Cherry Murray selected as Deputy Director for Science and Technology
Cherry A. Murray, Senior Vice President at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies for Physical Sciences and Wireless Research, has been named as the Deputy Director for Science and Technology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The appointment was announced today by LLNL director Michael R. Anastasio and confirmed by the University of California Regents. Murray will retire from her position at Bell Labs and begin her new assignment with LLNL on December 1.
Murray is a physicist who has been nationally recognized for her work in surface physics, light scattering and complex fluids. She is a member of the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Discover Magazine named her as one of the "50 Most Important Women in Science" in 2002.
"Our Laboratory and the University of California are extremely pleased to have Cherry Murray as our new Deputy Director for Science & Technology," said Anastasio. "She brings an impressive record of scientific accomplishment, national recognition, management expertise and strategic vision to this position. I am confident that she will greatly enhance our research and development portfolio and I look forward to having her on my management team."
Murray first joined Bell Labs in 1978 as a member of the technical staff. She was promoted to a number of positions over the years, including department head for low temperature physics, department head for condensed matter physics and semiconductor physics and director of Bell Lab’s physical research lab. In 2000, Murray became vice president for physical sciences and then senior vice president in 2001. In this role, Murray managed the wireless, nanotechnology and physical research laboratories and was responsible for the relationship of Bell Labs Research with outside businesses, consortia and government agencies.
"The technology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is excellent," said Murray. "I am very impressed by the breadth of science and engineering as well as the strong physics component and also the interest the lab has in working closely with industry and academia, as well as the government. I am looking forward to managing science and technology on a national scale and to servingour nation with this wonderful capability."
In her new position, Murray will lead and oversee the Laboratory’s science and technology activities. This will include the development of the strategic science and technology plan; development of standards for scientific research performance and program quality; and oversight of efforts to recruit, develop and retain the Laboratory’s scientific, engineering and technical workforce. Murray will also direct the Laboratory’s $110 million institutional research and development program, collaborating closely with University of California faculty and staff.
Murray received her BS and Ph.D in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She serves on the governing boards of the National Research Council, Council of the National Academy of Science. Murray is also a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1989, she won the APS Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award. She is the author of two patents and more than 75 publications.
Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a nuclear security laboratory, with a mission to ensure national security and apply science and technology to the important issues of our time. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration/Department of Energy.
