Robert Rosner, Ph.D.

Director, Argonne National Laboratory
President, UChicago Argonne, LLC

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Robert Rosner, an internationally recognized astrophysicist, is President of UChicago Argonne, LLC, and has been Director of Argonne National Laboratory since April 2005.

Prior to his position as Director of Argonne, he served as Chief Scientist at the institution since 2002. He was chairman of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago from 1991 to1997, and since 1998 has been the university's William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor. He was the Rothschild Visiting Professor at the Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences at Cambridge University in 2004. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University (1976) and bachelor's in physics from Brandeis University (1969).

Most of Rosner's scientific work has been related to astrophysical fluid dynamics and plasma physics problems. Much of his current work involves developing new numerical simulation tools for modeling astrophysical phenomena, as well as validating these simulations using terrestrial laboratory experiments. He led the U.S. Department of Energy–funded Center for Astrophysical Thermonuclear Flashes at Chicago from 1997 until 2002.

Rosner's many scientific community services include current positions on the External Advisory Committee for the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Steering Committee of the Interagency Task Force on High Energy Density Physics, the Scientific Advisory Committees for the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Lindau, Germany, and the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, Germany.

As head of Argonne National Laboratory, Dr. Rosner is an opinion leader on several subjects including energy research and development, accelerator science, computational science, and nanotechnology. His interviews have appeared on CBS, National Public Radio, E&E News, and he has been featured in Inside Energy and Energy Daily, and locally in Crain's Business Journal, the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times.

Rosner is married to Marsha R. Rosner, an internationally recognized researcher in cancer biology and the director of the Ben May Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Chicago. The Rosners have two daughters and reside in Chicago.