Brookhaven National Laboratory’s first female director has stepped down two years after coming from the West Coast to take the post, the Upton lab announced Tuesday.

JoAnne Hewett decided earlier this month to resign to focus on her other role as a faculty member with the C.N. Yang Institute of Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook University, lab officials said in a news release.

John Hill, the lab's deputy director for science and technology, will serve as interim director until a permanent director is named, the news release said. The lab plans a nationwide search to find Hewett's permanent successor, the release said.

Hewett, 65, of Old Field, did not return a phone message seeking comment.

In a statement released by the lab, Hewett said serving as director was "an honor and a privil

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