Biography

Mark is an accomplished biomedical research scientist and veterinary physician who has earned three post-baccalaureate degrees including two doctorates in Veterinary Medicine and Biochemistry/Cell Biology with numerous peer-reviewed publications to his credit. Working as a top award-winning Sales Executive with a major Fortune 200 company, he consults on nanotechnology needs for biological and material scientists employed with academic/biotech/clinical labs including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), Department of Defense (Army, Navy & Air Force), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Engraving & Printing (BEP), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Smithsonian Institution. He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, the University of Maryland NanoCenter and the World Veterinary Association.

After joining the Civil Air Patrol (US Air Force auxiliary) in 1975, he quickly rose thru the ranks and received his solo wings in 1977, participated in 1978 IACE and capped his CAP cadet career with the General Carl A Spaatz Award in 1981 for which he received a congratulatory letter from President Richard M. Nixon and met with Paul E. Garber (First Curator of the National Air & Space Museum). Lt Col Kukucka earned the Gill Robb Wilson Award in 2013 and is currently serving as the Director of Fundraising for Maryland Wing in addition to being a commercial instrument-rated airplane and helicopter pilot.

Kukucka Foundation

Created in 2023 in his namesake, the Kukucka Foundation (EIN 99-6099145) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization that makes grants to serve the public good. With a personal commitment of $30 million (minimum) in perpetuity, the foundation intends to reward gifted and talented students who pursue a STEM centered course of study in the biological and material sciences using electron microscopy.

"Anything worth doing today for the advancement of humankind is and will be done under an electron microscope..."

-Mark A. Kukucka

Advancing the art & science of discovery in the ultrastructural world for gifted and talented students training in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and/or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) academic programs

Providing scholarships to aspiring students (MS & PhD) who dedicate themselves to TEM and SEM studies (known as Kukucka Scholars)

Offering other scholarships and financial assistance to support STEM centered students in the biological and material science worlds

Scholarships available thru Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA), University of Maryland (College Park, MD), Civil Air Patrol (Maxwell AFB, AL), Eastern Technical High School (Essex, MD), St Stephen's Catholic Church (Bradshaw, MD), St Paul's Lutheran Church (Kingsville, MD)

Endowments set-up at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA), University of Maryland (College Park, MD), Civil Air Patrol (Maxwell AFB, AL)

n.b. Scholarships and endowments totaling $96,000 were made in 2023

n.b. Scholarships and endowments totaling $121,000 were made in 2024