George Hatsopoulos was born in Athens on January 7, 1927. He was 14 when Greece was occupied by Germany. As a teenager in Greece during World War II, he used spare parts to build radios so families and resistance fighters could hear forbidden broadcasts during the Nazi occupation. His secret operation in the basement of his parents’ home foreshadowed the business he would start as an adult in the garage of his own house.

He was admitted to the Greek Technical University in 1944 in Mechanical Engineering and in 1948, he won a scholarship for study at MIT. He continued his graduate studies and received his M.S. in 1950.

He served in the U.S. Army in 1951 and 1952. He received his U.S. Citizenship on January 9, 1954 and continued his studies at MIT. He received his Engineer’s degree in 1954 and his Sc.D. in 1956. Hatsopoulos served on the faculty of MIT from 1954 until 1990.

In 1956 he founded Thermo Electron; a company based originally on his invention of thermionic energy conversion. In 1959 he married Daphne Phylactopoulou. In 1962 their son Nicholas George (Nicho) was born and three years later their daughter, Marina Ismene.

Hatsopoulos served as chairman and CEO of Thermo Electron from its founding in 1956 until 1999. During his tenure as CEO, Thermo Electron grew into an international company with over 24,000 employees in 23 countries and created 23 publicly traded corporations.

In 1965 his book on the Principles of General Thermodynamics was published and in the 70’s a 2-volume book on Thermionic Energy Conversion. Besides science, he developed a keen interest in economics and, despite no formal training in the discipline, several professional journals published papers on economics that he wrote.

Hatsopoulos was the recipient of many awards and honors, among them the Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment; and the John Fritz Medal presented by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He also received honorary doctorates from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the University of Lowell and Adelphi University. In 2007 he was made Commander of the Order of Honor presented to him by the President of Greece.

Hatsopoulos kept very strong ties with Greece both professionally and personally. The family visited Greece every summer and built a house on Paros. His extended family included four grandchildren: Zoe, Natasha, Christopher and Thomas. Hatsopoulos died on September 20, 2018.