Robert J. Birgeneau
| Robert J. Birgeneau | |
|---|---|
Birgeneau at a Blum Center groundbreaking, April 2009.
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| 9th Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley | |
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In office 2004–2013 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Berdahl |
| Succeeded by | Nicholas Dirks |
| 14th President of the University of Toronto | |
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In office 2000–2004 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Prichard |
| Succeeded by | David Naylor |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert Joseph Birgeneau March 25, 1942 Toronto, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Catherine |
| Residence | Berkeley, California |
| Alma mater |
University of Toronto Yale University |
| Profession | Physicist |
Robert Joseph Birgeneau (born March 25, 1942) is a Canadian-American physicist and university administrator. He was the ninth chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley from 2004 to 2013, and the fourteenth president of the University of Toronto from 2000 to 2004. His period as the Berkeley chancellor included controversial responses to the Occupy Cal movement.
The first from his family to finish high school, Birgeneau graduated from St. Michael's College School in Toronto. He received a B.Sc in mathematics in 1963 from St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto, where he also met his wife Mary Catherine; they have four children. Birgeneau received his Ph.D in physics from Yale University in 1966 for thesis titled Magnetic Interactions in Rare-Earth Insulators under the supervision of Werner P. Wolf.
He spent a year each on the faculties of Yale and the University of Oxford. From 1968 to 1975, he worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories.
He then joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a professor of physics. During his 25 years at MIT, he served as Chair of the Physics Department and ultimately as Dean of Science.
He was then appointed to serve as the President of the University of Toronto, a role he held from 2000 to 2004. Birgeneau appointed Shirley Neuman as Vice President and Provost (chief academic officer) in July 2002, but she resigned on February 2, 2004, after just 19 months on the post. It was reported that Neuman’s head-strong approach alienated her from colleagues and students, and there were also tensions between Birgeneau and herself.
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