Bob D. Guenther

Dr. Guenther received his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and his

graduate degrees in Physics from University of Missouri. He has had research experience

in Condensed Matter and Optical Physics. For nine years he was active in Research

Management as a Senior Executive in the Army, responsible for the Physics Research

sponsored by the Army.

From June 1997 through May 1999, he held the position of Interim Director of the

Duke Free Electron Laser Laboratory. He developed a new undergraduate education

program at Duke in cooperation with Industry entitled Applied Science which began in the

Fall of 2000. It did not meet the planned objectives so Guenther assumed the position of

Executive Director at the newly created Fitzpatrick Center for Photonics and

Communication Systems at Duke University from 2001-2010.

In 2010 he retired from Duke and joined several startup companies. One was even successful leading to its

purchase by GE MRI Imaging to use polarized helium as a contrasting agent. The other

companies are still trying to develop markets in chemical identification of drugs and x-ray scanning of luggage in airports. He has left those activities to work at a reduced pace in furniture design and bird carving.