Dr. William Kyros (Vasilios Kyriacopoulos), a former engineer and mechanical engineering professor died on December 10 at age 88, just a few weeks shy of his 89th birthday.
He was the son of the late Konstantinos and Helen Kyriacopoulos – both born in Greece. Konstantinos, better known as “Charlie”, operated the Presto Lunch on Middlesex St. in Lowell for many years. A place William worked at as well. His sisters were the late Anastasia Porter and the late Stella Kyriacopoulos.
Born in Lowell and educated in the Lowell public school system, William graduated from Lowell High School in 1950. Later he received his Bachelor of Science degree from the Lowell Textile Institute, Master of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and PhD from Cornell University.
From 1958 to 1969, Dr. Kyros was involved in pioneering the development of advanced carbon/graphite reinforced composite structural and ablative materials for aerospace applications at AVCO Research and Development Laboratories. He was affiliated with the Air Force Weapons Labs in Albuquerque, NM in the evaluation of material for resistance to X-Ray effects and nuclear vulnerability. He was also a Visiting Fellow at the Air Force Materials Laboratory in Dayton, OH.
Dr. Kyros was a lecturer at the Sibley School of Engineering at Cornell University from 1977 to 1980. Shortly after he joined the College of Engineering at UMass Lowell where from 1980 to 1999 he served as Assistant Dean of Engineering, Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering, and Principal Investigator for the Engineering Academy of Southern New England.
He is survived by his son Konstantine Kyros of Hingham, MA and his nephew Christopher Porter of Seattle, WA.
In lieu of flowers, his family requests memorial donations to the William Kyros (1957) Fund – an endowment fund for MIT students.
For those wishing to make credit card gifts, the link is https://giving.mit.edu/william-kyros
For those who wish to send checks, Checks should be made payable to MIT and mailed to:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, P. O. Box 412926, Boston, MA 02241-2926. Please indicate on check memo or cover note that the gift is made in memory of William Kyros.
On Friday, December 17, 2021 all are welcome to attend his committal service at 9:30 a.m. at Lowell Cemetery, 77 Knapp Ave., (Section near Hoyt Ave.) Lowell.