Staying true to Robert Rosner's two great passions — his wife and scientific discovery — set him on an astronomical career path. To avoid a commuter marriage, Rosner decided to stay in the Cambridge area after finishing his physics PhD at Harvard University, while his wife completed her doctoral degree — even if it meant changing fields. He became, in effect, the ‘accidental’ astrophysicist. (see CV)

Rosner was offered a postdoc with Giuseppe Vaiana, who had just moved to Harvard. Vaiana was a leader in experimental solar physics, and one of the first people to use imaging X-ray telescopes to look at the Sun. “He, more than anyone else, channelled my passion for astrophysics,” says Rosner.

Now that he knows an unplanned foray can dramatically influence your job path, Rosner advises young scientists to anticipate that even the best-laid career plans are likely to change. “I hadn't realized to what extent the postdoc would mould the rest of my career. I thought it was an interlude,” he says.

After 17 years in the Boston area and a tenured position with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Rosner left Boston with his wife. They both took positions at the University of Chicago.

In the early 1990s, Rosner was asked by Chicago's provost to head a committee to examine the relationship between the university and Argonne National Laboratory, which the university operates. The time spent thinking about the role that national labs have to play within national research agendas awakened Rosner's desire for furthering US excellence in science and technology. Three years ago, he joined Argonne on a part-time basis as chief scientist.

He says that his new role as lab director is the greatest challenge of his career, particularly because scientists rarely get formal training in leadership and management. But he says that his on-the-job experience with past mentors, including his predecessor at Argonne, has prepared him for the task at hand.

One of his first tasks, he says, will be to secure the development of a new accelerator — the rare isotope accelerator — to open fresh frontiers in nuclear physics. And he has a broader goal: to make sure that Argonne seizes every opportunity it can to play a key role in maintaining the United States' leading position in science and technology.