Kurt is an accomplished physicist and scientific leader with over 30 years of experience at large and complex R&D organizations, facilities, and projects. At the Los Alamos National Laboratory, he developed and led major research initiatives in neutron-based science, high energy density physics, inertial confinement science, magnetic fusion energy, plasma-based manufacturing, plasma-based space propulsion, and more. Most recently, Kurt was a member of the senior management team at Los Alamos, where he was Director of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) and Deputy Associate Laboratory Director for Experimental Physical Sciences. As LANSCE Director, he led the Laboratory’s premier accelerator-based facility for national security, energy security, isotope production, and fundamental science research. He also directed experimental physical science research in material science, nuclear physics, and plasma physics within the Physical Sciences Directorate at Los Alamos.
Today, Kurt is managing partner of Applied Science Enterprises LLC, a scientific consulting company providing science-based counsel to government and industry. He also serves as the Spokesperson for the High Energy Density Physics Collaboration (HED@FAIR) at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR).
Kurt received his B.S. in Engineering Physics with high honours from the University of Illinois in 1972 and earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1979.