Persis Drell
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Persis S. Drell is the Provost Emerita and the James and Anna Marie Spilker Professor in the Stanford University School of Engineering, a professor of materials science and engineering, and a professor of physics. Prior to her appointment as provost, she was dean of the Stanford School of Engineering from 2014 to 2017 and director of the
US Department of Energy US or Us most often refers to: * Us (pronoun), ''Us'' (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun ''we'' * US, an abbreviation for the United States US, U.S., Us, us, or u.s. may also refer to: Arts and entertainme ...
’s SLAC National Acceleratory Laboratory from 2007 to 2012. In 2025, she was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
.


Early life and education

The daughter of noted physicist Sidney Drell, Persis moved to Stanford when she was six months old. She earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics in 1977 from
Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...
and her Ph.D. in
atomic physics Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. Atomic physics typically refers to the study of atomic structure and the interaction between atoms. It is primarily concerned wit ...
in 1983 from the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, studying under Eugene Commins.


Career

Drell began her career as a postdoctoral research associate at the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL, Berkeley Lab) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in the Berkeley Hills, hills of Berkeley, California, United States. Established i ...
as a member of the Mark-II collaboration. In 1988, Drell was appointed to the physics faculty at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
and joined the CLEO collaboration working on heavy flavor physics. During her tenure, she was the deputy director of Cornell's Laboratory of Nuclear Studies and served as chair of the Synchrotron Radiation Committee. In 2002, Drell joined the faculty at Stanford and was appointed associate director, particle and particle astrophysics (then known as research division) at the
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, Ca ...
(then known as the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center), where she oversaw the BaBar experiment. She joined the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Collaboration and participated in the construction of the Large Area Telescope. She became deputy director of the laboratory in 2005 and in 2007, she was named the fourth director of SLAC, succeeding Jonathan M. Dorfan. She stepped down from the lab director position in 2012 to return to full time research and teaching. In September 2014, Drell was named dean of the Stanford School of Engineering, the first woman to serve in that role. In February 2017, Drell became the thirteenth provost of Stanford University. Drell stepped down from the Provost role in October 2023.


Recognition

Drell is a member of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
, the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and a fellow of the
American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...
and a
fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...
(AAAS).  She has been the recipient of a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
and a National Science Foundation
Presidential Young Investigator Award The Presidential Young Investigator Award (PYI) was awarded by the National Science Foundation of the United States Federal Government. The program operated from 1984 to 1991, and was replaced by the NSF Young Investigator (NYI) Awards and Preside ...
.


Personal life

Drell is married to a physicist. The couple has three children.


References


External links


Oral history interview transcript with Persis Drell on 4 May 2020, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drell, Persis 1955 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American physicists American particle physicists American women physicists Provosts of Stanford University Stanford University Department of Physics faculty Cornell University faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni Wellesley College alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Hewlett Foundation American women academics 21st-century American women scientists Members of the American Philosophical Society