Dr. Robert J. Stack recently retired from the US Dept. of Energy, where he served for 13 years establishing and managing a new research grants program called Physical Biosciences. This program supports multidisciplinary basic research – one of the few in the US federal government – that combines chemical, physical, and genetic methods with advanced computational tools to achieve a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of energy capture, conversion and storage in biological systems. Bob also played a key role managing a number of DOE’s newer Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), which are larger scale, multi-institutional awards that were established specifically to promote multidisciplinary research on some of the most challenging problems in energy science.

Most of Bob’s early career as a biochemist was spent in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he worked for a variety of small start-up companies in various capacities from his early days as a bench scientist to senior executive to board member. No matter the role, even then Bob most enjoyed developing collaborations within and between companies and breaking down the barriers that often keeps the different disciplines of science from more effectively working together to achieve common goals.

In retirement, Bob stays active with a variety of seasonal activities ranging from gardening to skiing.