Matthew L. Lazarewicz1950-2025
Matt was born on August 18, 1950 in Caracas, Venezuela. His family came to the U.S. and he lived in Queens, NY, Seattle, WA, Hartford, CT, and Syracuse, NY, following his father’s employment.
Matt was a Registered Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and received both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as an M.S. in Management from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. As an MIT undergraduate, he served Theta Xi Fraternity as both Vice-President and President.
He married Anna Plucinska in 1978 and has two daughters, Aleksa Lazarewicz-Anstey and Krysia Lazarewicz. Andy Lazarewicz is his surviving brother.
Matt started his 25-year career with the General Electric Company in the Gas Turbine division as a design engineer. After transferring to GE Aircraft Engines, he held various positions in design, manufacturing, quality, marketing, and product support in both military and commercial applications. He was manager of program independent analysis from 1996 to 1999, and he was the mechanical design manager for the F414 engine used in the Navy F/A18 fighter. He won the GE Aircraft Engines "Engineer of the Year" and the Department of Defense "Excellence in Acquisition" Awards for his project leadership.
Matt joined Beacon Power in 1999 as Vice President of Engineering and became Chief Technical Officer in 2002. He was the founder and President of the Helix Power Corporation. Both companies manufactured flywheels for power storage.
Matt always focused on people – at the fraternity, at GE, and at his startup companies. He helped many of us through very difficult times in our lives, gave excellent career and business advice, and always put people first. At MIT, he gave us a weekend retreat before final exams at his family’s farm in Worcester, NY. He is deeply respected and greatly missed.