Be very deliberate about the impact you want to have on the world. Your career will be filled with opportunities to follow the status quo or challenge it. Choose to challenge.
As CEO of ThermoLift, CEEE alumnus John Judge (Ph.D. ’96), leads a company devoted to eco-friendly and economical HVAC&R heat pumping solutions. Judge joined the Novi, Michigan-based company in 2022, after serving in leadership roles at Johnson Controls, Emerson Network Power, Vertiv, and Nortek.
We caught up with Judge to find out about his career and his memories of his time at CEEE.
How did your time at CEEE help prepare you for your career?
It prepared me in three overarching areas:
- Technical Rigor: My training at UMD made me technically formidable. Even today, I still apply lessons I learned from my professors.
- Problem Solving: I learned to break down and solve complex problems quickly — skills that later helped me foster an environment where entire organizations contribute to solving challenges across a wide range of domains.
- Cultural Appreciation: The diversity of students at UMD was an education in itself. I gained a deep appreciation for global perspectives, learned respect for different cultures and religions, and saw firsthand how fortunate the U.S. is to attract such talent. My time at CEEE taught me not just the power of engineering, but the beauty of humanity.
What’s the focus of your current work as ThermoLift CEO?
Developing game-changing technology, securing funding, and building a business that can transform how we heat and cool our homes.
Tell us more about ThermoLift’s mission.
ThermoLift is a company based on an innovative supercritical, high-lift heat pump technology utilizing a natural refrigerant, helium. We are in the process of developing and commercializing the most efficient system in the world for heating, cooling and generating hot water for cold climate residences.
Our mission is to build a leading enterprise and desired workplace that provides eco-friendly and economical HVAC&R heat pumping solutions.
Why has ThermoLift chosen to use helium as a refrigerant? What are the advantages and challenges?
A better question is: Why are other companies using human-made compounds that often have both GWPs that are hundreds of times higher than CO₂ — the very gas we’re trying to mitigate and that are flammable? This is a thermodynamic atrocity where evolutionary thinking and compromise has led to a far from optimal solution.
Helium, on the other hand, is a natural element with fantastic thermophysical properties and exactly zero global warming potential. It’s also fun — just ask any kid at a birthday party. Of course, it’s a small molecule, so keeping it contained can be tricky, but that’s an easily solved engineering challenge. No new science is required, just good design.
What are your proudest professional accomplishments?
My proudest moments revolve around helping individuals and teams aspire to and achieve excellence. Some highlights:
- Revolutionized heat exchanger design — we achieved refrigerant outlet temperatures higher than the water outlet temps, which is practically wizardry in HVAC
- Built the world’s most efficient commercial HVAC compressor — married compressor, heat exchanger, and power electronics design and manufacturing to achieve industry leading real-world efficiency
- Developed a next-gen floor-mount cooling system for data centers that’s 50% more energy efficient than anything before it
- Led the commercialization of a revolutionary data center cooling technology, replacing energy-hungry, chemical-laden vapor-compression systems with a simple, natural and vastly more efficient adiabatic cooling approach
- Guided a company-wide COVID-19 response, prioritizing associate well-being while ensuring our customers never missed a beat
- Refined a new thermodynamic cycle that could become the most efficient HVAC solution for cold climates.
How do you spend your time when you’re not working?
I exercise six days a week, mixing weight lifting, cardio and yoga. I enjoy playing golf and tennis. I read about 24 nonfiction books a year, typically covering philosophy, psychology, history and science.
What is your favorite memory from your time at CEEE?
My officemates, two wonderful colleagues from Korea, repeatedly invited me to take a break and share a meal with them. Being a stereotypical "just power through it" American, I viewed this as an unnecessary distraction, and typically worked during my meals. But my colleagues were persistent. They found out what kind of food I liked, and had their wives prepare it. Even I couldn’t say no to this generous gesture.
That simple act led to a tradition of shared meals and some of my most cherished memories. More importantly, it taught me a lesson that no textbook could: There is a lot to be learned from each other’s cultures.
What is your advice for current CEEE students?
Be very deliberate about the impact you want to have on the world. Your career will be filled with opportunities to follow the status quo or challenge it. Choose to challenge.
And, take a break now and then to have lunch with colleagues and friends.
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