Dr. Earnest N. Poulos

Dr. Earnest N. Poulos, age 91, passed away on June 13th 2021. Loving and devoted husband of Zoe Poulos (deceased), and the adoring Father of Nicholas (Julie) Poulos and Fanette (Mitchell) Yelsky. The most inspiring, caring Papou to Jacob (Sydney) and Zoey Yelsky, and to Hal Gibert. Cherished brother of Demetra, deceased (William, deceased), John (deceased) and Dina Clark-Poulos.

On September 29, 1929, Earnest was born in Toledo, Ohio to Nicholas and Harriet (Papageorgiou) Poulos. Although he was born in the United States, Earnest was raised in Zacharo, Greece, where he was stranded during World War II. Earnest was driven, intelligent, and clever; he utilized these skills to escape Greece and return to the US as a stowaway with the Greek Olympic Track Team during the 1948 London Olympics. He received an incredible amount of support from the Jewish community as he became reintegrated in American life.

Earnest was passionate and incredibly proud of his academic achievements in the fields of mechanical engineering, thermal dynamics, alternative engineering, and aerospace engineering. He received a Bachelors of Science (B.S.) in Mechanical Engineering from Toledo University in 1953. Earnest dreamed of studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but was unable to be accepted because Toledo University was not yet an accredited institution. Earnest therefore traveled to Cambridge, MA, where he convinced the deans of engineering to conduct an in-person interview, which conveniently focused on Turbo-Machinery - a field he recently studied in Toledo. After acing this impromptu interview, Earnest was admitted to MIT, where he graduated with a Master’s of Science (M.S.) in Mechanical Engineering in 1957. Earnest also received a M.S. in Engineering Administration from the Case Western Reserve Institute of Technology in 1964, and completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Akron in 1983.

For nearly 50 years, Earnest was a beloved Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Cleveland State Fenn College of Engineering. Earnest served as the Assistant Dean of Mechanical Engineering at the Fenn College of Engineering from 1969-1971, and as the Assistant Dean for Engineering Technology from 1971-1974. At Cleveland State, he led, operated, and maintained a diverse set of laboratories that focused on aerospace dynamics, thermal systems, solar energy, wind energy, and augmenting heat transfer processes. His pride and joy was a wind tunnel, which he used to model the dynamics of different airplane wing designs. Throughout his career, Earnest educated thousands of mechanical engineers to successful academic and industrial careers.

In addition to his academic accomplishments, Earnest had an impactful and diverse industrial career. While working for NASA, he designed retrorockets that enabled steering during the Apollo mission. He treasured a piece of this rocket prototype which successfully exited and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere during initial testing. He also conducted extensive consulting for the Department of Defense (DoD), and designed custom PT boat engines used to navigate the unique, marsh-like marine terrain in the Vietnam War. Earnest was especially proud of the hyper-efficient thermal systems he designed while supporting TRW Incorporated, which advanced the company’s utilization of computational modeling for thermal systems. Later in his career, he began to focus on emerging alternative energy solutions, including advancing Wind Turbines and Geothermal Heating Systems.

Earnest enjoyed nature - he loved small animals and regularly fed the local birds and chipmunks with his wife, Zoe. He adored the Grecian Islands, and supplemented trips to Greece in his later stages with copious amounts of YouTube-driven walking tours of Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos and Athens. He loved home projects, including building his beautiful creek-side terrace behind his home. He treasured his time outside, and specifically enjoyed long walks across the Cleveland Metropark system. We remain eternally grateful for Earnest and the driving role he had in shaping the professional careers, personalities, and morals of his children and grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Earnest’s honor to Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Funeral Mass 11 am Monday June 21 at Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 3352 Mayfield Rd, Cleveland, OH 44118. Interment Knollwood Cemetery. The family will receive friends at THE DiCICCO AND SONS FUNERAL HOME 5975 MAYFIELD RD. MAYFIELD HTS.,(at LanderRd.) SUNDAY 4 TO 6 PM. Online condolences and guest registry www.diciccoandsonsfh.com