Who was Israeli American Daniel Lewin, the first victim of 9/11?

Daniel Lewin, born in Denver, Colorado, was an Israeli American who tragically became the first victim of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At the age of 14, he made aliyah to Israel, where he enlisted in the IDF's elite counterterrorism unit, Sayeret Matkal, and later completed two undergraduate degrees at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. In 1995, the Technion recognized him as the year's Outstanding Student in Computer Engineering.

After graduation, Lewin worked full-time as a researcher at IBM in Haifa while pursuing his PhD at MIT. He co-founded Akamai Technologies in 1998, which would eventually become a global leader in content delivery network (CDN) and cloud security services. Lewin was only 31 when he lost his life on American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks.

According to the IDF website and various reports, Lewin was a highly accomplished individual, known for his brilliance and relentless drive. He published and presented several groundbreaking papers at top computer science conferences, and his research on consistent hashing had a profound impact on the internet. Lewin received numerous awards for his work, including the 1998 Morris Joseph Levin Award for Best MasterWorks Oral Thesis Presentation at MIT.

After his death, Akamai Technologies dedicated a permanent eulogy to Lewin on its website, highlighting his brilliance, competitiveness, and deep desire to inspire others. His legacy continues to influence the global tech industry, with Akamai handling tens of millions of transactions every second for some of the world's most prominent brands.