With investment from clean technology visionary, the late John Walton, heir of the founder of Walmart, and significant design optimization by National Academy of Engineering Member, Dr. James U. Lemke, Achates PowerTM was founded in 2004 to build the world's next generation engine architecture. Taking its name from the Greek mythological "faithful friend" Achates, the company's focus has been clear from the start: to build an engine that is light-weight, more fuel efficient, and lower cost. Inspired by Hugo Junkers' Jumo, the most famous engine in diesel aviation history, Achates Power has been developing and testing its unique architecture ever since. With a focus on first principles, the Achates Power team, consisting of carefully selected Engineers and Scientists from the world's leading companies, places great emphasis on analytical modeling calibrated with empirical test results. In addition to mainstream development software such as Pro/E, WAVE, ANSYS, and AMESim, the team uses state-of-the-art tools such as KIVA-3V for combustion development, laser doppler anemometry for fuel particle measurement, Altair Optistruct finite element based method for design optimization, sulfur-trace oil measurement, CAI chemoilluminescense NOX analyzer, and Dekati's real-time PM mass monitor.