Dr. J. Patrick Kennedy, 79, founder and CEO of OSIsoft and its PI System real-time data management software, died on April 9 after a 10-month battle with interstitial lung disease. He established OSIsoft in 1980 as Oil Services Inc., and ran it for just over 40 years in San Leandro, Calif., before it was acquired by AVEVA on 2021 for about $5 billion.
Close to ubiquitous in all the process industries, “OSI PI” long performed data acquisition, historizing, analysis, delivery and visualization, and continues to serve as an enterprise infrastructure for managing real-time data and events.
It automatically collects from multiple sources, such as sensors, instruments, analyzers, I/O, controllers and software; organizes it using OSIsoft and third-party PI Interface software; and gives users access via common formats including PI ProcessBook software, Microsoft Excel and web browsers.
Kennedy was born in 1943 in Portland, Oregon, and was raised on a farm south of Lawrence, Kansas. He earned B.S. and Ph.D degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas.
Kennedy is survived by his wife of 56 years, Patty, three children and their spouses and grandchildren, as well as his brother in San Diego. No memorial ceremony is presently planned. His family requests privacy, and suggests donations to UNICEF in his name in lieu of flowers.
