Robert A. Altenkirch, Ph.D., joined New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) as the university's seventh president in July 2002. The former vice president for research at Mississippi State University (MSU) succeeded Saul K. Fenster.

A strategic academic and research leader, Altenkirch brings to NJIT a wide background in university research, teaching and administration with extensive experience in program development, fundraising, and federal relations. During his tenure as MSU vice president for research, science and engineering, expenditures as reported to National Science Foundation (NSF) increased dramatically--75 percent from 1997 to 2001.

Prior to his appointment as vice president at MSU, Altenkirch served as professor of mechanical and materials engineering and dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture at Washington State University. From 1988 to 1995, he was professor of mechanical engineering and dean of the College of Engineering at MSU. He also served as professor and chair of mechanical engineering at the University of Kentucky.

In addition to the research program, his responsibilities encompassed congressional relations, intellectual property management and economic development. While dean of engineering at MSU, he led the effort to secure National Science Foundation funding for the establishment of the MSU NSF Engineering Research Center for Computational Field Simulation in 1990. Additionally, the Center was instrumental in helping the State of Mississippi attract a $1 billion Nissan manufacturing plant now under construction.

A mechanical engineer, Altenkirch holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University, a M.S. from University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S.M.E. from Purdue. In addition to his hundreds of publications and presentations, he is a reviewer for numerous professional journals. He is a member of several professional societies including Phi Eta Sigma, Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi, American Society for Engineering Education and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is a Fellow of ASME.