Dr. Brian Callahan
Senior Development Engineer
Achates Power, Inc.
As a senior development engineer, Dr. Brian Callahan is a member of the Achates Power team responsible for engine durability, oil consumption and friction. Prior to joining the company, he worked at XRDi, where he helped design and develop high-efficiency, lightweight, multi-fuel engines for unmanned airplanes. The XRDi UAV398 was the first heavy fuel engine in its class to ever pass the U.S. Army’s aviation durability qualification test and achieved best-in-class fuel economy while doing so. Callahan had release responsibility for all components of the engine as well as controlled XRDi’s testing and development activities. Before that, Callahan worked at Techtronic Industries in the Advanced Engines Group. He started his career at Ford Motor Company, where he developed engine electrical and fuel handling components for cars and light trucks. On the subject of droplet combustion, Callahan has co-authored three papers and one photo display for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Combustion Institute, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. He published one paper for the ASME Internal Combustion Engine division conference and two papers in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Transactions Journal of Engines on internal combustion engines. The 2003 SAE paper won an award for Top Ten Papers of the 2003 Small Engine Technology Conference. Callahan earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Cornell University. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Queen’s University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Larry Fromm
Vice President, Business and Strategy Development
Achates Power, Inc.
Laurence Fromm joined Achates Power in 2004 as the market-facing executive of the company’s founding team. While managing the business development, government relations and marketing for Achates Power, Fromm leads engagements with leading engine, commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle manufacturers around the globe. Prior to Achates Power, Fromm served as CEO of Chaos Telecom, a venture-backed early-stage company, where he helped create the company’s first product—licensed embedded software for digital subscriber line modems. Prior to Chaos Telecom, Fromm was the vice president of Widcomm, Inc. (sold to Broadcom Corporation), where he managed development of the Bluetooth LAN access point and developed the company’s channel program in Europe, North America and Asia. Previously, Fromm was part of the executive team at Dialogic as the company grew to $400 million in annual revenue, went public and was purchased by Intel Corporation. In addition to his responsibilities with Achates Power, Fromm is a board member of NCast, Inc., a company developing a webcasting Internet appliance, as well as a steering committee member of CommNexus NextStage, a nonprofit industry organization that mentors early-stage companies through an entrepreneur advisory program. Fromm earned a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in computer engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Dr. Randy Herold
Senior Staff Engineer
Achates Power, Inc.
Dr. Randy Herold is a senior staff engineer at Achates Power, having joined the company in 2009. His responsibilities include leading the research and development activities specific to the combustion system of the Achates Power opposed-piston, two-stroke engine. He also creates and utilizes analytical tools to help facilitate technology breakthroughs in engine performance and emissions. Prior to Achates Power, Dr. Herold was a project engineer at Engineering Systems Analysis, LLC. While there, he created and analyzed GT-POWER simulations of internal combustion engines and other thermo-fluid systems for clients at Fortune 500 companies. He also developed internal combustion engine test cell data acquisition software and contributed to the creation of a proprietary technology to increase engine efficiency of biogas-fueled power generators. Dr. Herold earned a Bachelor of Science and doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
David Johnson
President & CEO
Achates Power, Inc.
David Johnson joined Achates Power in August 2008 as president and CEO. In this capacity, Johnson is applying his 20 years of industry experience to accelerate development of revolutionary internal combustion engines that provide superior fuel efficiency at lower cost and, ultimately, furthers the company’s goal of enabling a more sustainable future. As such, Johnson is responsible for technical, commercial and business development as well as sales, financials and operations, and is a member of the Achates Power board of directors. Johnson was previously vice president of product operations for military and export markets at Navistar. He served as program manager for the MaxxProTM line of Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles, which were delivered in record time and record quantities for deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan to better protect U.S. soldiers. Prior to Navistar, Johnson worked for General Motors and Ford Motor Company. At GM, he was program manager and chief engineer for multiple clean-diesel engine programs for Opel, Saab and Renault passenger vehicles. Johnson’s professional career began at Ford Motor Company where he led the development and launch of the SuperDuty with an all new diesel engine, the highest volume diesel-powered pickup truck on the market. Johnson earned a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Cornell University.
