Philadelphia architect and builder Solis D. Kopelan (born Solis D. Kaplan) was trained at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a B. Arch. in 1929. Correspondence preserved in the George Howe Papers (Avery Library Drawings and Archives Collections, Columbia University, New York City), indicates that by 1933, Kopelan had formed a partnership with Louis I. Kahn (Kahn & Kopelan), and had changed his last name by this date. It is possible that Kopelan was a member of the Architectural Research Group with Kahn. The partnership was short-lived, and little else is know about Kopelan's career aside from his long-term residence in Mount Airy, where he was a member of long standing of the Germantown Jewish Center. He later serving as an honorary member of that organization's board of directors.

Kopelan was a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA until the early 1950s, although he is not known to have joined the national. He served with the Arbitrators Association of Philadelphia and was a founding member of the West Mount Airy and Allens Lane Art Centers.

Written by Emily T. Cooperman.