Erich E. Kunhardt, Poly Alumnus and Former Faculty Member, Appointed as Provost

Dr. Erich E. Kunhardt, a Polytechnic University alumnus and former faculty member, has joined the University as provost. Most recently, Kunhardt served as the dean of the Arthur E. Imperatore School of Sciences and Arts and the George Meade Bond Professor of Physics at Stevens Institute of Technology. He joined the faculty at Stevens in 1992 and pioneered the establishment of its Plasma Physics Laboratory.

Throughout his career Kunhardt has served on numerous research and development projects relating to particle and plasma physics. While at Stevens, he introduced the original concept and term Technogenesis, whereby students, faculty and industry jointly nurture new technologies from concept to marketplace realization.

In 1999, Kunhardt helped create the PlasmaSol Corporation, based upon the Atmospheric Pressure Capillary Discharge Plasma technology he developed while at Stevens with Dr. Kurt Becker. He was named a finalist by Discover Magazine’s Innovation Awards (2001) committee in the Environmental Category for the development of the technology used by PlasmaSol Corporation for environmental remediation.

In 1984, Kunhardt joined the faculty of Polytechnic University as a professor of electrophysics and physics and director of the Weber Research Institute. Previously, he was a professor of electrical engineering and physics at Texas Tech University.