We recognize that each project we touch reflects a commitment to advance patient care and safety.
Alan R. Pelton, Chief Technical Officer
With BS and MS degrees from the South Dakota School of Mines, a PhD from UC Berkeley, and held a postdoctoral research position at Stanford, Alan has continued his passion for metallurgy through academia into industry. Alan has been a professor throughout his career and has been influential in the development—and worldwide acceptance—of Nitinol as a biomedical alloy since his days at Raychem Corporation in the 1980s. For over 20 years, Alan was a key contributor to Nitinol Devices and Components as the research manager and CTO. Alan provides technical leadership to the team to ensure we provide exceptional and innovative results for each program that we touch.
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Jochen Ulmer, Chief Executive Officer
Jochen has been a vital part of the G.RAU Group since 2001. With a PhD in Physics from the University of Stuttgart, his career spans research and development through production, with a focus on the medical device industry. Jochen also serves as the VP of Semi-Finished Product for Euroflex, where he plays a key role in the introduction of high-purity biomedical materials to the market. His leadership and expertise position our company as a trusted partner in the advancement of innovative solutions for medical and industrial applications.
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Maximilien Launey, Senior Technical Fellow
Max is a distinguished materials scientist with extensive expertise in processing and mechanical properties of materials. Throughout his career, Max has led multidisciplinary engineering and scientific teams across diverse organizational settings, including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Cordis Corporation, Nitinol Devices and Components, Glassimetal Technology, and Edwards Lifesciences. With over 40 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and patents, Max holds a PhD in Materials Science from Oregon State University and completed postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley. He currently chairs the ASTM Nitinol Test Method subcommittee and serves on the SMST board.
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Srinidhi Nagaraja, Senior Technical Fellow
Srin assists medical device companies with mechanical and corrosion assessments of implants for regulatory approval. He spent a decade at the U.S. FDA as a researcher and regulatory scientist, contributing to numerous guidance documents and publishing approximately 50 scientific articles and 60 conference presentations on medical device performance. Srin holds a BS from the University of Michigan, as well as an MS and PhD from Georgia Tech, all in mechanical engineering. He serves as vice president of the SMST board and is an adjunct professor at Catholic University of America.
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Philipp Hempel, Director of Development Engineering
Philipp holds BS and MS degrees in computational mechanics from Leibniz University Hannover and a PhD in mechanical engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. With deep expertise in Nitinol and finite element analysis (FEA), he has over a decade of experience in benchtop testing, simulation, manufacturing, and design optimization. At Admedes, Philipp consulted with clients to successfully bring innovative devices to the market. Philipp publishes and presents research on Nitinol, as well as collaborates with FDA consortium teams to establish medical device best practices - all to help advance the medical device industry.
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Sean M. Pelton, Chief Operating Officer
With over a decade of experience, Sean has advanced the core capabilities of G.RAU Inc., where he joined as a lab engineer, was promoted to lab manager, and is currently the Chief Operating Officer. Sean has successfully designed and implemented complex fatigue programs that have resulted in numerous successful client submissions and helped resolve complex root cause analyses for clients. Sean's dedication reflects a commitment to preserving our reputation by charting new paths to bring innovative medical devices to market.
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