{"id":165694,"date":"2026-05-11T15:31:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=165694"},"modified":"2026-05-11T15:31:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:31:16","slug":"dayton-business-journal-wright-state-names-35-year-afrl-veteran-as-interim-dean-of-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/11\/dayton-business-journal-wright-state-names-35-year-afrl-veteran-as-interim-dean-of-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Dayton Business Journal: Wright State names 35-year AFRL veteran as interim dean of college"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Timothy J. Bunning, retired chief technology officer at the Air Force Research Laboratory, was named interim dean of Wright State\u2019s College of Engineering and Computer Science.<\/p><\/div>\n

A former Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) leader has accepted a key education role at one of the region\u2019s largest universities.<\/p>\n

Wright State University has named Timothy Bunning interim dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, effective June 1.<\/p>\n

Bunning succeeds Darryl Ahner, who led the college starting in 2023. In March, Ahner accepted a new appointment as the dean of Kennesaw State University\u2019s College of Computing and Software Engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Bunning brings truly exceptional credentials to this role,\u201d Provost Jim Denniston said. \u201cEqually important, he is a people-centric leader with a deep commitment to developing the next generation of scientists and engineers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bunning retired from a 35-year tenure with the AFRL last year.<\/p>\n

In his final role as chief technology officer, he acted as the lead science and engineering consultant to the AFRL commander. He managed a yearly science and technology budget of $3.5 billion and directed a team of approximately 6,000 personnel distributed across the 711th Human Performance Wing and nine technology directorates.<\/p>\n

He also previously served as chief scientist of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.<\/p>\n

Bunning has expanded Wright State\u2019s partnership with the AFRL and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, integrating government researchers into campus life to collaborate on new technologies.<\/p>\n

More than 60 AFRL researchers work in Wright State\u2019s Vishal Soin Center for Innovation, and an expanded 2024 agreement gives Air Force personnel access to laboratories, classrooms and offices throughout the rest of campus.<\/p>\n

This alliance offers students practical experience through research and internships while building a skilled talent pipeline for the region’s technology workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs interim dean, Bunning will be positioned to further align the College of Engineering and Computer Science\u2019s research and academic programs with this strategic partnership, expanding opportunities for students and faculty to engage in critical engineering and computer science work,\u201d<\/p>\n

Bunning specializes his materials research in soft matter materials and their application in the photonic field, as well as novel optical applications of liquid crystal material systems for commercial and defense applications.<\/p>\n

Over his career, he has written more than 325 peer-reviewed publications and given hundreds of technical lectures. He currently holds 18 patents and is a fellow of seven major scientific societies.<\/p>\n

Throughout his career, he has earned numerous prestigious awards for his work. Notably, he received the Arthur S. Flemming Award, a top distinction for federal engineers and scientists, and he was recently inducted into the National Academy of Engineering \u2013 among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.<\/p>\n

He earned his doctorate, master\u2019s degree and bachelor\u2019s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Connecticut and conducted his Ph.D. research in the AFRL labs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will bring the same type of empowering, bottom-up leadership style that I have employed throughout my career to the College of Engineering and Computer Science and Wright State,\u201d Bunning said. \u201cAs an outsider looking in over the last few years, strategically, I believe the college and Wright State are on a very positive path. My goal is to continue this positive momentum by providing strategic growth recommendations, ultimately to produce graduating students who are well prepared for an ever-increasing technologically rooted world. These students are a key feeder to an incredibly diverse, local technology ecosystem that supports the Dayton area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the article at bizjournals.com\/dayton<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) leader has accepted a key education role at one of the region\u2019s largest universities. Wright State University has named Timothy Bunning interim dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, effective June … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[730],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wright-state-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165694"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165704,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165694\/revisions\/165704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}