ALUMNI IN FOCUS
Remembering Sarkis Acopian ’51
A campus service was held Feb. 10 to remember the life
of Sarkis Acopian ’51, for whom Acopian Engineering Center is named. He died Jan. 18 at age 80 at home
in Easton.
Sarkis and his wife, Bobbye, to whom he was married 59 years, were principal benefactors of the renovation and modernization of Lafayette’s engineering complex, which was dedicated in 2003.
Acopian left his native Iran in 1945 to study mechanical engineering at Lafayette. His education was interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. In 1957, he designed and manufactured the first solar radio, which led to the power-supply business still operating today, Acopian Technical Company.
He was the largest individual donor to the National World War II
Memorial. In Easton he was a benefactor of the State Theatre Center for the Arts, National Canal Museum, and Children’s Home of Easton, among other organizations.
In addition to Bobbye, Acopian is survived by sons Greg ’70 and
Jeff ’75, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Ezra ’03 is the son
of Greg. Alex Karapetian ’04 is the nephew of Jeff.
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