Kurt Petersen
Director/Board Member at Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems
Profile
Kurt Petersen received his BS degree cum laude in EE from UC Berkeley in 1970.
In 1975, he received a PhD in EE from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Petersen established a micromachining research group at IBM from 1975 to 1982, during which he wrote the review paper “Silicon as a Mechanical Material,” published in the IEEE Proceedings (May 1982).
This paper is still the most frequently referenced work in the field of micromachining and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).
Since 1982, Dr. Petersen has co-founded six successful companies in MEMS technology, Transensory Devices Inc. in 1982, NovaSensor in 1985 (acquired by GE), Cepheid in 1996 (now a public company on NASDAQ: CPHD), SiTime in 2004 (acquired by MegaChips in 2014), Profusa in 2008 (still private), and Verreon in 2008 (acquired by Qualcomm in 2010).
In 2011, Dr. Petersen joined the Silicon Valley Band of Angels.
The Band is an angel investment group which mentors and invests in early stage, high-tech, start-up companies.
Today, he spends most of his time helping and mentoring such companies.
Dr. Petersen has published over 100 papers, and has been granted over 35 patents in the field of MEMS.
In 2001 he was awarded the prestigious IEEE Simon Ramo Medal for his contributions to MEMS.
Dr. Petersen is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and is a Life Fellow of the IEEE in recognition of his contributions to “the commercialization of MEMS technology”.
Kurt Petersen active positions
| Companies | Position | Start |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems | Director/Board Member | 2013-05-02 |
Silicon Catalyst, LLC
 Silicon Catalyst, LLC Investment ManagersFinance Silicon Catalyst LLC (Silicon Catalyst) is a venture capital firm founded in 2014 by Michael Edward Noonen, Daniel Armbrust. The firm is headquartered in Mountain View, California. | Consultant / Advisor | 2015-12-31 |
Media Recovery, Inc.
 Media Recovery, Inc. Electronic Equipment/InstrumentsElectronic Technology Media Recovery, Inc. engages in the provision of consulting services. It offers shipping indicators and recorders covering major environmental onditions such impact, tilt, temperature, vibration & pressure. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Dallas, TX. | Director/Board Member | 2023-06-26 |
National Academy of Engineering
 National Academy of Engineering Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Part of The National Academies of Science, the National Academy of Engineering operates as a professional membership organization. The private company is based in Washington. | Corporate Officer/Principal | - |
Former positions of Kurt Petersen
| Companies | Position | End |
|---|---|---|
| Transensory Devices, Inc. | Founder | - |
Profusa, Inc.
 Profusa, Inc. Electronic Equipment/InstrumentsElectronic Technology Profusa, Inc. provides biofeedback for chronic disease management and healthy livingg. It develops an in vivo human sensor system to generate real-time data on the levels of various body chemistries. Its first application being a glucose monitoring system. The company was founded by William McMillan, Kristen Lloyd Helton and Natalie Ann Wisniewski in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. | Founder | - |
| INNOVATIVE MICRO TECHNOLOGY INC | Director/Board Member | - |
GE NovaSensor, Inc.
 GE NovaSensor, Inc. SemiconductorsElectronic Technology GE NovaSensor, Inc. develops semiconductors. The company is based in Fremont, CA. The company was founded by Kurt Petersen, Steven Saeed Nasiri. GE NovaSensor was acquired by GE Industrial Systems, Inc. from Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corp. on September 23, 2002. | Founder | - |
| SITIME CORPORATION | Chief Executive Officer | - |
Training of Kurt Petersen
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Doctorate Degree |
| University of California, Berkeley | Undergraduate Degree |
Experiences
Positions held
Connections
1st degree connections
1st degree companies
Male
Female
Members of the board
Executives
Linked companies
| Listed companies | 1 |
|---|---|
| SITIME CORPORATION | Electronic Technology |
| Private companies | 9 |
|---|---|
CEPHEID
 CEPHEID Medical SpecialtiesHealth Technology CEPHEID develops, manufactures and markets fully-integrated systems that perform genetic analysis. The firm's systems enable molecular testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases by automating otherwise complex manual laboratory procedures. The company was founded by Thomas L. Gutshall, William McMillan, Kurt Petersen, Greg Kovacs and M. Allen Northrup on March 4, 1996 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA. | Health Technology |
Profusa, Inc.
Profusa, Inc. Electronic Equipment/InstrumentsElectronic Technology Profusa, Inc. provides biofeedback for chronic disease management and healthy livingg. It develops an in vivo human sensor system to generate real-time data on the levels of various body chemistries. Its first application being a glucose monitoring system. The company was founded by William McMillan, Kristen Lloyd Helton and Natalie Ann Wisniewski in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. | Electronic Technology |
GE NovaSensor, Inc.
GE NovaSensor, Inc. SemiconductorsElectronic Technology GE NovaSensor, Inc. develops semiconductors. The company is based in Fremont, CA. The company was founded by Kurt Petersen, Steven Saeed Nasiri. GE NovaSensor was acquired by GE Industrial Systems, Inc. from Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corp. on September 23, 2002. | Electronic Technology |
National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Part of The National Academies of Science, the National Academy of Engineering operates as a professional membership organization. The private company is based in Washington. | Commercial Services |
Atomica Corp. (California)
 Atomica Corp. (California) Electronic Production EquipmentElectronic Technology Atomica Corp. engages in the provision of turn-key foundry services from design and development to prototyping and volume production. It offers technology platforms and technology modules to reduce the development cycle and to reach production in the shortest time. The company was founded by Peter T. Altavilla, Paul Rubel and Mike Shillinger in April, 2000 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA. | Electronic Technology |
| Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems | |
| Transensory Devices, Inc. | |
Silicon Catalyst, LLC
Silicon Catalyst, LLC Investment ManagersFinance Silicon Catalyst LLC (Silicon Catalyst) is a venture capital firm founded in 2014 by Michael Edward Noonen, Daniel Armbrust. The firm is headquartered in Mountain View, California. | Finance |
Media Recovery, Inc.
Media Recovery, Inc. Electronic Equipment/InstrumentsElectronic Technology Media Recovery, Inc. engages in the provision of consulting services. It offers shipping indicators and recorders covering major environmental onditions such impact, tilt, temperature, vibration & pressure. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Dallas, TX. | Electronic Technology |
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