Dr. John Fan, Founder of Kopin Corporation Dr. John C. C. Fan is the founder, CEO, chairman, and president of Kopin Corporation, a NASDAQ public company since 1992. Dr. Fan retired as CEO in 2022 and as chairman of Kopin in 2023. Kopin, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, is a leading provider of components and technologies for mobile and wearable devices. The company holds over 300 patents and patents pending in this emerging growth area. Dr. Fan began his career at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, where he conducted research on semiconductor materials and devices. He was leading the Electronic Materials Group at Lincoln Laboratory when he left MIT in 1985 to found Kopin Corporation. Dr. Fan was born in Shanghai and grew up in Hong Kong. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley. He continued his studies at Harvard University under a Harvard fellowship, obtaining his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Physics in 1972. Throughout his career, Dr. Fan has authored over 200 publications, edited three books, and holds over 70 patents. He was also the co-founder and chairman of several integrated circuit and advanced materials companies, three of which were acquired by large publicly listed semiconductor corporations. In 1999, Dr. Fan received the Society for Information Display's Special Recognition Award. He was named the Ernst & Young New England Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 and was also a National Finalist. Asia Week recognized him as one of the Top 25 Asian American Entrepreneurs in 1999, and he was listed among the top 100 Asian American Entrepreneurs by Asia.net from 1999 to 2004. In 2005, NASA’s Nanotech Briefs named Dr. Fan one of the USA’s top 15 nanotechnology innovators. In 2020, Dr. Fan was elected as a member of the USA National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for his contributions to "Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Electronic Materials and Devices for Displays." Admission to the NAE is one of the highest professional honors for an engineer. In 2019, Dr. Fan and his team of engineers at Kopin spun out and formed Solos Technology Limited, a renowned smart glasses development and manufacturing company headquartered in Hong Kong. In January 2023, Dr. Fan and his OLED team at Kopin spun out and formed Lightning Silicon Technology, Inc., a USA-based company focused on microdisplays and optics for smart glasses. Dr. Fan currently serves as the executive chairman of both Solos and Lightning Silicon. |