Oct. 7 , 2002

RAA Fellows Award: John Kelly '78

Rensselaer Alumni Association (RAA) honored John Kelly III '78 with the RAA Fellows Award from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering on Friday, Oct. 4. The award honors those alumni or non-alumni of Rensselaer who, by their achievements in a chosen profession or endeavor or by their service to the Institute, have set an example for Rensselaer men and women to emulate.

Kelly is senior vice president and group executive for the IBM Technology Group, which is responsible for cultivating the market for IBM-developed technology, and is focused on three business segments: microelectronics, storage technology and printing systems. With more than 35,000 employees worldwide, Technology Group products range from semiconductors to storage devices to displays and more.

Kelly played a significant role in bringing the Center for Advanced Interconnect Science and Technology (CAIST) to the Rensselaer campus in 1997 and was instrumental in obtaining New York state funding for the Nanotechnology Center. Kelly was a member of the Center for Integrated Electronics, Electronics Manufacturing Advisory Board and is a corporate agent for the Rensselaer Annual Fund. He his wife are members of the Amos Eaton Society of Patroons.

Kelly is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, vice chair of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) Board, and a member of the SIA Technology Committee. He received a B.S. in physics from Union College in 1976, an M.S. in physics from Rensselaer in 1978, and a Ph.D. in materials engineering from Rensselaer in 1980.