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George N. Hatsopoulos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George N. Hatsopoulos
Hatsopoulos in 2011
Born(1927-01-07)January 7, 1927
Athens,Greece
DiedSeptember 20, 2018(2018-09-20)(aged 91)
Lincoln, Massachusetts,U.S.
AwardsJohn Fritz Medal(1996)
Scientific career
FieldsMechanical engineering
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology

George Nicholas Hatsopoulos(January 7, 1927 – September 20, 2018) was aGreek Americanmechanical engineer noted for his work inthermodynamicsand for having co-foundedThermo Electron.

Early life

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Hatsopoulos was born in Athens, Greece in 1927[1]and is related to[how?]the former rector of theAthens Polytechnic School,Nicolas Kitsikis.He attended Athens Polytechnic before entering MIT, where he received his Bachelor and Master of Science (1950), Mechanical Engineer (1954), and Doctorate of Science (1956).[2]

Personal life

Hatsopoulos-Keenan reformulation of thermodynamics

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In 1965, he andJoseph Keenanpublished their textbookPrinciples of General Thermodynamics,which restates thesecond law of thermodynamicsin terms of the existence of stable equilibrium states.[3]Their formulation of the second law of thermodynamics states that:

When an isolated system performs a process after the removal of a series of internal constraints, it will reach a unique state of equilibrium: this state of equilibrium is independent of the order in which the constraints are removed.

The Hatsopoulos-Keenan statement of the Second Lawentailsthe Clausius, Kelvin-Planck, and Carathéodory statements of the Second Law,[4]and has provided a basis to extend the traditional definition ofentropyto the non-equilibrium domain. Hatsopoulus and Keenan maintained that it is unlikely to identify a satisfactory definition of heat without a prior statement of the second law.[5]

In 1976, Hatsopoulos also contributed to a formulation of a unified theory of mechanics and thermodynamics, arguably a precursor of the emerging field ofquantum thermodynamics.[6]

Academic and industry leader

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While at MIT, Hatsopoulos was head of the engineering division ofMatrad Corporationof New York.[2]Matrad Corporation and MIT also provided financial support for his doctoral thesisThe Thermo-Electron Engine.[7]Matrad Corporation was owned by the family ofPeter M. Nomikos,a Harvard Business School graduate. In 1956, Nomikos and Hatsopoulos co-founded theThermo ElectronCorporation. Several years later, George asked his brother (John Hatsopoulos) to join the company as financial controller.[8]UnderGeorge Hatsopoulos,Thermo Electronbecame a major provider of analytical instruments and services for a variety of domains.John Hatsopoulos,andArvin Smith.[9]In 1965, George Hatsopoulos was president of the Thermo Electron Engineering Corporation and Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering atM.I.T..

Recognition

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In 1961, Hatsopoulos received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement.[10]In 1996, Hatsopoulos won theJohn Fritz Medal,which is the highest American award in theengineeringprofession and presented each year for scientific or industrial achievement in any field of pure or applied science. In 1997, he was awarded the 3rd AnnualHeinz Awardin Technology, the Economy and Employment.[11]

In 2011, along with Arvin Smith and John Hatsopoulos, he was awarded the 2011Pittcon Heritage Awardfrom theChemical Heritage Foundation.[12]

Hatsopoulos is also a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.[citation needed]

He died on September 20, 2018, at the age of 91.[13]His net worth was reported as US$481 million in 2017.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Who, Marquis Who's (1999).Who's who in Finance and Industry.Marquis Who's Who.ISBN9780837903347.
  2. ^abMIT. (1956) Appointments To Administrative Positions And Four Faculty Changes Announced.The Tech.LXXVINo. 15, 3http://tech.mit.edu/V76/PDF/N15.pdfArchived2012-05-11 at theWayback Machine
  3. ^Hatsopoulos, George, N.; Keenan, Joseph, H. (1965).Principles of General Thermodynamics.John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCN 65-12709.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^Gyftopoulos, Elias, P.; Beretta, Gian Paolo (2005).Thermodynamics. Foundations and Applications.Dover Pu., Inc.ISBN0-486-43932-1.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^Beretta, Gian Paolo (June 2008). "Axiomatic Definition of Entropy for Nonequilibrium States".International Journal of Thermodynamics.11(2): 39–48.
  6. ^See, e.g.,http://www.quantumthermodynamics.orgArchived2010-05-29 at theWayback Machine
  7. ^Hatsopoulos, George Nicholas. (1956).The Thermo-Electron Engine.Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/12098
  8. ^It Don't Mean a Thing If You Ain't Got that Green: HBS and the Birth of Venture Capital. HBS Bulletin Online, December 1996.http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/1996/december/start.html
  9. ^"George and John Hatsopoulos, and Arvin Smith".Chemical Heritage Foundation.Archived fromthe originalon July 12, 2016.Retrieved26 June2013.
  10. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".www.achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  11. ^The Heinz Awards, George Hatsopoulos profile
  12. ^"Pittcon Heritage Award".Science History Institute.31 May 2016.Retrieved27 March2018.
  13. ^George Hatsopoulos Obituary
  14. ^"National Herald - 50 wealthiest Greek-Americans for 2017".
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