Organization > Director's Office > Robert L. McCrory

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Robert L. McCrory

Vice Provost
Chief Executive Officer
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Professor of Physics
Director of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics
Theoretical Plasma and Laser Physics


Professor McCrory received his B.Sc. in Physics (1968) and his Ph.D. in Applied Plasma Physics (1973) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After positions as Research Associate in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at MIT and Staff Member in the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, he joined the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in 1976. He has been promoted within UR/LLE several times and currently serves as Director, Chief Executive Officer, and Senior Scientist. He became a professor of mechanical engineering in 1984 and a professor of physics in 1999.

Dr. McCrory makes numerous contributions to inertial fusion, beginning with his work on wavelength dependence of the hydrodynamic efficiency of laser-driven targets and hydrodynamic stability theory. He was awarded the 1995 Edward Teller Medal for his pioneering research and leadership in the use of lasers for controlled thermonuclear fusion. The Fusion Power Associates Board of Directors awarded Dr. McCrory the 1996 Leadership Award for his outstanding leadership qualities in accelerating the development of fusion. The Board noted the key role he plays in the management councils of the national and international inertial confinement fusion communities and his important role in bringing an academic perspective to the national inertial confinement fusion program. He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1985 for his many contributions to fundamental understanding of hydrodynamic instability and thermal transport in laser-driven plasmas. He served on the National Academy of Sciences' Committee of Space Technology to the US Space Command of the Air Force Studies Board which advised the US CINC SPACE on the military use of space, space architecture, and space policy.