Gregory J. Galvin MS ’82 PhD ’84 MBA ’93
Dr. Galvin founded Kionix in 1993 to commercialize a novel micromechanical technology pioneered by researchers at Cornell University. From 1993 to 2000, Kionix grew from its two founders to over 40 employees and developed products in inertial sensors, microfluidics, data storage, micro-relays, and micro-optics. Late in 2000, Kionix was acquired for its optical switching technology by Calient Networks of San Jose, CA and renamed Calient Optical Components. Just prior to the acquisition, a new company was spun out to the then Kionix shareholders to pursue inertial sensor, microfluidics, and data storage markets. This company regained the Kionix name post acquisition. From the acquisition until June 2002, Dr. Galvin served as president and chief executive officer of Calient Optical Components and on the boards of both Calient Networks and the new Kionix. In July 2002, he returned full time to Kionix as president and CEO.
Dr. Galvin has a B.S. from the California Institute of Technology in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and M.B.A. from Cornell University. Dr. Galvin served for over five years as the Deputy Director of the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility (CNF) in which the Cornell micromechanical research was conducted. Prior to founding Kionix, he was employed by Cornell University as director of Corporate Research Relations, focusing on transferring technology from the university to industry.
Dr. Galvin’s graduate research was in the areas of thermodynamics of silicon under ultrafast melting, ion beam analysis, and thin film technologies. He is a member of several scientific societies, has published over 20 technical papers, and holds 58 patents. Dr. Galvin is a founding member, and former chairman, of the Finger Lakes Entrepreneurs Forum. He is a member of Cornell University Council, the Cornell Engineering College Council, the Materials Science Advisory Board, and he serves as a Director of the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tompkins County Area Development, Inc., the Kensa Group, the El Portal de Belén Foundation, and Ithaca’s Sciencenter. He is also a former member of the Cornell Veterinary College Council. A leading authority on MEMS product innovation, Dr. Galvin is frequently invited to speak at meetings and conferences in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and it was recently announced that he is a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 Award in the upstate New York, western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia Region.
In October 2009, the Japanese semiconductor firm Rohm Co., Ltd. announced the acquisition of Kionix, Inc. Rohm plans to continue the company’s MEMS product design, process engineering and manufacturing as a stand-alone business under the Kionix name and brand, in its current facility in the Cornell Business and Technology Park in the Town of Lansing. Greg and his team have started a new company called Rheonix in Ithaca, NY to design and manufacture microfluidic systems, microrelays and micromirror arrays.
Dr. Galvin and his wife Betsy have three children, Thomas (b. 1997), Kristen (b. 1999) and Andrew (b. 2001). They live in Ithaca, New York.
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