Deputy Provost Zimmer appointed Vice President for Research, ANL

Robert Zimmer, the Max Mason Distinguished Service Professor in Mathematics, has been appointed Vice President for Research and Argonne National Laboratory, President Randel announced in December. Zimmer will continue to serve as Deputy Provost, a position he has held since 1998.

Robert Zimmer, Deputy Provost and the Max Mason Distinguished Service Professor in Mathematics, has been appointed Vice President for Research and Argonne National Laboratory. He will continue to serve as Deputy Provost.

“This is truly a remarkable time for academic scholarship, with exciting developments of lasting importance not only in traditional areas, but in new and emerging fields,” Randel said. “The experience and leadership Bob brings to this new position will be of great value as he works to foster academic initiatives that take advantage of the University’s distinctive culture and tradition of interdisciplinary research and education.”

Zimmer also will oversee the University’s stewardship of Argonne National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. The University has been Argonne’s manager and partner since its founding in 1946.

“Argonne is a major national presence across a broad domain of science, and I feel privileged to participate in the University’s stewardship of the laboratory,” Zimmer said. “We have an opportunity to reconceptualize this stewardship and develop a much richer engagement of the University and the laboratory that will significantly enhance science at both institutions.”

Zimmer has served as Senior Associate Provost, Associate Provost for Research and Education and Chairman of Mathematics.

Zimmer earned his A.B., summa cum laude, from Brandeis University in 1968. He received his A.M. in 1971 and his Ph.D. in 1975, both in mathematics, from Harvard University. He joined the Chicago faculty as an L.E. Dickson Instructor of Mathematics in 1977. He also taught at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1975 to 1977, and at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1981 to 1983. He has held visiting positions at Harvard University and at institutions in Israel, France, Australia, Switzerland and Italy.