A leadership team where quantum science becomes real-world capability.
NIKET has assembled a world-class team and advisors with 250 years of combined expertise in quantum and advanced-materials physics, engineering, and commercialization.
The minds shaping NIKET.
Our staff carries deep knowledge of mission-critical (un)classified use cases across all DHS-designated Critical Infrastructure Sectors, aligned with leading government and academic research institutes and private-sector Fortune 500 supply chains. Located in Tucson, Arizona, we are embedded in the world-class Arizona national-security, microelectronics / semiconductor, advanced integrated photonics, mining, and energy ecosystems.
Alex Dely
Co-Founder · CTO · Principal Investigator
A physicist and engineer holding foundational intellectual property in quantum anisotropic materials, with a career leading advanced directed-energy and advanced-materials programs in the missile-and-defense sector.
Advanced Quantum Materials, University of Arizona · DoD, DoE, DHS, NASA programs
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A physicist and engineer whose career sits where quantum science becomes real-world capability. Trained in Advanced Quantum Materials at the University of Arizona's doctoral physics program, he holds foundational intellectual property in quantum anisotropic materials, the bedrock science behind a new generation of sensors set to redefine navigation, defense, energy, and autonomous systems. In the missile-and-defense sector, Alex led advanced contracts in directed energy, advanced materials, and integrated kill-chain programs, shaping more than $30 billion in proposals for the DoD, DoE National Laboratories, DHS, NASA, and the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. He hasn't built sensors in theory; he's built them for the most demanding customers on the planet.
Janet Roveda
Scientific Advisor · Sensor Systems & Integration
A UC Berkeley EECS PhD and director of the NSF Center to Stream Healthcare In Place (C2SHIP), bringing VLSI architecture, low-power design, and quantum-level sensor integration.
PECASE · NSF CAREER Award · 2024 AIMBE Fellow
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A PhD from UC Berkeley's Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences program, Roveda brings VLSI circuit architecture, biomedical instrumentation, low-power system design, and quantum-level sensor integration, all proven in environments where failure is not an option. As director of the NSF Center to Stream Healthcare In Place (C2SHIP), she runs a nationally funded research engine building the next generation of wearable and remote sensors that read the human body in real time, from anywhere on earth. Recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and the NSF CAREER Award, and elected to the 2024 AIMBE College of Fellows: the top 2% of health-related engineers in the nation.
Bill Hayes
Chief Operating Officer
An engineer and technologist across cybersecurity, healthcare informatics, and electronic warfare, and former Manager of Engineering at Sysmex America.
U.S. Navy EW & ELINT · University of Arizona faculty
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An engineer, manager, and technologist across cybersecurity, enterprise software, healthcare informatics, and electronic warfare. As Manager of Engineering at Sysmex America, he led teams designing and deploying clinical laboratory automation and diagnostic systems worldwide, with deep, hands-on work in middleware and systems integration: HL7, ASTM, and proprietary interfaces across analyzers, dispensing systems, and LIS/HIS environments. His defense background runs deep: an Electronic Warfare Instructor and Technician with the U.S. Navy and a technical advisor for EW systems contracted to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, specializing in electronic warfare and Electronic Intelligence (ELINT). Today he also teaches Cybersecurity Engineering and Management Information Systems at the University of Arizona, where he was named Eller College Associate of the Year for 2024–2025.
Sal Dely
Co-Founder · Operations and Systems Lead
A retired senior U.S. Marine Corps non-commissioned officer with more than seventeen years of military leadership, now running NIKET's internal operations and systems.
U.S. Marine Corps, retired 2025 · DoD logistics & program operations
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A senior U.S. Marine Corps non-commissioned officer who retired in 2025, Sal brings more than seventeen years of military leadership to NIKET. Across his career he managed logistics, procurement, and program operations for large-scale Department of Defense supply chains, leading and mentoring teams of 140-plus Marines through more than 320 operations across a dozen countries. As Co-Founder of NIKET, Sal runs the company's internal operations and systems: the infrastructure, program data, and document workflows that keep the team's research and delivery moving. He pairs a program manager's discipline with a Marine's standard for execution, turning hard-won operational rigor into the day-to-day machinery that lets everyone else focus on the mission.