After eight years at the helm of the American Institute of Physics, executive director and CEO Fred Dylla has retired.

During his tenure at AIP, Dylla guided the creation of AIP’s first open access journal, AIP Advances, and oversaw the opening of the institute’s first office outside the United States, located in Beijing, China. AIP also spun off its publishing operations into a wholly owned subsidiary (AIP Publishing LLC) and undertook a major governance reorganization.

“AIP is currently experiencing its strongest levels of revenue and collaboration, thanks in large part to outgoing CEO, Fred Dylla,” said Louis J. Lanzerotti, chairman of the AIP Board of Directors.

Having authored more than 200 publications, Dylla became a strong advocate for scientific journals and for improved access to scientific information through various business models. In 2009 Dylla helped organize and participated in the Scholarly Publishing Roundtable under the aegis of the US House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Recommendations from the roundtable were incorporated in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. In 2013 Dylla helped found CHORUS, the Clearinghouse for the Open Research of the United States. He remains on its board.

Prior to coming to AIP, Dylla served as chief technology officer and associate director at DOE’s Jefferson Lab, where he spearheaded the Free Electron Laser program. He held various positions at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where he helped develop technology for nuclear fusion reactors, particle accelerators, and materials processing.

His successor is Robert G. W. Brown, previously chief sensor scientist at the Advanced Technology Center of Rockwell Collins, Inc., and adjunct full professor at the University of California, Irvine.