Stanford announced Tuesday that Persis S. Drell, director of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, plans to step down from her position to return to her role as a faculty member. She will remain the director of SLAC until the University hires a replacement.

Drell has been the director of SLAC since 2007 and is credited with making SLAC one of the leading laboratories in the country. Prior to her leadership, the research facility primarily focused on high-energy physics research, but its scope has since expanded to other fields.

A committee, headed by Provost John Etchemendy, has been assembled to search for a new director. William Madia, SLAC vice president, and Roger Blandford, director of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, will co-chair the committee. Prospective directors will be interviewed from January to June of next year.