Robert Shillman (born April 6, 1946) is an American businessman, electrical engineer, philanthropist and political financier. He is the founder and former chairman and chief culture officer of

Cognex Corporation Cognex Corporation is an American manufacturer of machine vision systems, software and sensors used in automated manufacturing to inspect and identify parts, detect defects, verify product assembly, and guide assembly robots. Cognex is headquart ...

. Cognex is a provider of

machine vision Machine vision is the technology and methods used to provide image, imaging-based automation, automatic inspection and analysis for such applications as automatic inspection, process control, and robot guidance, usually in industry. Machine vision ...

systems, sensors, and industrial ID readers used in automated manufacturing. Shillman holds a B.S.E.E. from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

as well as an M.S.E.E. and a Ph.D. from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Founding Cognex

Shillman founded

in 1981 while a member of the Electrical Engineering faculty of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

. He left academia to start Cognex, investing his life savings of $86,000 into the company. He invited two MIT graduate students-–Bill Silver and Marilyn Matz–-to embark on this business venture with him, offering free

racing bicycle A racing bicycle, also known as a road bike, is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by and according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Racing bicycles are designed for maximum performance ...

s to convince them to leave MIT for a summer. These three individuals gave Cognex its start and its name, which was derived from the phrase "Cognition Experts". Cognex was one of the first companies to explore commercial applications for

in the early 1980s. By the 1990s, Cognex's business had grown substantially due to the demand for machine vision to help automate semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. The company went public on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

exchange in 1989.

Professional recognition

Shillman was named ''Inc.'' magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1990, received an Achievement Award in Leadership from the

Automated Imaging Association Automated Imaging Association (AIA) is the world's largest machine vision trade group. AIA has more than 350 members from 32 countries, including system integrators, camera, lighting and other vision components manufacturers, vision software pro ...

in 1992, and received the North American SEMI Award in 2005 for his contributions to the semiconductor industry. He has published more than 20 technical papers and is recognized as an expert in the field of

optical character recognition Optical character recognition or optical character reader (OCR) is the electronics, electronic or machine, mechanical conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo ...

(OCR) and industrial uses of

. In June 2000, Shillman received an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in Business Administration from

in recognition of his work in the field of machine vision technology in factory automation. In September 2008, Shillman was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for his work in establishing an entrepreneurship program at Waseda and for his contribution to the development of machine vision systems.

Professional activities

Shillman formerly sat on the

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

at the

, and is considered a "Trustee Emeritus" by the university.

Political activities

Shillman sits on boards of The

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) (in ) is an organization established in 1981 dedicated to the men and women serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), wounded veterans, and the families of fallen soldiers. Headquartered in New York ...

, The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, and the

David Horowitz Freedom Center The David Horowitz Freedom Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), is a conservative anti-Islam foundation founded in 1988 by political activist David Horowitz and his long-time collaborator Peter Collier. It was ...

. In May 2008, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

appointed him to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He has funded Brigitte Gabriel's ACT for America,

James O'Keefe James Edward O'Keefe III (born June 28, 1984) is an American political activist who founded Project Veritas, a far-right activistActivist... * * * * * * * group that uses deceptively edited videos and information gathering techniques to att ...

's Project Veritas, ''

FrontPage Magazine ''FrontPage Magazine'', also known as ''FrontPageMag.com'', is an American right-wing, anti-Islam political website edited by David Horowitz and published by the David Horowitz Freedom Center. The site has also been described by scholars and w ...

'' and ''

Rebel News ''Rebel News'' (also known as ''The Rebel Media'' and ''The Rebel'') is a Canadian far-right political and social commentary media website operated by Rebel News Network Ltd. It has been described as a "global platform" for the Islamophobia, a ...

'', and has argued against the US accepting Syrian Muslim refugees. He has been described as a

counter-jihad Counter-jihad (also known as the counter-jihad movement) is a self-titled Islamophobia, anti-Muslim political movement loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, demonstrators, and other activists across the Western world. Proponents are ...

"elite" and high-profile financier. In and around August 2017, he funded several far-right counter-jihad activists who were appointed "Shillman Fellows". Among these fellows were

Laura Loomer Laura Elizabeth Loomer (born May 21, 1993) is an American far-right political activist, conspiracy theorist, and internet personality. She was the Republican nominee to represent Florida's 21st congressional district in the 2020 United S ...

Raheem Kassam Raheem J. Kassam (born 1 August 1986) is a British political activist, former editor-in-chief of ''Breitbart News'' London, and former chief adviser to former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage. He has been described as far-right a ...

and

Katie Hopkins Katie Olivia Hopkins (born 13 February 1975) is an English media personality, far-right political commentator, and former columnist and businesswoman. She was a contestant on the third series of the reality show ''The Apprentice'' in 2007; f ...

. In August 2018, it was revealed by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' that Shillman had been providing finances to British far-right activist

Tommy Robinson Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (' Yaxley; born 27 November 1982), better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British anti-Islam sentiment, anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK's most prominent far-right activists. Robinson has been active in ...

by helping to pay his "five figure salary". In January 2021, it was revealed by

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

that Shillman paid nearly $214,000 in 2017 to help Dutch politician

Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...

pay for his successful legal defence in an indictment for hate speech against Muslims in general and Moroccans in particular.

Philanthropy

He instituted the Cognex Community Donations Program that supports several causes in the towns and cities where the company's regional offices are located. Shillman also established the Perseverance Awards at Cognex to reward those individuals who have devoted significant time to the company's success. The awards increase in value, and when an employee reaches 25 years of service they are given the opportunity to become a philanthropist. The company sets up a charitable giving account in the employee's name and under their control, funded with $25,000 to donate to the employee's choice of

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

-approved charities. Shillman has made substantial financial gifts to

, which named a classroom building Shillman Hall in his honor, and to

, which named the building housing its Center for Entrepreneurship in his honor, and to the

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a public university, public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 by Jews under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion is the oldest university in the coun ...

, which named the plaza of its physics center in his honor. He has endowed three professorships, the Robert J. Shillman Career Development Professorship at MIT, the Robert J. Shillman Trustee Professor of Entrepreneurship at Northeastern University and the Robert J. Shillman Career Advancement Chair at the Israel Institute of Technology. Starting in 2006, Shillman has waived his annual salary and bonus at Cognex and has requested that those amounts be donated each year to charity.

References

External links

Cognex Corporation Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shillman, Robert J. 1946 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American engineers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American engineers American chief executives of manufacturing companies American counter-jihad activists American electrical engineers American technology chief executives American technology company founders Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Northeastern University alumni Philanthropists from Massachusetts Tufts University faculty