Robert Rosner addresses employees on his first day as Argonne's new laboratory director. Photo by George Joch.

Transition: Robert Rosner takes the reins

The University of Chicago appointed Robert Rosner director of Argonne effective April 18. His appointment was approved by Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman.

Rosner succeeds Hermann Grunder, who has served as director of the laboratory since 2000.

Rosner has served as Argonne's associate laboratory director for physical, biological and computing sciences and as its chief scientist since 2002, and in those roles he implemented reinvigorating changes in multiple areas of research while also achieving an outstanding record in safety and security, said University of Chicago President Don M. Randel. In addition, he was the architect of Argonne's 20-year strategic plan for science and technology.

"Bob is a distinguished computational astrophysicist with broad interests across the basic and applied sciences and extensive Department of Energy experience," Randel said. "I am confident that Bob will provide decisive leadership and insightful strategic vision for Argonne, while developing the effective partnerships between the department, other government agencies, industry and academia that have become so important to the scientific future of the nation."

Rosner's appointment culminated a six-month national search by a search committee comprising representatives from the University of Chicago, Argonne and industry.

"I am honored to have been asked to serve as director of Argonne, a national laboratory of great distinction, with a wonderful tradition of first-rate science and technology research and a scientific, technical and support staff second to none," Rosner said. "It is humbling, and a challenge for me personally, to follow a succession of remarkably capable Argonne laboratory directors, from the first director — Enrico Fermi — to my immediate predecessor, Hermann Grunder."

Rosner also is the William Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in the University of Chicago's Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. His scientific specialty is plasma astrophysics — the physics of the sun and the stars — and he has been instrumental in establishing the University of Chicago as one of the world's leading centers in that field.

`We will do this together — this I pledge to you'

Argonne Director Robert Rosner addressed Argonne employees at an all-hands meeting April 18.

This is my first chance to speak to all of you as your new laboratory director, and my first chance to introduce myself to all of you. Although having been at the lab for just about three years, many of you already know me from my previous incarnations as chief scientist and associate laboratory director for physical, biological and computing sciences.

If anyone wants to know whether I've had any lessons in what it means to be lab director, in one way it means you're going to be very overscheduled, as I was this morning. So my apologies for being a little bit late.

What I'd like to do is talk to you, in a substantive way, about how I see my job, and where I see the lab going over the next few years.

To begin with, I'm very proud to serve as your laboratory director. This is a wonderful, wonderful lab, with a truly grand tradition in science and technology, and a superb staff. I promise to do my very best to continue the laboratory's outstanding tradition of excellence in service to the nation. This is very important to me on a very personal level.

We want to carry out world-class R&D in support of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the nation. We want to design, build and upgrade absolutely world-class user facilities. Argonne has, since its beginnings in World War II, had the ambition to do truly extraordinary things, to push the frontiers of science and technology. It has by and large succeeded.

I know this from personal experience, traveling both in the United States and abroad, that the laboratory is very highly thought of, both in the U.S. and in other nations. And when I say Argonne, what I really mean is the people who make up this lab — all of you.

We know that we live in challenging times. And we can't deny that the laboratory has experienced some bumps lately. Argonne-West is now fully separated from us and is now part of the new Idaho National Laboratory. The lab's budget is slightly down — although looking at the details of the proposed federal budget, it looks like we fared well compared to our sister laboratories. And I think we're all disappointed to learn that funding for the Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) project has been delayed due to the federal budget pressures. But the main impact is on timing; RIA remains a major DOE initiative, and retained its funding line in the president's proposed DOE Office of Science budget. Our R&D on the technology that will make RIA a great accelerator continues essentially as before.

The DOE has decided to compete Argonne's management contract, as it is currently doing with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with the Jefferson Lab and Los Alamos. This looming competition has, of course, led to some jitters.

So how do I see the laboratory responding to these challenges? To begin with, let me assure you I have no intention of instituting major reorganizations. We all know what the real, immediate challenges are.

