Prize Recipient

Robert M. Harris
Fermilab

"For implementing and leading a postdoctoral mentorship program that has greatly enriched the scholarly and professional lives of junior scientists at Fermilab."

Robert M. Harris received his B.S. in physics and applied mathematics in 1983, and his PhD in experimental particle physics in 1989, both from the University of California at Berkeley. He conducted postdoctoral research at Fermilab where he is currently a senior scientist. His scientific research has focused on experimental measurements of QCD processes, jets, and especially searches for di-jet resonances in the CDF experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron followed by the CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. He has mentored students, postdocs and scientists worldwide in this research. His technical research has focused on software and scientific computing, and he is currently the lead scientific mentor for Fermilab’s computing organization. Harris started mentoring Fermilab postdocs on the CMS experiment in 2007, and beginning in 2012 he developed, implemented, and led a program of scientific career mentoring for postdocs. It prepares postdocs to acquire the accomplishments, leadership, and communication abilities needed to compete successfully for permanent positions at universities and laboratories in the field of high energy physics. As of 2023, the mentoring program has included over 80 postdocs mentored by over 50 scientists. About 60% of former Fermilab postdocs from this program have gone on to tenure-track positions, and the remaining 40% were supported in the career path of their choice.