I’ve studied French, German, Hebrew, and for the last four years, Spanish.”
But wait, that’s not all. Izi is also a rabbi. “Yeah,” he says, grinning. “On the side.”
Izi treasures time with his wife and their three grown children. His wife recently retired from a long career in the insurance industry. Their oldest, after earning a PhD at the University of Michigan, now works with Jewish Family Services, helping refugees build new lives. One of their children supports kids who struggle with academics and life skills, while another applies technical know-how working with computers at Geek Squad.
Isaac also spent five years teaching chemistry at a local community college. Nowadays, he’s exploring how AI tools can help streamline IT operations and enhance user support. “I love learning,” he says. “Always have. If I’m not growing, I feel like I’m standing still.”
Looking back, he sees a strange kind of logic in his path. “It wasn’t a straight line, but everything connected. Chemistry, programming, leadership, spiritual care, storytelling—it’s all about solving problems and helping people. That’s the thread.”
Mazel Tov Izzy, on all your achievements. You are a creative person. It’s true you are always learning new things and you have fun with everything you encounter.
Marie and Larry.