Rate My Professor Persis Drell

Drell's distinguished career includes serving as Director of Research, Deputy Director, and Director of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory from 2007 to 2012, during which she oversaw the operational startup of the Linac Coherent Light Source, the world’s first hard X-ray free-electron laser, and broadened the laboratory's focus to multiple disciplines. She was Dean of the Stanford School of Engineering from 2014 to 2017 and Provost of Stanford University from 2017 to 2023. Her leadership has profoundly influenced scientific infrastructure, interdisciplinary collaboration, and university governance. Drell has held significant service roles, including Chair of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control, board member of NVIDIA Corporation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Chair of the DESY Scientific Council. Among her major awards are election to the American Philosophical Society (2025), National Academy of Sciences (2010), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007), Guggenheim Fellowship (1998), American Physical Society Fellowship (1997), and NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award (1988).