J Christopher Krok, Ph.D.

Dr. Krok has a background in aerospace engineering, with research in combustion systems and combustion phenomena related to industrial processes. These include flammability limits, ignition energy, flame propagation, and deflagration to detonation transition. Dr. Krok also has experience in the design and construction of medium-scale experimental facilities, including instrumentation and a variety of trade skills.

Dr. Krok directs his skills in practical problem solving towards capability gaps identified in the combat theater, rapidly developing prototype hardware to fill these gaps. Dr. Krok spent seven months in Iraq as a consultant to the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force (REF), providing technical guidance and identifying and implementing solutions to mission critical problems. He has also observed missions and visited various combat outposts to gain firsthand knowledge of the practical requirements for successful hardware implementation.

When not in the field, Dr. Krok manages support for Exponent engineers in Iraq and Afghanistan, directing rapid-response technical assistance and hardware procurement. Key projects that Dr. Krok has directed include the Escalation of Force kit, which provides a safe and effective way for soldiers to warn off oncoming vehicles without risking civilian casualties, and the RDISS perimeter surveillance system, which provides video coverage around small outposts, providing force multiplication and removing soldiers from hazardous sentry duty. After driving the delivery of two RDISS prototype systems within three weeks of request, Dr. Krok managed the improvement and production of more than 300 systems across two generations.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Krok was a research engineer and instructor at the Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories, California Institute of Technology. While at Caltech, he was responsible for the design and construction of the John Lucas Adaptive Wall Wind Tunnel, a 5x6’ subsonic tunnel used for both academic and commercial research. He also developed and acted as field manager for a series of tests conducted as part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation of the TWA flight 800 crash. Dr. Krok has also been the sole proprietor of a small, internet-based manufacturing and sales business.

Technical Reports

Ogg G, Hardesty S, White S, M Reisner M, Broad B, Krok JC, Pintgen F, Shepherd JE. Deflagration-to-detonation tests in methane-oxygen at 15 atm and 300C. Technical Report FM2005-007, Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories California Institute of Technology, 2006.

Shepherd JE, Krok JC, Lee JJ, Brown LL, Lynch RT, Samara TM, Birky MM. Results of 1/4 scale experiments—vapor simulant and Liquid Jet A tests. NTSB investigation DCA96MA070, public docket SA-516, exhibit 20O, 1998 (also cited as California Institute of Technology, GALCIT Report FM98-6).

Shepherd JE, Krok JC, Lee JJ. Jet A explosions—field test plan, l/4 scale experiments. NTSB investigation DCA96MA070, public docket SA-516, exhibit 20E, 1997 (also cited as California Institute of Technology, GALCIT Report FM97-17).

Shepherd JE, Krok JC, and Lee JJ. Jet A Explosion Experiments: Laboratory Testing. NTSB investigation DCA96MA070, public docket SA-516, exhibit 20D, 1997 (Also cited as California Institute of Technology, GALCIT Report FM97-5).

Shepherd JE, Krok JC, Lee JJ. Spark ignition energy measurements in Jet A. California Institute of Technology, GALCIT Report FM97-9, 1997.

Krok JC. Hydrogen combustion facility and experiments. Prepared for the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 1993.

Krok JC, Shepherd JE. Electrical and frictional spark ignition of H-NO-N-O mixtures. Explosion Dynamics Report to Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1993.

Rupert Klein, Krok JC, Shepherd JE. Curved quasi-steady detonations. Asymptotic analysis and detailed chemical kinetics. Explosion Dynamics Laboratory Report FM95-04, California Institute of Technology, 1995.

Presentations and Published Abstracts

Shepherd JE, Krok JC. Hydrogen combustion research at RPI. Proceedings, 20th Water Reactor Safety Meeting, Bethesda, MD, October 21–23, 1992.

Krok JC, Shepherd JE. Hydrogen combustion experiments at Caltech. Western States Section / The Combustion Institute Fall Meeting, The University of Southern California, CA, 1996.

• Research Engineer, California Institute of Technology (1998–2006)
• Instructor, Flight Dynamics, Propulsion and Aircraft Stability, California Institute of Technology (2004)
• Postdoctoral Scholar, California Institute of Technology (1997–1998)
  

Managed forward lab for U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force, Iraq, during summer of 2006. Directly observed military operations and worked with various units to understand hardware requirements from both environmental and human factors perspectives. Studied capability gaps, recommended and implemented solutions. In-theater projects included range enhancement testing for EOD robots, technology assessment and installation oversight for perimeter security at a high-value site, and other surveillance and communication projects.

Developed prototype Rapid Deployment Integrated Surveillance System (RDISS). Built and delivered two systems within three weeks of project approval. Worked with field team to improve system flexibility and ease of installation. Oversaw design spirals and managed production of follow-on orders totaling 330 systems, plus spare hardware and accessories.

Developed prototype “escalation of force” system for remotely-operated weapons turrets used on military vehicles in convoys and patrols. The EOF system provides the soldier with a safe and highly effective method of warning off approaching vehicles without resorting to “warning shots,” greatly reducing the possibility of civilian casualties. Construction of four prototypes resulted in contracts for design refinement and further production.

Developed and tested a concept for a continuous emergency air supply for HMMWVs, providing time to rescue soldiers trapped by rollover accidents into canals.

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics—AIAA