Kenan Eyüp Şahin, (commonly known as Kenan Sahin) is a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
-born
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
scientist and entrepreneur. He is the founder, President and the Chief Technology Officer of TIAX LLC in
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...
. He is also the founder and CEO of CAMX Power which formerly was a division of
TIAX LLC and in May 2014, became a separate company.
Early life and education
He was born in
Aydın
Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar'', Ancient and Modern Greek: Τράλλεις /''Tralleis''/) is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of B ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
His father, Eyüp Şahin, was an industrialist and a member of the
Turkish parliament
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...
.
He completed elementary school in Aydın, graduated from Robert Academy (middle school) in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, Turkey.
He started high school at
Robert College
The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...
but completed it at
Inglewood High School in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
He then started his college studies at Robert College (now the
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus, Bosphorus strait. It has six facult ...
) and then transferred to
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...
as a junior to finish his BS.
He completed his PhD at the
MIT School of Industrial Management.
Business career
The early years of Dr. Sahin's entrepreneurial career overlapped with the final years of his academic career which began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and continued at MIT with interleaved periods at Robert College of Istanbul (now the Boğaziçi University)
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
. He has global patents and numerous academic publications.
In 1982, Dr. Sahin founded Kenan Systems with a $1,000 personal investment, as part of his outreach activities while at MIT. The company grew to become a world leader in telecommunications software, creating nearly 1,000 professional jobs. Dr. Sahin was named the Ernst & Young New England Entrepreneur of the Year in 1998.
In 1999, Dr. Sahin sold Kenan Systems to
Lucent Technologies/Bell Laboratories for $1.5 billion in a stock swap when the Lucent stock was trading at $50 a share. Subsequent to the sale, accepting a two-year offer from Lucent/Bell Labs, he became Vice President of Software Technology at Bell Labs, a member of the managing group of Bell Labs and then the President of Lucent's Software Products Group, managing 4,500 people. The same year he made a major unrestricted gift to MIT, the largest ever until then, which MIT allocated to its School of Humanities and Social Science, also endowing the Dean of the same school.
Dr. Sahin left Lucent/Bell Labs in early 2001 to return to Boston and later to start TIAX LLC. He significantly expanded TIAX in early 2002 by acquiring assets and hiring staff from the Technology and Innovation unit of
Arthur D. Little, Inc. which had come to an end.
In 2003, the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
named Dr. Sahin one of its 40 Technology Pioneers. He received the New England Business and Technology's first "Circle of Excellence" award in 2004. In 2006, he was given the Golden Door Award by the International Institute of Boston in recognition of his achievements as both an entrepreneur and an academic. In 2007, TIAX was recognized as one of the Global Growth companies by the World Economic Forum, and Dr. Sahin was invited to Davos-East held in Dalian, China to address Innovation. In 2010, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and this recognition was entered into the US Congressional records. In 2015, he was given an honorary doctorate in engineering by
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus, Bosphorus strait. It has six facult ...
in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
TIAX
Using its laboratories, scientists, engineers and technicians, and links to innovation sources, TIAX selects and matures early stage technologies primarily in energy into innovative, de-risked, IP-based and market-ready proto-products for service-supported licensing, sale or joint. CAMX Power is one major result of the TIAX model. Its flagship product CAM-7, one of the most advanced
cathode
A cathode is the electrode from which a conventional current leaves a polarized electrical device. This definition can be recalled by using the mnemonic ''CCD'' for ''Cathode Current Departs''. A conventional current describes the direction in whi ...
materials for
lithium-ion battery
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
applications in the automotive and high-end portable electronics markets has been licensed for scaled up production by one of the largest chemical/material companies.
Board memberships
He serves on the Board of MIT (life member), Council of Competitiveness Executive Committee, the Board of Robert College of Istanbul and the Board of Overseers of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...
( Emeritus). He served on the Board
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is a science and engineering research United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory operated by University of Chicago, UChicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. The facil ...
,
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) is the largest trade association of electrical equipment manufacturers in the United States. Founded in 1926, it advocates for the industry, and publishes standards for electrical product ...
Board in Washington, DC, on the MIT Energy Initiative Advisory Board, on the Boards of
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
,
AFS Intercultural Programs
AFS Intercultural Programs (or AFS, originally the American Field Service) is an international youth exchange organization. It consists of over 50 independent, not-for-profit organizations, each with its own network of Volunteering, volunteers ...
, and as a team member for the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.
Personal life
Dr. Sahin currently resides in Massachusetts.
References
External links
Dr. Kenan Sahin HonoredAppearance on WMBR's
'' radio show May 12, 2004
*
ttp://www.boston.com/globe/search/stories/reprints/secondacts102703.htm SECOND ACTS: Taking R&D projects and running them to market is a TIAX specialty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahin, Kenan
1941 births
Living people
Turkish businesspeople
Turkish social scientists
Turkish business theorists
Turkish emigrants to the United States
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
MIT Sloan School of Management alumni
Robert College alumni
Harvard University faculty
Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty
University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty