On Monday, August 18, 2014, SLAC Director Chi-Chang Kao announced:
“After a year-long international search for a new Director of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), I am very pleased to announce that Kelly Gaffney, a faculty member in the SLAC Photon Science Department and a member of the Stanford-SLAC joint PULSE Institute, has agreed to take on the role of SSRL Director. Kelly will officially start in his new position this week.
A chemist by training, Kelly is one of the world’s leading experts in using femtosecond x-ray pulses – ultrashort, intense pulses – to study how chemical bonds are created and modified. Kelly focuses on how material, chemical or biological changes occur on very fast time scales, but the approach is one that can be used generally to study a wide range of processes with facilities, such as SSRL and the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), also at SLAC. Kelly will use his expertise to expand research programs at SSRL, strengthen the connection with Stanford, and develop a long-term upgrade strategy for the facility. Kelly has the right skills for this job and I look forward to working with him as we build on SSRL’s successful past to define the facility’s next chapter.
I also want to thank Piero Pianetta, who has been serving as Acting Director at SSRL, for the tremendous work he has done in leading the facility the last year. Piero will return to his role as Deputy Director for SSRL and will continue to be a guiding force for the facility’s people as well as a great resource for Kelly as he steps into his new role.”
Please visit the SSRL Director’s Office web page for further information.
