Manfred Cuntz
Manfred Cuntz is a German astrophysicist based in the United States since 1988. He is a Distinguished Professor of physics at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). His primary research interests include stellar astrophysics, astrobiology, and planetary habitability. Early life and education Manfred Cuntz was born on April 21, 1958, in Landau in der Pfalz in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He was the first-born son of Gerhard Hermann Cuntz and Irene Emma Cuntz (née Messerschmitt) and was raised in Bornheim. His family's business was in viticulture and livestock agriculture. As the eldest son, Cuntz would have inherited the farm. Early on, however, his family deemed him unsuitable for farm work and, instead, had him focus on his education. Cuntz attended secondary school at the Eduard-Spranger Gymnasium in Landau, from which he graduated with the Abitur in 1977. Even though he was a dedicated student, especially in mathematics and the natural sciences, academic success did not come easily to Cuntz in all subjects. In fact, he had to repeat the eighth grade. After that, however, he became a top student, especially in the last years of secondary school when he was able to focus on the subjects of mathematics, chemistry, and social