Benjamin Phillip Kessel was born in Medford, MA on December 18, 1985 and grew up in Natick, where he graduated Natick High School in 2004. Ben was known for his accomplishments as an engineer, his compassion as a teacher, and his inspirational experiences as a rock climber and world traveler. His life was characterized by a deep appreciation and respect for nature, knowledge, friends, and family. He died unexpectedly in Franconia, in his beloved White Mountains of New Hampshire, on September 20, 2020.
As a toddler, Ben appeared to have already chosen his path in life. He was clearly an engineer and a climber - always. He especially loved playing with all kinds of construction toys throughout his childhood and excelled at games of analytic reasoning throughout his teens. He had a passion for climbing from the time he could walk and ascended everything in sight, indoors and out, with an intensity of purpose and energy that were exceptional. His hunger for knowledge, for exploring and understanding the world around him, exceeded even his drive to climb.
Ben traveled all over the world. When he was very young, he would travel with his mother, and later also with his brother, Dan, to Spain, the home of Ben’s godparents, Ana and Manolo Sanlucar. Later in life, Ben traveled to countries around the world, including Nepal, China, Thailand, Patagonia, and Peru, experiencing and immersing himself in their mountains, people, and cultures. Click here to see photos of Ben's travels.
Ben was trained and educated as an engineer. For Ben, engineering was a very caring and nurturing profession. A lot of us care for individuals, but Ben (aptly called ‘Gentle Ben’ by one of his Stanford professors) was also thinking of how we can care for our planet. He was interested in engineering and the environment, and how these things related to our current, very acute problem of global climate change. He earned a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of the Pacific in 2009 and an MS in mechanical engineering from Stanford in 2012. His GPA at both institutions was consistently high despite also being an assistant instructor throughout his years at Stanford. His graduate work included engine research, and he was able to present his work to the US Dept of Energy and other research partners while he was at Stanford.
Ben was a member of the Stanford Alpine Club and the MIT Outing Club, where he taught new members critical skills and values with patience and kindness. He was looked up to as the gold standard of care and responsibility, exemplifying the qualities of attentiveness, maturity, and responsible resilience. Ben was forgiving of the mistakes of others and knew how to be present in the moment and to enjoy the company of those around him, sometimes quietly, sometimes gregariously.
Ben worked most recently as a Control Systems Engineer at Ivenix in North Andover. Before that, he was a Principal Test Engineer at Cool Chip Technologies in Somerville, and energy analyst at Gridium.
At Ivenix, Ben helped develop the company’s core technology that measures and controls the delivery of intravenous infusions, making infusions much safer for critically ill patients. There are many things that made Ben such an amazing engineer. At Ivenix he was known for his immense depth and breadth of knowledge of all things engineering while at the same time being so incredibly humble and down to earth. He was a master automator, always figuring out creative ways to automate any repetitive process. Overall, Ben simply had a great feel for what needed to be accomplished, would figure out what to do without any sort of hand-holding, and would just get it done – no matter what new skills he needed to teach himself along the way, including new software or programming in a new language he had never used before. His colleagues at work will miss his quiet charm, brilliant contributions, and laid-back style. In recognition of his importance to them, they have named one of his contributions the “Kessel function” in his honor. Click here to read about the "Kessel function".
Biographical info contributed by Irene Kessel, Marco Kaltofen, and Lino Gonzales
Commentary on Rock Climbing Risks
Tributes
As a toddler, Ben appeared to have already chosen his path in life. He was clearly an engineer and a climber - always. He especially loved playing with all kinds of construction toys throughout his childhood and excelled at games of analytic reasoning throughout his teens. He had a passion for climbing from the time he could walk and ascended everything in sight, indoors and out, with an intensity of purpose and energy that were exceptional. His hunger for knowledge, for exploring and understanding the world around him, exceeded even his drive to climb.
Ben traveled all over the world. When he was very young, he would travel with his mother, and later also with his brother, Dan, to Spain, the home of Ben’s godparents, Ana and Manolo Sanlucar. Later in life, Ben traveled to countries around the world, including Nepal, China, Thailand, Patagonia, and Peru, experiencing and immersing himself in their mountains, people, and cultures. Click here to see photos of Ben's travels.
Ben was trained and educated as an engineer. For Ben, engineering was a very caring and nurturing profession. A lot of us care for individuals, but Ben (aptly called ‘Gentle Ben’ by one of his Stanford professors) was also thinking of how we can care for our planet. He was interested in engineering and the environment, and how these things related to our current, very acute problem of global climate change. He earned a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of the Pacific in 2009 and an MS in mechanical engineering from Stanford in 2012. His GPA at both institutions was consistently high despite also being an assistant instructor throughout his years at Stanford. His graduate work included engine research, and he was able to present his work to the US Dept of Energy and other research partners while he was at Stanford.
Ben was a member of the Stanford Alpine Club and the MIT Outing Club, where he taught new members critical skills and values with patience and kindness. He was looked up to as the gold standard of care and responsibility, exemplifying the qualities of attentiveness, maturity, and responsible resilience. Ben was forgiving of the mistakes of others and knew how to be present in the moment and to enjoy the company of those around him, sometimes quietly, sometimes gregariously.
Ben worked most recently as a Control Systems Engineer at Ivenix in North Andover. Before that, he was a Principal Test Engineer at Cool Chip Technologies in Somerville, and energy analyst at Gridium.
At Ivenix, Ben helped develop the company’s core technology that measures and controls the delivery of intravenous infusions, making infusions much safer for critically ill patients. There are many things that made Ben such an amazing engineer. At Ivenix he was known for his immense depth and breadth of knowledge of all things engineering while at the same time being so incredibly humble and down to earth. He was a master automator, always figuring out creative ways to automate any repetitive process. Overall, Ben simply had a great feel for what needed to be accomplished, would figure out what to do without any sort of hand-holding, and would just get it done – no matter what new skills he needed to teach himself along the way, including new software or programming in a new language he had never used before. His colleagues at work will miss his quiet charm, brilliant contributions, and laid-back style. In recognition of his importance to them, they have named one of his contributions the “Kessel function” in his honor. Click here to read about the "Kessel function".
Biographical info contributed by Irene Kessel, Marco Kaltofen, and Lino Gonzales
Commentary on Rock Climbing Risks
Tributes