First of all, we need to control overhead to make sure we are effective in spending our research budgets. We need to make sure that our existing R&D programs remain healthy. We need to be vigilant in spotting new opportunities as the needs of the nation evolve in response to changes in the energy marketplace and in energy security. And as we agilely and aggressively pursue excellence in service to the nation, some changes will in fact be inevitable. But such changes will be evolutionary, not revolutionary, likely modest in scale, but significant. And we will do this together — this I pledge to you.

We have solid plans for growth, tied to the 20-year vision statement, which was completed last year and submitted to the Department of Energy. We are now building a multi-year business plan, which is due to the Department of Energy in mid-May, and can be thought of as an implementation plan of the 20-year vision statement.

An example of what we're planning is the accelerator initiative, which we're putting in place in collaboration with our sister laboratory here in Illinois, Fermilab. The idea is to make sure that while we're waiting for a RIA restart, and while Fermilab is waiting to hear of its future projects, the momentum that has been built here in Illinois for a new generation of accelerators is not lost.

This initiative will be centered on the Illinois Accelerator Institute, and the Superconducting RF Test Module and Facility, which is planned to be built at Fermilab. This will serve as a focus for our advanced accelerator research over a broad range of research areas from high energy physics and nuclear physics to advanced light sources. We have already presented an early draft of this plan to the Illinois RIA Coalition and our state and federal representatives, and have received enthusiastic support. We have also started discussions with our sponsors in the DOE Office of Science, and again, the discussions that I have had so far have also been very, very positive.

In addition, we are going to make a new effort in getting the news out that we are here. For far too long, Argonne has been a very well-kept secret out here in Lemont. I can testify to that directly because I just had a meeting with Congressman Gutierrez who told me "I didn't know you guys were out there."

So we will be launching a media initiative that trumpets our strengths, and my intention is to make Argonne a household name. One of the places we are going to start is the Museum of Science and Industry, which has over a million and half people coming through every year. We are going to make sure that we are a presence.

Generally, a key to our growth will be to strengthen operations. First of all, within the laboratory we made a renewed effort to integrate our basic science and our applied technology efforts, as in the Energy Initiative that you will be hearing more about in the coming weeks and months.

Second, we are looking forward to strengthening our ties to the major research universities in the Midwest. These include, of course, the University of Chicago but also Northwestern, University of Illinois, Northern Illinois, the Illinois Institute of Technology and Notre Dame, just to name a few obvious examples. In fact, as many of you already know, the University of Chicago, together with Argonne, has already announced the establishment of a special relationship with Northwestern and the University of Illinois system. They will join the University of Chicago in contributing two members each to the University of Chicago Board of Governors for Argonne National Laboratory, and, in addition, will help guide our science mission via a new science council.

I anticipate that at least one result will be substantial strengthening of our technology programs, given that both Northwestern and the University of Illinois are nationally ranked engineering centers. This collaboration will also play an important role in strengthening our hand in the upcoming management competition. I have every confidence the University of Chicago, together with its Illinois partners, will in fact succeed in retaining the Argonne contract.

OK, the final analysis: All these words are for naught unless we all share a common vision for our laboratory and work together to make our dreams and our plans a reality. What I pledge to you is that I will do my best with all the passion that I can muster to lead in an open and collaborative way. What I ask of you is to reciprocate.

So with that, let me say — let's go to work!

Grunder legacy one of leadership, collaboration

Hermann Grunder, an internationally renowned physicist who has led Argonne to new levels of excellence in his four years as director, stepped down April 15. He will continue to contribute to the laboratory as director emeritus.

University of Chicago President Don Randel praised Grunder for his many contributions. "Hermann has been an outstanding director and a trusted friend. He has been a tireless partner and advocate, bringing new energy and vision to the laboratory and to its scientific agenda. He has set the highest standards and he has achieved them."

Thomas Rosenbaum, university vice president for research and for Argonne National Laboratory, said: "Under Hermann's leadership, the university and the laboratory have never been closer. Hermann understands that science today depends on collaboration, on building bridges that link researchers across disciplines, cultures and geographies. Hermann has worked relentlessly to establish joint centers and institutes in astrophysics, biology, computation, and environmental science and nanotechnology."

As a result of Grunder's initiatives, the University of Chicago and Argonne today share 100 joint appointments.