Contact Information
Department of Physics525 Northwestern Avenue
West Lafayette, IN
47907-2036
Map and Directions
Telephone:
(765) 494-2970
Fax:
(765) 494-0706
Dr. Roger Dixon - Distinguished Alumnus 2013
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BS 1970, New Mexico Highlands University, Physics and Mathematics
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MS 1972, Purdue University, Physics
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PhD 1975, Purdue University, Physics
I spent my early
years in a logging camp in New Mexico and a ski area
in Colorado trying to figure out how to make that part of my life
last forever. I incorrectly concluded that I had failed, so I went
off to college.
I obtained my
Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1975 after completing a Bachelors
Degree in Physics and Mathematics at New Mexico Highlands University
in 1970. After a short stint as a postdoc at Cornell, I joined the
Fermilab staff in 1977 where I have spent most of my career trying
not to be in charge of anything, a tactic that is very effective for
achieving the contrary result.
Initially I
became the Head of the Fermilab Switchyard Group in the Accelerator
Division. Subsequently I served as Deputy Head of the Tevatron II
Project, which built the extraction system and the beam lines for the
Tevatron Fixed-target program, and in 1983 became head for the
Experimental Areas Department in the Research Division. Later I
accidentlally became the head of the Research Division, but only
after I had spent a few years as Head of the Dzero Department and
co-project manager during detector construction. I finally thought I
had learned my lesson and was happily working on my favorite research
project, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS), when someone at one
of the funding agencies noticed that the effort needed a project
manager. I tried unsuccessfully to hide under my chair. I gave in
only to be tagged again before the project was even done. For the
past 10 years I have been the head of the Fermilab Accelerator
Division, my original home at the Laboratory. I helped build the
Tevatron in my first few years at Fermilab, and recently I had a
primary role in operating it during its most productive years and
finally putting it to sleep– forever. In addition I participated
in a few other experiments along the way.
My most
important role at Fermilab has been in the area of outreach and
education. I inherited the Saturday Morning Physics program and one
of the summer internship programs from Leon Lederman and Drasko
Jovanovic. I began participating in these programs about 25 years
ago and have been organizing them for the past 14 or 15 years. In
addition I have been a Siemens Science and Technology Judge for all
13 years of that competition.
I have now concluded that everything lasts forever– no problem!
| Year | Achievement |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Head of Program Planning, Fermilab |
| 1987 | Co-project manager for Dzero detector at Fermilab |
| 1992 | Head of Research Division, Fermilab |
| 1998 | Named Cryogenic Dark Matter Search Project Manager |
| 2003 | Named Head of Fermilab Accelerator Division |