Dr. Dennis Speliotis Passed Away

Dennis Elias Speliotis, of Lexington, Massachusetts passed away on May 15, 2011.

 Dennis was born in Kalamata, Greece in 1933 to Evanthia and Elias Speliotis. Dennis came to study at the University of Rhode Island School of Engineering in 1951. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island he continued his formal education at MIT with a Masters in electrical engineering and then received his doctorate in physics at the University of Minnesota.

Dennis was always a dreamer, a planner, an inventor and a questioner. He was a scientist who loved music, literature, theology and people.

He started his career at IBM then went on to teach at the University of Minnesota school of physics. Dennis’ pursuit of new ideas forced him into the non-traditional entrepreneurial world. He founded several companies including Digital Measurement Systems, Inc., where he served as president and Micro-Bit Corp. where he served as vice president and general manager, and generated many new ideas and products in the fields of magnetics and physics.

He was a sought after authority on advanced magnetic recording media for high density magnetic recording. He is an IEEE Fellow and distinguished lecturer who has delivered more than 50 invited lectures and authored some 300 technical papers. He has consulted with more than 100 corporations worldwide on computers, magnetic and information storage technology and other technical issues.

He also supported many others in their endeavors in these fields. When not pursuing science, literature or philosophy, he spent as much time as he could in Kalamata, Greece and Rhode Island, with family and friends.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Katherine; his three children Evanthia, her husband Peter and their two daughters Ophelia and Ismene of Louisville, KY; Ismene and her daughter Ariadne of Brooklyn, NY and Elias, his wife Mary and their children Alexis and Ian of Westford, MA. Dennis is also survived by his three brothers, Athanasios, Nicholas, and Demetrios and their families who reside in Greece.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, 122 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60603.