Office of the Director
LLE is a unique national resource for research and education in science and technology and a major asset of the University. The Rochester area and the University have a history of innovation that provides a singular environment for LLE within a technologically sophisticated scientific community, resulting in substantial regional economic impact. Established in 1970 as a center for the investigation of the interaction of intense radiation with matter, LLE has a five-fold mission: (1) to conduct laser-fusion implosion experiments in support of the National Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) program; (2) to develop new laser and materials technologies; (3) to provide education in electro-optics, high-power lasers, high-energy-density physics, plasma physics, and nuclear fusion technology; (4) to conduct research and development in advanced technology related to high-energy-density physics; and (5) to operate the National Laser Users' Facility (NLUF).
The year 2010 marked the 50th anniversary of the invention of the laser. The year was also the 81st anniversary of The Institute of Optics, one of the exceptional departments within the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The potential of the laser was immediately recognized at the University because of the excellence and expertise of both the University of Rochester faculty and the Rochester community in the physical sciences, particularly physics and optics. Exceptional leadership at the University, especially that of the University's 7th President, Robert L. Sproull, a well-respected physicist and administrator as well as a former director of the U.S. Government's Advanced Research Projects Agency, led to the establishment of the Laboratory in 1970.
The Office of the Director has provided vital leadership since the inception of the Laboratory more than 40 years ago. Starting with a modest staff and budget, the scope of the oversight provided by the Office has encompassed areas such as National and Energy Security Policy, world-class optical design and manufacturing, basic science research in high-energy-density physics including laboratory astrophysics, plasma nuclear physics, dynamics of materials under high stress, and non-linear hydrodynamics as well as the successful mentoring of graduate, undergraduate and high school students. Today the Office of the Director continues to provide energetic and visionary leadership in the Laboratory's overarching quest for inertial confinement fusion, assuring the Laboratory's success for years to come.
The senior leaders reporting to the Office of the Director include:
- LLE Deputy Director
- Associate Director for Science
- Manager, National Laser Users' Facility
- Associate Director for Operations
- Assistant Director for Academic Affairs
- Chief Safety Officer
- Engineering Division Director
- Experimental Division Director
- Omega Laser Facility Director
- Theory Division Director
- Administrative Division Director
Director Robert L. McCrory, Ph.D.
Vice President, Vice Provost
and Chief Executive Officer
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Director of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics
University of Rochester
Theoretical Plasma Physics
and Computational Hydrodynamics
Professor McCrory received his B.Sc. in Physics (1968) and his Ph.D. in Applied Plasma Physics (1973) from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT). After positions as Research Associate in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at MIT and Staff Member in the
Theoretical and Theoretical Design Divisions at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, he joined the University of Rochester's Laboratory
for Laser Energetics (UR/LLE) in 1976.
Dr. McCrory has made numerous contributions to inertial fusion, beginning with his work on the wavelength dependence of
hydrodynamic efficiency on laser-driven targets and the hydrodynamic stability of inertial fusion capsules. 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 has served on the Director's Advisory Committee for
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and as a consultant to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Prof. McCrory 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. In 2004 he was elected to fellowship by the American Association for the Advancement
of Science. He served on the National Academy of Sciences' Naval Studies Board Committee on Space Technology to advise US CINC
on the military use of space, space architecture, and space policy for eight years.
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Director of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics
University of Rochester
Theoretical Plasma Physics
and Computational Hydrodynamics
Professor McCrory received his B.Sc. in Physics (1968) and his Ph.D. in Applied Plasma Physics (1973) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After positions as Research Associate in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at MIT and Staff Member in the Theoretical and Theoretical Design Divisions at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, he joined the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR/LLE) in 1976.
Dr. McCrory has made numerous contributions to inertial fusion, beginning with his work on the wavelength dependence of hydrodynamic efficiency on laser-driven targets and the hydrodynamic stability of inertial fusion capsules. 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 has served on the Director's Advisory Committee for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and as a consultant to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Prof. McCrory 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. In 2004 he was elected to fellowship by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He served on the National Academy of Sciences' Naval Studies Board Committee on Space Technology to advise US CINC on the military use of space, space architecture, and space policy for eight years.