Christopher Kalebjian
Senior Development Engineer
Achates Power, Inc.
Christopher Kalebjian joined Achates Power in 2011. He is a senior development engineer in the performance and emissions department. His contributions include analysis, controls development, calibration and testing of the company’s opposed-piston, two-stroke engine. Prior to Achates Power, Kalebjian spent more than five years as a diesel calibration engineer at General Motors Corporation where he oversaw performance, drivability and emissions for the current and future GM diesel pick-up platforms—including the Duramax engine used in U.S. light-duty trucks. Before that, he worked as a systems application engineer for Visteon Corporation, a leading global automotive supplier and spin-off from Ford Motor Company. While there, he led a team of hardware and software engineers in the creation of a next-generation powertrain control module, from concept to production intent. Kalebjian began his career at Ford Motor Company as a product design engineer responsible for developing innovative throttle bodies for several different engines. He received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Cornell University’s Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
John Koszewnik
Chief Technical Officer
Achates Power, Inc.
John Koszewnik joined Achates Power in June 2011 as chief technical officer. In this role, Koszewnik will leverage his nearly 40 years of experience in the powertrain industry to further the development of Achates Power’s clean, efficient internal combustion engine design. Koszewnik was previously director of production development for FEV, Inc., an engineering services and consulting company, where he was responsible for ensuring that all functional requirements, quality, cost and timing of production programs were met. He also supported product development and strategic study projects for the automotive, heavy truck, locomotive and powertrain component supply industries. Prior to FEV, Koszewnik was a senior vice president at Case New Holland, an agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer, where he managed 10 engineering centers worldwide. Prior to Case New Holland, Koszewnik was at Ford Motor Company for 30 years, most recently as director of North American Diesel. In this role, he improved quality and customer satisfaction with the power stroke diesel engine and implemented design and manufacturing strategies that resulted in significant cost savings. While at Ford, Koszewnik also was responsible for the engine engineering of all Ford’s gasoline V6, V8 and V10 engines. Koszewnik earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in general management from Harvard University.
Patrick Lee, P.E.
Senior Development Engineer
Achates Power, Inc.
As a senior development engineer at Achates Power, Patrick Lee is responsible for structural and thermal finite element (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses that are used in the design of pistons, cylinders, crankshafts, connecting rods, cylinder and piston cooling, and engine mechanisms. Before joining the company in 2004, Lee was a senior mechanical design engineer at KLA-Tencor, Diamond Division (formerly Phase Metrics). While there, he did mechanical engineering, design and development of test equipment products for the data storage industry. Prior to that, Lee was a mechanical design engineer for SAIC, focusing on power transmission, support structure and driveshaft design. He also worked as a teaching assistant for the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), an associate engineer for Sachse Engineering Associates, a senior designer at Sharp/DeFever Group and PRC/Guralnick, and a designer at Designers and Planners and M. Rosenblatt and Son. In addition to being a California-licensed professional engineer, Lee has co-invented several patented technologies for Achates Power and other companies. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from UCSD.
Dr. James Lemke
Founder and Chief Scientist
Achates Power, Inc.
