91847

Lewin, Daniel M. Lewin, Daniel, M., the co-founder of Akamai Technologies, died on September 11th aboard American Airlines flight 11 which crashed in New York City. A resident of the Boston area, 31 years of age, Danny was born to be a leader and an inspiration to all he met. In a tragically short life, he excelled in each and every one of his endeavors, whether it be as a distinguished soldier, student, scientist, business figure and family man. With a multitude of interests, and a larger than life presence, Danny's passion, brilliant mind and warm smile were only some of his endearing qualities. Dedicated to his family, Danny possessed a unique ability to balance both the daily demands of academia and the workplace, with a constant flow of affection for his wife and children. While his accomplishments began to grow, along with his circle of friends, his modesty remained in tact. He founded Akamai Technologies, in 1998, with his professor F. Tom Leighton and fellow graduate student, Jonathan Seelig. In a short time, and under Danny's hard-driving leadership and vision, Akamai grew to be one of the top technology companies in the world. As chief technology officer, he was responsible for Akamai's research and development strategy, creating innovative Internet infrastructure services that would produce an entirely new industry segment, and forever change the way people and companies distribute content, data, and applications. Akamai's 1,100 employees and global customer base will miss him dearly. Born in Denver, Colorado, Danny immigrated to Israel with his family in 1983. Upon completing public high school, ORT, in Jerusalem, Danny served for four years in the Israel Defense Forces. He rose to the rank of captain in what is considered the Army's most elite unit. Following his active military service, Danny was married in Jerusalem and began his studies at the Technion, Israel's premier technology university. Soon after, Danny worked at IBM's research laboratory in Haifa, where he was a full-time research fellow and project leader while simultaneously completing two undergraduate degrees, computer science and mathematics summa cum laude, and celebrating the birth of his first son. In 1995, the Technion named him the year's Outstanding Student in Computer Engineering. At IBM, he was responsible for the development and support of the company's Genesys system, a processor verification tool that is used widely within IBM and in other companies such as AMD and SGS Thompson. In 1996, Danny and his wife, Anne, welcomed their second son and moved to Cambridge, Mass. where he received a scholarship to study at MIT under the tutelage of MIT Professor, and soon to become close friend, Tom Leighton. He published and presented several breakthrough papers at top computer science conferences and received several awards, including the 1998 Morris Joseph Lewin Award for Best Masterworks Thesis Presentation at MIT. His master's thesis included some of the fundamental algorithms that make up the core of Akamai's services. He received a master's degree from MIT in 1997 and was a Ph.D. candidate in the Algorithms group at MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science upon his death. His embrace of risk, and affinity for speed and freedom, was also demonstrated by his personal pursuits: motorcycles, sports cars, and skiing. His love of country and appreciation for culture was shown in his early training in classical music and his knowledge of Israel's politics and history. In addition to his many friends and colleagues, he is survived by a close-knit family. Danny was a devoted husband to Anne, his companion throughout adulthood, a fellow immigrant to Israel, and a student and teacher of art and literature; a loving father to sons Eitan and Itamar; loyal son of Drs. Charles and Peggy Levine, and brother to Jonathan and Michael, of Jerusalem. Contributions in Danny's memory can be made to the Daniel Lewin Science Scholarship Fund, dedicated to providing scholarships to students pursuing careers in science. Contributions should be directed to Hale and Dorr Capital Management LLC, 60 St1010

Paid Notice published in THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE on 9/17/2001.