Raymond Lee Orbach () is an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and administrator. He served as Under Secretary for Science in the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

from 2006 until 2009, when he was replaced by Steven E. Koonin. Until his resignation in December 2012, Orbach was director of the Energy Institute at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. Orbach continues to do research as a tenured professor in the Cockrell Family Dean's Chair for Engineering Excellence at the University of Texas. Orbach received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

in 1956 and a Ph.D. degree in physics 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 ...

, in 1960. Orbach began his academic career as a postdoctoral fellow at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 1960 and became an assistant professor of applied physics at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1961. He joined the faculty of the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA) two years later as an associate professor, and became a full professor in 1966. Orbach's research in theoretical and experimental physics has resulted in the publication of more than 240 scientific articles, and he is 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 the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. From 1982 to 1992, he served as the provost of the College of Letters and Science at UCLA, and from 1992 to 2002 as chancellor of the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

. From March 14, 2002 until mid-2009, Orbach was director of the Office of Science at the Department of Energy, making him the highest-ranking science policy administrator within the DOE. After June 1, 2006, he was the first Under Secretary for Science, for which President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

nominated him after the position was created by the

Energy Policy Act of 2005 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 () is a federal law signed by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy problems ...

. On August 1, 2009 he became the founding director of the Energy Institute at the

. He resigned November 30, 2012 in response to a report critical of the Energy Institute's handling of potential conflicts of interest involving the geologist Charles G. Groat. On November 3, 2009, the Science Library at the University of California, Riverside was renamed Orbach Library in honor of Orbach. Orbach was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

References

External links

Energy Institute bio page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orbach, Raymond L. 1934 births Living people University of California, Riverside alumni Harvard University faculty Chancellors of the University of California, Riverside 21st-century American physicists Fellows of the American Physical Society