Curriculum vitae

Dr. Ernst-Christian Koch, owner of Lutradyn studied chemistry at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK), Germany obtaining his Diploma in 1993 and his doctorate (see certificate below), for a dissertation in organotransition metal chemistry, in 1995. Following basic military service with the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Protection Centres of the German Armed Forces at Sonthofen (ABC/SeS) and Munster (WIS) Dr. Koch became Head of Development at the Göllheim Pyrotechnics works (Piepenbrock, Comet) in 1997. From 2002-2003 he worked for Diehl Munitionssysteme Nonnweiler as Head of Pyrotechnics and Countermeasures and became Head of Energetic Materials at Diehl BGT Defence, Röthenbach in 2004. In mid-2007 he was appointed Technical Specialist Officer Energetic Materials of the NATO Munitions Safety Information Analysis Centre (MSIAC) at NATO Headquarters in Brussels and joined NATO in January 2008. Following his departure from NATO in 2013 Dr. Koch held a position as Senior Lecturer in Defence Chemistry at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham until recently. Since 2007 Dr. Koch has been a visiting lecturer with the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. In January 2024 he obtained his venia legendi (see certificate below) at the Department of Chemistry of the Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität (RPTU) Kaiserslautern and now serves as Privatdozent.

   

Activities

Dr. Koch served as President to the International Pyrotechnics Society (IPS) for two consecutive terms (2012-2014, 2014-2016). He remained on the IPS-board of directors (BOD) as Immediate Past President until June 2018 and was appointed Executive Advisor to the BOD in 2022. In this honorary function he facilitates advancing scientific information exchange, improving the connectivity between researchers in the field and supporting young scientists, i.a. by creating the Dr. Bernard E. Douda-Young Scientist Award (DBD-YSA) in 2012. 

Under Dr. Kochs supervision as president and head of referee board the DBD-YSA-awards have been conferred to the following aspiring scientists (check the embedded links for their post-award career steps):

 

  • 1st, 2012 / Dr.  Justine M. L. Corbel, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, An Intriguing Oscillating Combustion Phenomenon
  • 2nd, 2013 / Dr. Martin Rahm, University of Southern California, USA, The Quest for the Missing Energetic Building-Block Nitryl Cyanide, NCNO2
  • 3rd, 2014 / Dr. Anthony P. Shaw, U.S. Army RDECOM-ARDEC, USA, Advanced Boron Carbide-Based Visual Obscurants for Military Smoke Grenades
  • 4th, 2015 / Dr. Michael M. Nardai, Fraunhofer ICT, Germany, Interaction Energies Between Binder Polymers and Crystalline Surfaces in Composite Materials Determined by Solution Microcalorimetry and Computer Simulation
  • 5th, 2016 / Dr. Jonathan M. Dilger, U.S. Navy NSWC Crane, USAPyrolysis / Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry: A New Tool to Detect Toxic Byproducts of Pyrotechnic Reactions

 

Membership

Dr. Koch is a current member of the 

  • Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh), AG Fluorchemie, 
  • German Chapter of the Combustion Institute, 
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Wehrtechnik, 
  • Deutscher Sprengverband, and 
  • International Ballistics Society (IBS).


Professional Activities

Dr. Koch serves as Technical lead for TBB10 - Pyrotechnics for Decoying and Obscuring of EDA CAPTECH Missiles & Munitions since 2023


Dr. Koch 

is an Associate Editor with

Propellants Explosives Pyrotechnics since 2024.

He has served as an Editorial Advisory Board Member for 

Propellants Explosives Pyrotechnics from 2006-2023

and has been serving as an Editorial Advisory Board Member for

Defence Technology, since 2018,

FirePhysChem, since 2022


Dr. Koch is Cofounder of the Workshop on Pyrotechnic Combustion Mechanisms and continues to chair it. 

Dr. Koch serves as Referee for the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP).

  

Publications

Dr. Koch has published 46 peer reviewed publications, edited topical issues in Journal of Pyrotechnics and Propellants Explosives Pyrotechnics. 

He has written 15 MSIAC-reports, three book chapters and four books (2 in English & 2 in German). He further holds 34 patents on energetic materials and pyrotechnic countermeasures. 

Habilitation Certificate (venia legendi)




Doctoral Certificate


Honors & Awards

In 2006 Dr. Koch was awarded the Frank Carver Bursary Award of the International Pyrotechnics Society for his Contribution: Experimental Advanced Infrared Flare Compositions.


In 2014 Dr. Koch has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.