Research & Development Team

Chien-Hua is the Director of Research & Development at ACT, where he has worked since 2011. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California. Over his tenure at ACT, Chien-Hua has contributed to a wide range of projects and brings deep expertise in advanced combustion, plasma technologies, and high-temperature heat exchangers. In his current role, he leads the R&D team and sets the technical direction of the group, guiding research priorities and advancing innovative solutions aligned with ACT’s strategic goals.

Dr. Srujan Rokkam is a technology and business development leader specializing in advancing R&D technologies for aerospace, defense, and energy markets. He has over 20 years of experience conducting research in areas of thermal sciences, two-phase systems, advanced materials, nuclear materials behavior, and multiphysics modeling. During his tenure at ACT, he supported over 30 federally funded research projects and served as PI for over 15 projects. Prior to taking on a Business Development role, he served as Engineering Manager, overseeing R&D projects in areas of spacecraft thermal management, electronics cooling, data center cooling, and high-temperature systems.  His efforts have also led to tech-to-market commercialization of multiple R&D innovations. He bridges the gap between cutting-edge R&D and technology transition by driving growth initiatives, partnerships, and commercialization.  He has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, with concentration in materials, composites, and computational modeling.

Calin has his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. Since 2006 most of Calin’s work has been dedicated to the advancement of spacecraft and planetary thermal control applications. His most notable accomplishment is his work on the NASA Europa ice melting project. He is the leading engineer on much of ACT’s work with NASA and has collaborated on 3 patents with many still pending.

Nathan recently completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University in the summer of 2021. However, he has worked as an R&D Engineer for ACT since 2013, leading a number of programs relating to thermal management, renewable energy, and materials characterization. In addition, he is heavily involved in the company’s CSR committee. Outside of work he enjoys reading, hiking, and exploring new places.

Devon has been with ACT since 2019 working on projects utilizing non-thermal plasmas. Non-thermal plasmas are highly reactive environments without large amounts of thermal energy. Due to this low-temperature characteristic, non-thermal plasmas open the way for many novel material processes in the fields of synthesis, manufacturing, and recycling. Education: Devon has an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Utah.

Jeff received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois in 2016. Since joining ACT in 2019 he has been PI on a variety of SBIR programs for NASA, the DOE, and the DOD. He specializes in passive two-phase thermal management, including heat pipes, variable conductance technology, and pulsating heat pipes. Jeff has developed two-phase thermal management solutions for a variety of applications, including nuclear electric propulsion, lunar landers/rovers, planar magnetic transformers, and electric aircraft.

Patryk graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2021 with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. Soon after, he joined ACT, where his work focused on a range of thermal design and manufacturing projects, particularly combustion and additive manufacturing. Patryk was a PI on a variety of SBIR programs, primarily from DOE and DOD, spanning unique cooling systems for research equipment to industrial fuel reformers for carbon-free gas turbines. Patryk’s work concentrates on bridging diverse scientific areas to advance relevant research fields forward and explore synergistic improvements. Additionally, he’s involved in ACT’s computing and safety committees.