Daily News Briefs

Robert Rosner has been appointed director of Argonne National Laboratory, effective April 18. His appointment was made by the University of Chicago and approved by Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman. Rosner succeeds Hermann Grunder, who was director of the laboratory from 2000. Rosner was formerly Argonne's associate laboratory director for physical, biological and computing sciences and was its chief scientist since 2002; in those roles he implemented reinvigorating changes in multiple areas of research while achieving an outstanding record in safety and security, according to University of Chicago President Don M. Randel. In addition, he was the architect of Argonne's 20-year strategic plan for science and technology. . . . Avantes, a Boulder, Colo., maker of fiber optic spectroscopy products and sensor systems, announced it has formed a partnerhip with Wilkens-Anderson Co., a Chicago-based distributor of laboratory instruments, supplies and chemicals, to market Avantes instruments in the Midwest. . . . Munich-based excimer laser manufacturer TuiLaser AG and QPS Photronics Inc., a Quebec manufacturer of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), announced they have launched two technology transfer programs. The first product is a starter kit comprised of an FBG writing station for products and process development; the second is a semi-automated FBG writing station equipped with process recipes and automated test methods, software and integrated reliability methods.