UNH Today

Eric Lund, a research scientist in the UNH Space Science Center and the Department of Physics, passed away on August 17, 2025. He was 58 years old. Lund is being remembered as both a dedicated space scientist as well as a valued colleague at the university.

Lund had a lengthy career at UNH, having joined the university in 1995 shortly after completing his Ph.D. in astrophysics at Dartmouth College. He had a passion for space plasma physics, and during his time at UNH he authored numerous scientific papers on the subject. He further supported space science research by reviewing other NASA grant proposals and serving as a referee for scientific journals. Lund was a familiar and friendly face at the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting, where he immersed himself in the latest scientific advances in his field and connected with colleagues from all over the globe.

Lynn Kistler, the director for the UNH Space Science Center, recalls one of Lund’s first missions after joining UNH.

"Eric was a key contributor to research on the Time-of-flight Energy Angle Mass Spectrograph (TEAMS) instrument on the Fast Auroral SnapshoT (FAST) mission that launched in 1996,” Kistler said. “He was responsible for operating the instrument, and tracking the calibrations, in addition to his research on particle acceleration in the aurora. His helpful advice and humor will be missed in the Space Science Center."

More details about Lund’s life and legacy can be found in his full obituary.