×

Krish Kannan

Merrimack resident Krish Kannan, 62, died on Friday, January 14, 2011, in the presence of his family in Cambridge, MA. His death marked the end of a seventeen-month battle with cancer.

Dr. Kannan was a computer scientist who spent over twenty years on pioneering systems research at IBM’s T. J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. He was best known at IBM for his contributions to the software, system design, and energy management of the first ThinkPad, a tablet computer well ahead of its time. His involvement in this project and others collectively earned him seven patents and many achievement awards within IBM. In 1992, he took on a pivotal leadership role in establishing the software development department of the company’s first Indian office, requiring him and his family to move to Bangalore, India, for two-and-a-half years.

Originally from Thanjavur, India, Krish overcame significant financial and cultural obstacles to launch such a successful career and start a family in this country. Though he had only $200 to his name and no friends or family on the continent when he immigrated in 1974, it took him just a few years to find his bearings; by the end of 1977, he had earned his doctorate from The Ohio State University, married his wife Jean, and begun his career at IBM Research.

Together he and Jean raised three children in Yorktown. A devoted father, Krish inspired his children to be as independent and perseverant as he was, never satisfied with anything less than their best effort. Even in his final days, he expressed more concern about whether they were receiving proper nutrition and managing their money wisely than about his own condition. It is for this mixture of relentless devotion and strict pragmatism, always delivered with a sense of humor, that he will perhaps best be remembered.

Krish is survived by his children, Krishna, Steven, and Anjuli; his brothers, Jayaraman, Thyagarajan, Ramadurai and Gurumurthy; his daughter-in-law, Rana; his ex-wife, Jean; and many nieces and nephews.

Contributions may be made in Krish’s memory to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, www.pcf.org/memory.