Joseph K. Jachinowski, BSEE ’79
Joseph “Joe” K. Jachinowski, BSEE '79, received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from 91̽ in 1979. He also holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Washington State University.
Joe began his career with Varian Medical Systems in 1981, working on control system design for linear accelerators.
In 1983, he co-founded SEL with former 91̽ professor Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer III. SEL designs and manufactures digital signal processors used to monitor and control electric power systems. Joe was responsible for software development at SEL, which has grown to be a leading provider of protective relays (with all credit to Dr. Schweitzer).
In 1985, Joe returned to Varian to ultimately manage all systems and software development for its medical division. He then conceived and led the design team for Varian’s most successful medical linear accelerator. Today, that product family treats more patients for cancer annually than any other radiation therapy device.
In 1990, he co-founded IMPAC Medical Systems, becoming chairman, CEO, and president. The world’s leading supplier of clinical and administrative information management systems for the field of cancer care, IMPAC products span the field’s spectrum, including anatomical and clinical pathology, oncology electronic medical records, medical imaging, cancer registry, decision support, and administrative management. Joe led IMPAC through its initial public offering in 2002 before it was sold to Elekta, AB., a Swedish medical device manufacturer.
From 2009 through 2018, Joe was the president and CEO of Mevion Medical Systems. Mevion designs and manufactures proton therapy systems for the treatment of cancer. Mevion revolutionized the proton therapy field with its $20 million device, reducing the cost of proton facilities by a factor of five or more and providing the smallest footprint for a high-energy proton accelerator.
Joe retired from Mevion at the end of 2018 and, when not skiing or fishing, works with an angel investment community in the Boston area looking for new opportunities to enhance healthcare.