June 6, 1984
The President today announced his intention to nominate Erich Bloch to be Director of the
National Science Foundation for a term of 6 years. He would succeed Edward A. Knapp.
Since 1981 Mr. Bloch has been serving as vice president for technical personnel development at
IBM in White Plains, NY. He has been with IBM since 1953, when he began there as a technical
engineer. He has held several managerial positions at IBM, including assistant group
executive-technology, director of subsystems and technology, and vice president for operations.
He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the Institute of Electrical
and Electronic Engineers. He is on the board of directors of the Semiconductor Industry
Association and is chairman of the Semiconductor Research Cooperative.
Mr. Bloch received his education in electrical engineering at the Federal Polytechnic Institute of
Zurich, Switzerland, and his BSEE degree from the University of Buffalo in 1952. He is married,
has one child, and resides in South Salem, NY. He was born January 9, 1925, in Salzburg,
Germany, and became a United States citizen in 1953.