George Nicholas Hatsopoulos (January 7, 1927 – September 20, 2018) was a

Greek American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest e ...

mechanical engineer noted for his work in

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of th ...

and for having co-founded

Thermo Electron Thermo Electron Corporation (NYSE: TMO) (incorporated 1956) was a major provider of analytical instruments and services for a variety of domains. It was founded in 1956 by George N. Hatsopoulos, an MIT PhD in mechanical engineering. Initial fu ...

Early life

Hatsopoulos was born in Athens, Greece in 1927 and is related to the former rector of the Athens 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).MIT. (1956) Appointments To Administrative Positions And Four Faculty Changes Announced. ''The Tech.'' LXXVI No. 15, 3 http://tech.mit.edu/V76/PDF/N15.pdf

Hatsopoulos-Keenan reformulation of thermodynamics

In 1965, he and Joseph Keenan published their textbook ''Principles of General Thermodynamics'', which restates the

second law of thermodynamics The second law of thermodynamics is a physical law based on universal experience concerning heat and energy interconversions. One simple statement of the law is that heat always moves from hotter objects to colder objects (or "downhill"), unles ...

in terms of the existence of stable equilibrium states. Their formulation of the second law of thermodynamics states that:

The Hatsopoulos-Keenan statement of the Second Law entails the Clausius, Kelvin-Planck, and Carathéodory statements of the Second Law, and has provided a basis to extend the traditional definition of

entropy Entropy is a scientific concept, as well as a measurable physical property, that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynam ...

to the non-equilibrium domain. In 1976, Hatsopoulos also contributed to a formulation of a unified theory of mechanics and thermodynamics, arguably a precursor of the emerging field of

quantum thermodynamics Quantum thermodynamics is the study of the relations between two independent physical theories: thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. The two independent theories address the physical phenomena of light and matter. In 1905, Albert Einstein argued ...

Academic and industry leader

While at MIT, Hatsopoulos was head of the engineering division of Matrad Corporation of New York. Matrad Corporation and MIT also provided financial support for his doctoral thesis ''The Thermo-Electron Engine''. Matrad Corporation was owned by the family of Peter M. Nomikos, a Harvard Business School graduate. In 1956, Nomikos and Hatsopoulos co-founded the

Corporation. Several years later, George asked his brother (John Hatsopoulos) to join the company as financial controller. Under George Hatsopoulos,

became a major provider of analytical instruments and services for a variety of domains. John Hatsopoulos, and Arvin Smith. In 1965, George Hatsopoulos was president of the Thermo Electron Engineering Corporation and Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at M.I.T.

Recognition

In 1961, Hatsopoulos received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

. In 1996, Hatsopoulos won the John Fritz Medal, which is the highest American award in the

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

profession and presented each year for scientific or industrial achievement in any field of pure or applied science. In 1997, he was awarded the 3rd Annual

Heinz Award The Heinz Awards are individual achievement honors given annually by the Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards each year recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in three areas: the Arts, the Economy and the Enviro ...

in Technology, the Economy and Employment. In 2011, along with Arvin Smith and John Hatsopoulos, he was awarded the 2011 Pittcon Heritage Award from the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Hatsopoulos is also a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence. He died on September 20, 2018, at the age of 91. His net worth was reported as US$481 million in 2017.

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