Dr. James Lemke is a serial entrepreneur with a history of founding and leading companies to successful exits, and a personal passion for science, engineering and education. He founded Achates Power, Inc. in 2004 with an idea that would revolutionize the automotive industry by revitalizing the opposed-piston, two-stroke engine. As an influential physicist holding almost 100 patents, Lemke understood the rapidly increasing shortage of fuel and greater need for emissions reduction meant the world needed a solution. That solution came in a 1930s-era engine architecture that demonstrated great potential but momentum had dissipated when the tools of the time could not produce an efficient version. Lemke knew the tools and the talent were now available to answer the transportation crisis. He started Achates Power with a collection of the brightest engineers and scientists with the condition that ideas and discourse flow unabated and the expectation that each fulfill their utmost potential. Prior to Achates Power, Lemke was the CEO and founder of Spin Physics, Inc., which developed and patented magnetic recording transducers that employ unique magnetic materials instrumental to broadcast TV recording. At one time, 50 percent of the broadcast hours on television worldwide were recorded on Spin Physics’ magnetic heads. Lemke sold the company to Eastman Kodak and became a fellow of the Kodak Research Labs. Earlier in his career, Lemke was the research director of Bell and Howell Research as well as an adjunct professor at the University of California, San Diego. He holds nearly 100 patents with the U.S. patent office. Lemke is a member of the National Academy of Engineering as well as a fellow of both the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Lemke earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the Illinois Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in physics from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
David Merrion
Retired Executive Vice President, Engineering
Detroit Diesel Corporation
David Merrion is the retired executive vice president of engineering for Detroit Diesel Corporation. He spent more than 40 years at the company, first working as a project engineer in combustion and emissions before being promoted to director of diesel engineering, general director of engineering and, finally, executive vice president of engineering. Under his leadership, Detroit Diesel introduced many successful engines, including the Series 60. He also oversaw development of several alternative fuel engines for methanol, ethanol and natural gas. Merrion, who is currently serving as a consultant to Detroit Diesel, General Motors and other organizations, is an expert in the field of diesel engines, diesel combustion, alternative fuel engines, alternate fuels, hybrid powertrains, engine emissions and government engine regulation. He is a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) fellow, member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), past president of the Engine Manufacturers Association, and a past member of the U.S. Federal Fleet Conversion Task Force, the U.S. Alternative-Fuels Council and the U.S. EPA Mobile Source Technical Advisory Council. In addition, Merrion holds a patent for a diesel electric hybrid engine and has authored 13 technical papers. In 2008, he was appointed to the National Academy of Science (NAS) committee that produced the report: Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles. In 2009, Merrion was awarded the ASME Soichiro Honda Medal and the following year was appointed to the NAS committee for phase two review of the Department of Energy’s 21st Century Truck Partnership program. He received a bachelor’s degree from Kettering University and a master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in mechanical engineering.
Wallace Wade
Retired Ford Technical Fellow
Ford Motor Company
Wallace Wade was chief engineer and technical fellow, Powertrain Systems Technology and Processes, at Ford Motor Company, where he served for over 32 years. He was responsible for the development, application and certification of powertrain and emission control system technologies for all of Ford Motor Company’s North American vehicles. Wade has been involved in every phase of powertrain engineering, including research, advanced engineering and forward model engineering. His career accomplishments include the development of fuel-efficient and low-emission technologies for gasoline and diesel engines and aftertreatment systems, analytical- and laboratory-based powertrain calibration with objective measures of driveability, the first domestic production SULEV (Super Low Emission Vehicle), the first domestic production OBD II (On-Board Diagnostic) system, technology for diesel particulate filters (DPF) with active regeneration and an ultra-low emission, gas turbine combustion system. Today, he is a consultant to industry and government. Wade is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He has received the ASME Soichiro Honda Medal, the Henry Ford Technology Award and has been recognized as a Distinguished Corporate Inventor by the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He has received the SAE Edward N. Cole Award for Automotive Engineering Innovation, five SAE Arch T. Colwell Awards and the SAE Vincent Bendix Automotive Electronics Engineering Award. Wade holds 26 patents related to improvements in powertains and has written 25 published technical papers on powertrain research and development. He has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Michael Wahl
Independent Consultant
Dr. Michael Wahl was the Achates Power VP, Core and Advanced Technology until leaving to form a consulting firm. His responsibilities included evaluating future technologies, assessing new features, furthering intellectual property, creating the analytical capability of the business and co-developing many patents. Before joining the company, he was the senior staff scientist and project manager for a new biotechnology product line at Veeco Instruments, which manufactures precision equipment for the data storage and semiconductor industries. Prior to Veeco, Wahl was a senior staff scientist and project manager at Optimag Inc., a supplier of automated optical defect inspection and process control equipment that was acquired by Veeco. At Optimag, he developed a unique autofocus system and co-invented many of the company’s patented technologies. Wahl has a Diplom Ingenieur from the University of Stuttgart, and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, San Diego.