Paul Tamkivi (April 18th, 1927, Ruhve – May 24th, 2012) was an Estonian electrical engineer and scientist.
He graduated Saaremaa Ühisgümnaasium in 1945 and Tallinn Polytechnical Insitute in 1952 as an electrical engineer. He defended his thesis for the degree of Technical Doctor of Soviet Union in 1988, which in those days meant establishing his own school of research.
Paul led the Institute for Thermal and Electrical Physics of Estonian Academy of Sciences for 46 years, as divisional leader, chief scientist and top executive between 1989-1994. His research was focused on electrical devices, smoothing filters and power supplies for plasma generators, and later the history of science.
