Professor Robert L. McCrory, a physicist and scientific leader who has shepherded the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics to international prominence during the past 35 years, will retire from the directorship on October 1, the beginning of the federal government’s fiscal year.
McCrory, who holds the title of University Professor—one of just eight current or former members of the faculty to receive that distinction—and vice president and vice provost, will step down from the University as of December 31. Michael Campbell, deputy director of LLE, will become director of the lab, pending approval of the University’s Board of Trustees.
President and CEO Joel Seligman said McCrory’s record of scientific achievement represents an entrepreneurial and interdisciplinary approach that are the hallmarks of Rochester’s approach to research and scholarship.
“Bob had a vision for LLE and he worked tirelessly to engage faculty and students in optics, physics, engineering, and other departments to explore some of the most important scientific issues of the 20th and 21st centuries,” Seligman says. “He’s been a leader in working with our congressional leaders and colleagues at other institutions to advocate for the unique strengths of LLE. He deserves our thanks and appreciation for his efforts to make LLE an internationally recognized research facility.”
University Provost and Senior Vice President for Research Rob Clark says McCrory’s leadership is synonymous with establishing Rochester as one of the preeminent sites for high-energy laser science.
“This is truly the end of an era,” Clark says. “Bob has been instrumental in the success of LLE from nearly the beginning of the facility. He set a standard for research excellence, fiscal management, and academic achievement that will be hard to replace.”
McCrory began his career at Rochester in 1976, arriving as a research scientist from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He became director and CEO of LLE in 1983.
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