John Hill Named Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory

May 21, 2026

UPTON, N.Y. — Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) has named physicist John Hill as director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, effective May 21. Hill is a longtime employee at Brookhaven Lab. He has served as interim lab director since September 2025.

BSA's board of directors selected Hill after a competitive international search. Hill will also serve as BSA's president. BSA — a partnership between Stony Brook University and Battelle — manages and operates Brookhaven Lab on behalf of DOE’s Office of Science.

“We are delighted to have John Hill selected to lead Brookhaven National Laboratory at a pivotal moment for science and national impact,” said BSA Board Chair and Battelle’s Executive Vice President of National Laboratory Management & Operations Juan Alvarez. “He brings the leadership and vision needed to advance the Lab’s future — delivering transformative discovery through the Electron-Ion Collider and accelerating impact across AI and embodied intelligence, distributed quantum systems, microelectronics, and a future upgrade to the Lab’s National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II). Under John’s leadership, we are confident Brookhaven will continue to expand its science-ready infrastructure and strategic public-private partnerships in service to the nation.”

As director, Hill will work with stakeholders including DOE, policymakers, collaborating institutions, and community members as he leads Brookhaven toward strategic growth and scientific opportunity.

“I am thrilled that, following a very competitive international search, John Hill has emerged as the very best leader for Brookhaven National Laboratory at this exciting juncture,” said BSA Board Co-Chair and Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith. "John’s deep expertise, vision, and leadership skills will be essential as the Lab looks to usher in a new era of fundamental physics discovery at the Electron-Ion Collider, while continuing its groundbreaking research in quantum systems, AI, microelectronics, materials science, and high-resolution imaging. Stony Brook is proud to co-manage and partner with Brookhaven to advance the frontiers of discovery to benefit our country’s innovation, economic vitality, and national security. John’s leadership will be essential to ensuring the Lab’s success and impact long into the future."

A defining decade ahead

"Brookhaven Lab is entering a defining decade, and I'm honored to take on this role at this time." Hill said. " The vision we have for our future is a powerful one, including delivering the nation’s next particle collider and advancing science across a range of critical areas. The capabilities we are building and the work we are performing will shape science and technology for generations to come. It has been a privilege to be part of Brookhaven, its people, and its science since I arrived nearly 35 years ago, and I am very excited to lead the Lab in this coming decade as we realize our future vision together."

Hill will oversee a team of 3,000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and professionals in many fields. They are supporting initiatives to explore building blocks of the universe, lead in discovery with light-enabled science, and develop next-generation information science and capabilities, including AI and quantum.

DOE's Genesis Mission underpins all these efforts. The Genesis Mission is a national initiative in artificial intelligence to build the world's most powerful scientific platform to accelerate discovery science, strengthen national security, and drive energy innovation.

Much of Hill's attention will be focused on delivering the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) — a world-leading nuclear physics research facility being built at Brookhaven through a partnership among DOE, Brookhaven, and DOE's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Virginia with strong support from New York State. The EIC will enable researchers to unlock the secrets of the strongest force in nature — the "glue" that binds the building blocks of all visible matter in the universe. The EIC project will draw on expertise across DOE's National Labs and from universities and research institutions worldwide.

“John’s strong leadership experience and proven ability to spark enthusiasm and collaboration are critical to the next chapter in Brookhaven’s journey of discovery, and, in particular, advancing the groundbreaking EIC, which will incorporate AI from the ground up,” said DOE Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil. “I look forward to working closely with him as the Lab and its partners explore new frontiers in nuclear physics, artificial intelligence, quantum science and more, all in support of American innovation.”

Hill will also work to expand capabilities at NSLS-II, driving advances in a broad range of scientific disciplines. NSLS-II is a DOE Office of Science user facility at Brookhaven Lab.

Last year, experts and unique capabilities at Brookhaven attracted more than 7,300 guest researchers and facility users from universities, private industry, and government agencies. The Lab’s annual budget is approximately $900 million, much of which is funded by the DOE’s Office of Science.

Brookhaven Lab will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2027. The Lab is home to seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and countless advances for science and technology.

From early career physicist to lab director

Hill joined Brookhaven’s Physics Department as a postdoc in 1992. Before becoming interim director, he served as the Lab’s deputy director for science and technology from 2023 to 2025. He was director of NSLS-II from 2015 to 2023 and deputy associate laboratory director for energy and photon sciences from 2013 to 2023. Hill also served as director of NSLS-II's Experimental Facilities Division from 2006 to 2008, and he led the Lab's X-ray Scattering Group from 2001 to 2013.

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.

Hill lives in Stony Brook, New York.

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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