John Hill Named Interim Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory
September 23, 2025
UPTON, N.Y. — Long-time Brookhaven Lab physicist and current Deputy Director for Science and Technology (DDST) John Hill has been named interim director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, effective immediately. The transition comes as Laboratory Director JoAnne Hewett announced her decision — made earlier this month — to step down as director, effective today.
Hewett plans to assume her role as tenured faculty in the C.N. Yang Institute of Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook University.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to be your director for the past two years, and we have accomplished much together,” said Hewett in a note to Brookhaven Lab staff earlier today. “I thank each of you for your support. Brookhaven is a terrific lab, and the talents of the staff and unique capabilities of the Lab will continue to ensure a bright future.”
Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA), the partnership between Battelle and Stony Brook University that operates Brookhaven Lab on behalf of DOE’s Office of Science, will conduct a competitive search for Hewett’s successor.
Hill joined Brookhaven’s Physics Department as a postdoc in 1992. Prior to becoming DDST in 2023, he was director of the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) from 2015 to 2023. He also served as deputy associate laboratory director for energy and photon sciences from 2013 to 2023, served as director of the NSLS-II's Experimental Facilities Division from 2006 to 2008 during the construction of NSLS-II, and led the Lab's X-ray Scattering Group from 2001 to 2013.
“Brookhaven is an incredible place, powered by outstanding people and facilities,” Hill said. “I am honored and excited to take on this lead role and work in partnership with the Department of Energy to help achieve our mission and deliver on impactful science for the Nation.”
Hill has been recognized with both a Presidential Early Career Award and a DOE Young Independent Scientist Award. He was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society. Brookhaven Lab awarded Hill its Science and Technology Award — one of the Lab's highest accolades — in 2012. He earned a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his bachelor’s degree in physics from Imperial College in London.
In this new interim role, Hill will work closely with the Lab’s senior leadership team to manage the transition and lead the Laboratory through its next period of strategic growth and scientific opportunity.
BSA remains committed to ensuring that Brookhaven Lab continues to thrive as a world-class research institution and a cornerstone of the DOE Office of Science mission.
“We thank Director Hewett for her stewardship of the Lab over the past two years,” said BSA Board Chair Juan Alvarez and Co-Chair Andrea Goldsmith (president of Stony Brook University) in a message to all Brookhaven Lab staff today. “Under her leadership, JoAnne advanced the Lab’s scientific mission and sought new opportunities to increase staff engagement and a culture of community. She oversaw significant progress in the Electron-Ion Collider project, including DOE approval to begin long-lead procurements; instituted two new directorates (Discovery Technologies; Computing and Data Sciences) to help the Lab deliver on DOE and national needs, including in quantum information science and AI; and focused on renewing Lab infrastructure and improving facilities and services for employees, guests, and users. Stony Brook is proud to welcome JoAnne as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the C.N. Yang Institute of Theoretical Physics, and we wish her and John the very best in their future roles."
Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.
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