Benjamin Nathan Shamah

1973 - 2018

BORN

1973

DIED

2018

About

Carnegie Mellon University Terra Linda High School

Benjamin Shamah Obituary

Benjamin Nathan Shamah Age 45, died early Saturday, November 3, 2018 at home surrounded by his family. Ben was born in Hammond, Indiana on August 30, 1973 to Eliahu and Joy (Sabel) Shamah and moved to California with his family at age 6. He played water polo while at Terra Linda High School in San Rafael and at the University of California, San Diego where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1995. He then went on to Carnegie Mellon University where he earned a Master of Science in Robotics in 1998. While at Carnegie Mellon, Ben worked on several NASA-funded projects, focusing on the development of robotics technologies for planetary exploration. After school, he returned to the Bay Area to apply his robotics expertise to the field of laboratory automation, seeking to accelerate the pace of medical research. He began at Fluidigm, working with Carnegie Mellon colleagues and then moved on to Velocity11 and Agilent, where he joined still more friends and colleagues from San Diego and Carnegie Mellon. Finally, he co-founded BioNex Solutions where he led the technical side of the business and grew the company to become a leader in the high-performance laboratory automation market. Ben was always kind, even as cancer ravaged his body, making sure everyone around him had what they needed. He loved music, was always at ease in the water, and enjoyed puzzling out engineering problems and helping his colleagues learn and succeed. He met Kyomi Aoki at a Tango class in 2011 and they found that Kyomi's outgoing nature complimented Ben's quietness perfectly. Kyomi brought light and energy to their partnership and together they enjoyed traveling, dancing, and just spending quiet time together at home. Ben touched many with his quiet way and brave heart. He will be dearly missed. Ben is survived by his parents, Joy and Eli Shamah, his sister Devora, brother Gadi, two nephews, and his girlfriend and dance partner, Kyomi Aoki. A private service will be held November 16, 2018.

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Published by Marin Independent Journal on Nov. 15, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for Benjamin Shamah

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9 Entries

Rebecca Ramirez

September 23, 2022

I just heard about Ben. I am very saddened. I went to a job interview and the job interviewer saw that I worked at Bionex previously. Then he mentioned this about Ben. Ben was a great person to work with. Always calm and professional. A good listener, logical and open minded. My condolences to all his loved ones and friends.

Janelle Anderson

Planted Trees

Janelle Anderson

February 16, 2020

So terribly sorry to learn this--that Ben has passed. I knew Ben when he was at UCSD and after graduation, before he went to Carnegie Mellon. Just a person one never forgets--thoughtful, kind, wryly funny and super intelligent. I felt very lucky to know him.
Bless you Ben. My thoughts and prayers are with your loved ones.

Rachel Choppin

June 28, 2019

I was saden to read about the departure of Benjamin. Though I never met him, I was touched by the story of his life.
I know of his parents through my parents Rivka and Jospeh Cohen Gindi who were relatives and friends with his grandfather and grandmother.
I split my time between Sacramento and Tel Aviv and would love to connect with his family.
Judith Elkan from London let me know that they live in San Rafael.
May he rest his peace!

M. Grasso

February 6, 2019

Damn. We went to school together.
Played H20 Polo together.
What a great guy.
Not a mean bone in his body.
The kind of person I wish I ran into or kept in touch with after high school, a person DOING something with their lives for humankind.
Very accomplished.
Im in awe of people like that, so technically gifted.
God bless you and your family Ben.

Barbara and Stan Rutner

November 20, 2018

You must be so very proud of the remarkable human being your son was. Such a great legacy from one so young.. The level of grief at the loss of a child defies description, and yet we must remember that our children haven't left us. They'll be beside us and within us in our hearts forever. Maybe your son, Ben, and our daughter, Corinne, will meet in Heaven. Fondly, Barb and Stan Rutner

BONNIE LASKY

November 15, 2018

I wish I had known your son, he sounds like the kind of human being we need more of in our world. He will continue to be loved and remembered - may his life be a blessing.

Adam Tobias

November 15, 2018

As a cousin of Ben, we were close as kids when his family visited us in the UK and when we came to San Rafael to stay one summer. Though we lived on separate sides of the pond I was always very inspired and proud of Ben's achievements and accolades. He seemed somewhat of a quiet genius of the family. I wished I'd known him better. When Ben's illness took hold he handled it with dignity and strength. Though shocked and saddened by his news, we made brief contact again after many years of living our own lives and I'm grateful to have managed to speak with Ben shortly before he died and will be forever proud that he was my younger cousin who left an indelible mark on everyone that knew him. He'll be greatly missed I have no doubt about that.
Taken too soon; only the good die young.
R.I.P Ben Shamah

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