Persis S. Drell

Persis S. Drell is the James and Anna Marie Spilker Professor, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and of Physics, and Provost, Emerita, at Stanford University. She is affiliated with the Department of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering. Her research interests include Experimental and Observational Astrophysics and Cosmology, and Experimental Particle Physics. Prior to her role as provost, she served as dean of the Stanford School of Engineering and director of the SLAC National Acceleratory Laboratory. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from Wellesley College and her PhD in atomic physics from UC Berkeley. Before joining Stanford in 2002, she was a faculty member at Cornell University for 14 years.