Dr. John C. Wall
Chair of the Board of Directors, Achates Power
Dr. John C. Wall has more than 40 years of industry experience in internal combustion engine technology, fuels and emissions, and in global engineering organization development. From 2000-2015, John served as Chief Technical Officer of Cummins Inc., the world's largest independent manufacturer of diesel engines and related technologies, retiring in 2015. As he progressed from research and product engineering into engineering leadership, John remained directly involved in the most critical technology programs for low emissions, powertrain efficiency and alternative fuels. He also led the growth of Cummins technical organization from 1000 engineers, mostly centered in the U.S., to more than 6000 engineers globally, establishing new technical centers in India and China.
Prior to joining Cummins in 1986, John led Diesel and Aviation Fuels Research for Chevron, where his team was first to discover the important contribution of fuel sulfur to diesel particulate emissions.
He is currently an advisor to the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute and Co-Optima Program, the Cyclotron Road/Activate clean energy technology incubators in Berkeley and Boston, the International Council of Clean Transportation and the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California – Davis, and a member of the California South Coast Air Quality Management District Clean Fuels Advisory Group. He is active in a number of roles with the National Academies, including the Boards on Energy and Environmental Systems and on Science, Technology and Economic Policy, is chair of the Board of Directors of Achates Power and is a director of ClearFlame Engine Technologies.
He has been recognized for his technical contributions by election to the National Academy of Engineering and as a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers. He has received the SAE Horning Memorial Award and Arch T. Colwell Merit Award for research in the area of diesel fuel effects on emissions, the SAE Franz F. Pischinger Powertrain Innovation Award, the ASME Soichiro Honda Medal for significant engineering contributions in the field of personal transportation, and the California Air Resources Board Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award and US EPA Thomas W. Zosel Individual Achievement Award for career accomplishments in diesel emission control.
John studied mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his SB and SM degrees from the Mechanical Engineering Honors Program in 1975 and ScD in 1978. And he was scrum half for MIT’s 1974 New England Champion rugby team.
