Joseph Kennedy (professor)
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18 May 1928
Joseph Kennedy | |
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| Born | Joszi Kaufmann 18 May 1928 |
| Died | 19 July 2024 (aged 96) United States |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Occupations | Chemist, professor |
| Known for | Advancements in stent technology |
| Awards | Charles Goodyear Medal (2008) |
Joseph Kennedy (born Joszi Kaufmann,[1] 18 May 1928 – 19 July 2024)[2] was a Hungarian-born professor of polymer science and chemistry who had a lengthy academic career at the University of Akron in the United States. He was perhaps best known for inventing a polymer coating for a drug-tipped stent that is highly compatible to human tissue,[3] which was successfully commercialized by Boston Scientific[4] and credited for saving the lives of six million patients.[5] He also made important contributions to the field of carbocationic polymerization.[6]
Kennedy spent his youth in Budapest, Hungary, during World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. His father was killed by the Nazis, and his mother was imprisoned by communists. In 1948, he was kicked out of the college where he earned his first degree in chemistry, "for being too bourgeois".[7]
At age 19, Kennedy fled to Austria as an illegal immigrant. He gained citizenship upon earning his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Vienna, and he then completed postgraduate work at the Sorbonne in France.
In 1954, he immigrated to be close to family in Canada, and to take another postdoctoral position at McGill University in Montreal. There he met Ingrid, who later became his wife.[1]
Following many years of success in his field, Kennedy accepted an Honorary Doctorate from Kossuth University in 1989. He was also elected a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1993.
