Born in 1926 in Iran, Sarkis Acopian moved to the US in 1945. With a degree in mechanical engineering from Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, he joined Weller Electric Corporation, where he designed a power sander and a soldering gun.

Acopian established his own firm, Acopian Technical Company, in 1957, and went on to invent and manufacture a number of pioneering products. Among them was the first-ever solar-powered radio, and low-cost power supplies that used vacuum tubes and plugged into a standard octal socket.

Acopian established several institutions dedicated to the sciences and environmental protection, including the Acopian Engineering Center at Lafayette College, the Acopian Center for Conservation and Learning at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and the Acopian Center for Ornithology at Muhlenberg College. He also endowed an environmental-education program at the Florida Institute of Technology and donated $1 million to the National World War II Memorial.

Acopian died in 2007.