Immigrant of the Day: Robert C. Dynes (Canada)

Robert C. Dynes (born November 8, 1942 in Ontario, Canada) is the president of the University of California system.

Dynes earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from the University of Western Ontario in 1964, then earned master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from McMaster University.

Dynes worked at Bell Laboratories from 1964 to 1990. In 1991, he became professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and, in 1996, became chancellor of the UCSD campus.

In 2003, Dynes became the 18th president of the entire University of California system.

Dynes’ scientific honors include the 1990 Fritz London Award in Low Temperature Physics and election to the Council of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In August 2007, Dynes announced that he will leave the Office of the President to return to teaching by June 2008, or when a successor is named.

Dynes became a naturalized United States citizen in 1984.

KJ