Patrick Hopkins

June 17, 2026 Francois Martin

Patrick Hopkins is a leading researcher in nanoscale heat transfer, thermophysics, and laser interactions with materials, and the scientific foundation on which Laser Thermal’s measurement methods are built. As Whitney Stone Professor of Engineering at the University of Virginia, he continues to lead fundamental research in thermal sciences while shaping Laser Thermal’s scientific direction as Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer.
He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia, and following a Harry S. Truman Fellowship at Sandia National Labs, he returned to UVA where he went on to build one of the field’s most productive research programs. He is director of the ExSiTE Lab at UVA, with courtesy appointments in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Physics. His current research spans energy transport laser-based interactions with materials, from nano-to-macroscales at extreme temperatures.
In the general fields of nanoscale heat transfer, laser interactions with matter, and energy transport, storage and capture, Patrick has authored or co-authored over 350 technical papers (peer reviewed), been awarded 6 patents focused on materials, energy and laser metrology for measuring thermal properties, and has given over 200 invited talks and been his work has been presented at over 500 contributed talks at domestic and international conferences, meetings and workshops. Patrick has been recognized for his accomplishments in these fields via an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, the ASME Bergles-Rohsenhow Young Investigator Award in Heat Transfer, the ASME Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award, and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineering, for which Patrick met President Barack Obama in 2016. Patrick is a fellow of ASME and AAAS, a recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers, a three-time National Finalist of the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists, and an alumnus of the Defense Science Study Group (DSSG, 2022 – 2024).
Patrick lives in Charlottesville with his wife and three children.

Francois Martin

Francois Martin

Francois Martin is Marketing Manager at Laser Thermal. The company makes precision instruments for non-contact, non-destructive thermal conductivity measurement, serving the semiconductor, power electronics and thermal management industries. He oversees how Laser Thermal tells its story, from technical content and sales collateral to video production, webinars and trade show presence. The goal is to make the company's science clear and useful to the engineers and researchers who rely on accurate thermal data. Francois brings more than 25 years of marketing and executive leadership experience. He was VP of Marketing at Nelson Miller Group, an outsourced manufacturing provider for OEMs. Before that, he spent more than two decades at WorldStrides, rising from Marketing Director to Senior Vice President in the Office of the CEO. He is adjunct faculty in the MBA program at James Madison University's College of Business, where he teaches Project Management. Francois holds an MBA in Marketing from George Washington University and a Graduate Certificate in Project Management from the University of Virginia.