Walter Wittmer

Walter leads the ATLAS operations team, oversees day-to-day operations, sets priorities and resource allocation, ensures operational excellence in line with users’ needs, and meets beam-hour targets set by DOE. He also oversees machine maintenance activities, performance optimization, and upgrades and implementation of new capabilities in coordination with the ATLAS Scientific Director and Argonne’s Physics division. He is also responsible for fostering and maintaining high safety and quality assurance standards across ATLAS activities.

Walter joined Argonne in 2024. Prior to that, he served as the project manager for the Matter in Extreme Conditions Upgrade Project at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Prior to that, he served as a senior scientist, senior project advisor, and deputy project manager for the Electron Ion Collider Partnership Project at Jefferson Lab. Walter has held positions at Niowave, Inc., the European Spallation Source Project, Michigan State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and CERN.

He has a doctorate in accelerator physics from the Graz University of Technology and CERN and a master’s degree in physics from the Graz University of Technology.