Strategic Advisor
Teng (Sam) Shuai
Strategic advisor
China investment & partnerships
Teng (Sam) Shuai is a business executive with experience in consulting, capital raising, strategic development, and enterprise management. He has advised companies across growth stages on fundraising strategy, operational optimization, and long-term expansion planning.
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Known for combining strategic insight with disciplined execution, he helps organizations scale effectively and build sustainable, growth-driven businesses.
Dr. Ivan Vlassiouk, Ph.D
Strategic advisor
Dr. Vlassiouk is a critical asset due to his unparalleled scientific and industrial expertise in graphene and 2D materials synthesis and scalability.
As a Senior Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), he currently leads advanced R&D programs focused on the design, fabrication, and integration of atomically thin materials into functional systems, providing deep technical insight into the core materials technology.
Crucially, Dr. Vlassiouk possesses proven commercialization experience, having laid the foundation for General Graphene Corporation, where he established one of the first high-volume graphene manufacturing platforms in the U.S.
This background is invaluable for guiding the company’s technical vision, optimizing the scalability and cost-effective manufacturing of graphene-based sensor chips, and bridging the gap between fundamental nanoscale science and industrial application.
His portfolio of over 100 peer-reviewed publications and numerous patents underscores his pioneering role in biosensors and nanotechnology.
J. Patrick Frantz
Strategic advisor
J. Patrick holds a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Rice University and an MBA from Temple University’s Fox School of Business (Japan Campus) with 15+ years of technology business development experience in the Asian supply chain. He is a resident of Thailand and speaks multiple Asian languages. He has a proven ability to take a concept from R&D to a finished product in the market and is experienced at establishing new business from zero. In 2014, he founded planarTECH, which exceeded $1 million in turnover by 2015, and served as Head of Haydale’s Asia Operations from 2014 to 2019, growing the team from 0 to 20 staff across 3 sites in 5 years with an annual turnover exceeding $1 million.
William (Bill) Malkes Sr.
Strategic advisor
Mr. Malkes serves as the board's expert in executive leadership, commercialization strategy, and profitable scaling.
His experience is crucial for transitioning complex technology from a successful prototype into
a high-growth business. Most importantly, as the co-founder and former leader of GRIDSMART Technologies, he took a complex technology company from concept to the largest and most profitable in its niche, culminating in
a successful acquisition. This demonstrates his ability to turn deep technology into scalable, enterprise-level value and generate significant investor returns.
His current advisory roles, including Board Chair of a regenerative medicine company and Director
at a Research Park incubator, reinforce his expertise in corporate strategy, capital fundraising,
and navigating the high-growth inflection points common to deep-tech and hard-tech startups.
