Elias Panayiotis Gyftopoulos ( gr, Ηλίας Παναγιώτης Γυφτόπουλος; July 4, 1927June 23, 2012) was a Greek-American engineer who contributed to

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 the ...

both in its general formulation and its quantum foundations. Gyftopoulos received an undergraduate degree in

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

and

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

in 1953 from the

National Technical University of Athens The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...

, and a

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree in electrical engineering at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1958. At MIT, he initially focused on

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...

safety and control. After meeting professors

George N. Hatsopoulos George Nicholas Hatsopoulos (January 7, 1927 – September 20, 2018) was a Greek American mechanical engineer noted for his work in thermodynamics and for having co-founded Thermo Electron. Early life Hatsopoulos was born in Athens, Greece in 192 ...

and Joseph H. Keenan, his interests moved towards thermodynamics, in an attempt to give a consistent and rigorous exposition, free of the logical flaws and the limitations commonly associated with this discipline: his contribution culminated with reference textbook which completely reformulates the foundations of the subject, offering a general non-statistical definition of entropy applicable to both macroscopic and microscopic systems, both in equilibrium and in non-equilibrium states, and providing strong background and deep understanding of many applications in energy engineering for modern graduate curricula. His research also pioneered the subject of quantum thermodynamics with an early effort to give a quantum basis to thermodynamics by means a physical theory unifying

mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...

and

.See, e.g.: https://quantum-thermodynamics.unibs.it

Works

*
Elias P. Gyftopoulos complete collection of published scientific works

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyftopoulos, Elias Thermodynamicists Greek emigrants to the United States MIT School of Engineering faculty National Technical University of Athens alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni 1927 births 2012 deaths People from Athens