Roger Elwood Batzel (December 1, 1921 – July 29, 2000) was an American nuclear scientist, best known as the director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for over sixteen years, from 1971 to 1988.

[4][5] He left college during World War II to serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces as a navigation instructor, then returned to UI and earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1947.

[5] Batzel worked for General Electric for a year at nearby Hanford, Washington, then attended graduate school at the University of California in Berkeley.

Under his guidance, the Laboratory broadened its mission from primarily nuclear weapons to many areas of applied science, and he stepped down in April 1988 at age 66.

[1][8] Batzel suffered a major heart attack in July 2000 at age 78 and died several days later in a San Ramon hospital.