Robert A. Altenkirch was the President of

University of Alabama in Huntsville The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises nine colleges: arts, humanities & social scienc ...

and the

New Jersey Institute of Technology {{Infobox university , name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology , image = New Jersey IT seal.svg , image_upright = 0.9 , former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...

Life

Altenkirch holds a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

, a

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

. from Purdue University, all in

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

. He is the author of over 50 publications and nearly 100 presentations in combustion and heat transfer and served as principal investigator for ten Space Shuttle experiments investigating the spread of fire in reduced gravity. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. While an undergraduate at Purdue, Altenkirch became a member of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

fraternity. From 1988 to 1995, Altenkirch was professor of mechanical engineering and dean of the College of Engineering at Mississippi State University (MSU). While dean of engineering at MSU, he led the effort to secure

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

(NSF) funding for the establishment of the MSU Engineering Research Center for Computational Field Simulation in 1990. He also served as professor and chair of mechanical engineering at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

. He served as professor of mechanical and materials engineering and dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

. He was vice president for research at Mississippi State University. During his tenure as vice president, science and engineering expenditures, as reported to NSF, increased by 75 percent from 1997 to 2001. In addition to the research program, his responsibilities encompassed congressional relations, intellectual property management and economic development. From 2003 until 2011, Altenkirch was the seventh president of the

(NJIT). On September 21, 2011, Dr. Altenkirch was named the new president of the

. He retired from the position in June 2019.

References

External links

"Steve Adubato Talks With Dr. Jack Noonan and Dr. Robert Altenkirch"
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Purdue University College of Engineering alumni UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni Washington State University faculty University of Kentucky faculty Mississippi State University faculty New Jersey Institute of Technology people Presidents of the University of Alabama in Huntsville {{US-academic-administrator-stub