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 Kanaan A. Kano, Ph.D.
(1931-2011)
Kanaan Kano passed away on January 23, 2011, in Phoenix, Arizona. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, their four children, and five grandchildren.
Kanaan Kano dedicated his life to teaching in a career that spanned four decades and several countries. His students, from many walks of life, showed a great appreciation for his dedication to their success. Among the list of his achievements are the publication of two advanced textbooks in the field of electronic chips and semiconductors, government medals, and citations for excellence in teaching.
Dr. Kano began his life in Syria. After completing high school, he traveled to the United States in 1948 to begin his college education at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. It was during his undergraduate years that he met Elizabeth Downing, a nurse at the Samaritan Hospital near RPI.
After graduating from RPI in 1952, he continued his studies at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where he completed his Master's degree in Electrical Engineering. In 1953, he married Elizabeth in her home town of Shaftsbury, Vermont, and moved back to Syria. Shortly thereafter, he secured a teaching position at the School of Engineering and Architecture at the American University of Beirut (AUB), in Lebanon. Their four children, Michael, Gina, Nayla and Riad, were born between 1954 and 1961.
Deciding to pursue a career as a university professor, Kanaan attended Yale University's school of engineering, and graduated with a Ph.D. in 1963. He returned to Lebanon and AUB and remained there for the next quarter-century. He rapidly advanced through the school, becoming chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department in the early 1970's. It was at this point that he published his first textbook, "Physical and Solid State Electronics," which became widely-used in the United States and throughout the world. In recognition of his success in such an advanced field of electronics, the government of the Lebanese Republic awarded him the Order of the Cedars in 1973.
Dr. Kano continued to teach at AUB throughout the years of strife in Lebanon. He became Dean of the School of Engineering and Architecture in 1976, and remained at the school until 1985. In that year, he and his wife moved to the United States in order to be closer to their children. He continued to teach at various universities including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Southern California, Syracuse University, and Arizona State University. He published his second textbook, "Semiconductor Devices" in 1997, a highly-regarded work that successfully brought the advances in the field of microcircuits to the classroom.
He received many awards for his commitment to the field of education, including the General Electric Company's "Award for Teaching Excellence," the Eta Kappa Nu's "Outstanding Teacher of the Year," and the "Outstanding Teacher Award" from the School of Engineering in 1989 during his tenure at Syracuse University. His many students remember him as an outstanding academic who encouraged them to strive for excellence. Elizabeth and his children remember him as a loving and dedicated man who put his family first throughout his life.
In addition, he was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Society of the Sigma Xi.
A small family service was held on January 27. A memorial service will be held at
St. Ephraim Cathedral:
900 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, California,
on Saturday March 5th, at 11 am;
please contact his daughter Gina at:
gina.kanosmith@verizon.net for information about this service.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Kanaan Kano's name to the Barrow Neurological Institute, 350 West Thomas Road, Phoenix, Arizona 85013 (1-800-227-7691). This institute specializes in research for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Gina Kano
Phone: 909 227 7659
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