Robert C. Dynes, a physicist and an expert on semiconductors and superconductors, has been Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego since July 1996.

Dynes came to UCSD in 1991 after a 22-year career at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he served as department head of semiconductor and material physics research and director of chemical physics research. His numerous scientific honors include the 1990 Fritz London Award in Low Temperature Physics and his 2001 election to the Council of the National Academy of Sciences, a society to which he was elected in 1989.

Joining UCSD as Professor of Physics, Dynes founded an interdisciplinary laboratory where chemists, electrical engineers, and private industry researchers investigate the properties of metals, semiconductors, and superconductors. He subsequently became Chairman of the Department of Physics and then Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

In his inaugural speech, he emphasized his commitment to academic excellence and public service, saying, “I chose this campus because I was convinced that UCSD and the San Diego area were the university and community of the future. Today, I am more convinced than ever that this university and this community are among the most dynamic in the country.”

Along with his duties as Chancellor and his ongoing physics research, Robert Dynes is active in the national scientific arena and in San Diego civic organizations. He is chair of the National Research Council’s Board of Physics and Astronomy and vice-chair of the University of California President’s Council on the National Laboratories. He sits on the University of Chicago Board of Governors for Argonne National Laboratory.

Chancellor Dynes’s San Diego community affiliations include membership on the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation Board, the San Diego Science Alliance Board, and the San Diego Performing Arts League Advisory Council. A native of London, Ontario, Canada, and a naturalized United States citizen, Dynes holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from the University of Western Ontario and master’s and doctorate degrees in physics and an honorary doctor of science degree from McMaster University. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

For more information contact dynesdesk@ucsd.edu

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