Office
of the Director - Boulder Laboratories
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| photo © Geoffrey Wheeler |
Thomas R. O'Brian, chief of the Time and Frequency Division at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has been appointed director of the NIST Boulder Laboratories. He will serve as director while continuing his duties as division chief.
As NIST Boulder Director, O'Brian is the senior site manager with oversight of the facilities and technical infrastructure for the agency's 400 scientists, engineers, technicians and support staff. He facilitates public outreach associated with the NIST Laboratories technical programs and is responsible for interactions with the community and the other Department of Commerce agencies on the Boulder site. He also is responsible for space management and facilities planning for NIST Boulder.
The NIST Boulder Laboratories are engaged in a wide range of research activities in measurement science, including time and frequency standards; electromagnetics, including superconductivity and electromagnetic fields; optoelectronics; chemical engineering; materials reliability; laser physics; quantum and optical physics; and computational methods. The labs have strong partnerships with U.S. industry, other government agencies and universities.
O'Brian earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, and a doctorate in experimental atomic physics from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He joined NIST in 1991 as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow in the NIST Physics Laboratory in Gaithersburg, Md., conducting research on the interactions of atoms with very strong laser light. O'Brian's most recent scientific focus involved precision measurements using synchrotron radiation (light from electron accelerators).
O'Brian previously served as scientific advisor to the director of the Physics Laboratory and later as deputy director of the NIST Program Office. He moved to the NIST Boulder Laboratories in 2003 as chief of the Time and Frequency Division.
For more information on NIST, see the main NIST home page.
Director's
Office Activities
 Office
of Civil Rights
Robin
Wolf, (303) 497-5525
NIST-Boulder Public and
Business Affairs
Research
Inquiries
Patricia
Schassburger, (303) 497-3246
NIST-Boulder
Activities
Research
Areas
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