Within the High Energy Physics Division, Bob Wagner leads the Detector R&D Group which develops novel instrumentation to support the division science programs. This includes research in superconducting transition edge sensors and kinetic induction devices, silicon pixel detector technology, near infra-red optical notch filters for removal of atmospheric background from supernovae observations, and microchannel plate photodetectors for picosecond time and millimeter spatial resolution.

Bob’s scientific work has ranged from study of electroweak couplings during his long association with the now-completed Collider Detector at Fermilab experiment to gamma-ray searches for dark matter annihilation in dwarf galaxies to his current involvement with the Mu2e experiment at Fermilab searching for charged lepton flavor violation. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He joined Argonne as a postdoctoral appointee in 1977 and has worked at Argonne continuously since then.