Past ties to convinced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have led Dean Kamen to resign from FIRST Robotics, the high school STEM program he founded 37 years ago.
“Dean Kamen has voluntarily resigned from the FIRST board of directors and will withdraw from FIRST activities effective immediately,” FIRST Board Chair Laurie Leshin said in a statement released Thursday. “The independent review by the FIRST Board found no evidence of misconduct by Dean. Nonetheless, Dean has acknowledged errors in judgment by not avoiding any connection with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates after Epstein’s conviction in 2008.”
Kamen placed himself on leave from FIRST in January, after records released by the U.S. Department of Justice showed he was in contact with Epstein for more than a decade and visited Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean, where multiple cases of sexual abuse of young girls reportedly took place.
His resignation comes as politicians from both parties push for the release of all records related to Epstein, a move the Department of Justice has stonewalled.
In a statement, Kamen said, “I apologize for my errors in judgement in not avoiding any connection to Jeffrey Epstein. I met with Epstein in 2012 and 2013, to help supply clean water to African communities who desperately need it. In hindsight, I was naive to take the assurances of people who I thought that I could trust at face value and should have done the necessary due diligence. What I later learned was appalling. I strongly condemn the horrific crimes of Epstein and support justice for all of his victims. I only wish that I had been more careful, particularly given the faith that the FIRST community has placed in me.”
The boards of directors at ARMI, the institution for regenerative medicine in Manchester, and Sequel Medtech, a firm developed automated insulin delivery that was cofounded by Kamen, have both issued statements saying they fund no wrongdoing by Kamen. He has continued work with them.
Kamen started FIRST in Manchester in 1989 with the goal of creating a technology-based activity that could draw crowd interest and excitement the way high school sports teams do. It has since expanded around the world and spawned a host of parallel programs for younger pupils.
Kamen is the best-known engineer in New England, named on more than 1,000 patents. His development of the first drug infusion pump led to the creation of DEKA, a research and development firm based in Manchester, and the creation of the self-balancing Segway made him a household name.
Locally, he has been instrumental in the rebirth of the Manchester Millyard.