MIT graduate,
NASA-JPL engineer,
Inventor of CHARM (the coral farming robot),
President of Beyond Coral Foundation 501(c)(3),
internationally recognized Burning Man artist,
JCU Master of Engineering and PE candidate
Personal Statement
Stephen Rodan is an emerging leader in science, technology, and engineering. Rodan is a NASA JPL engineer, MIT graduate in mechanical engineering and nuclear physics, Master of Engineering candidate at James Cook University, internationally recognized Burning Man sculpture artist, president of an international non-profit called Beyond Coral Foundation, and inventor of an acclaimed coral farming robot called CHARM (Coral Husbandry Automated Raceway Machine). Rodan is multidisciplinary in his problem-solving approaches, draws on his artistic side for inspiration and his technical side for execution, and Rodan shows mastery in both hard-skills and soft-skills which make him ideal in construction, laboratory, legal, board-room, ballroom, and field environments.
Rodan's mission objective is to work along the cutting edge of technology, to enterprise business opportunities that advance the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to fundamentally alter the way the world works in terms of transportation, communication, and energy, and to bring the latest advances in science, technology, engineering, and storytelling to sustainable development, anthropological exploration, and environmental restoration. Rodan's skillset is characterized by a fusion of technologies that blur the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. His professional experience and networks span the realms of robotics, aerospace, energy, manufacturing, R&D, art, agriculture, finance, marketing, IoT, urban development, indigenous engagement, and environmental stewardship.
As a dual citizen of the United States and Australia, and a bilingual speaker in English and Spanish, Rodan is able to connect government agencies, research institutions, for-profit corporations, and stakeholders across the globe to create projects with impact in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Caribbean realms. His experiences working alongside scientists, engineers, developers, artists, managers, explorers, educators, spiritual leaders, and indigenous populations make Rodan very effective in his communication across wide audiences and efficacy in project completion.
Rodan's definition of success is working alongside a multitalented and intercultural team to create tangible achievements that focus on legacy and impact. Rodan seeks to enable those around him with the tools, technologies, networks and know-how to get any complex task done with efficiency and ease. His ideal motivation is to create a new, global corporate culture that values environmental sustainability and social stewardship as equally important as profitability. Ultimately and in the face of the 6th Mass Extinction, Rodan sees an urgent opportunity to restore Life on Earth by rapidly inventing and integrating new and existing technologies for All.