It is difficult to imagine many tougher undertakings than to become the president of the 10-campus University of California system at a time such as this. But that is exactly what Robert C. Dynes has done.

Dynes was the unanimous selection of the UC Board of Regents to replace the retiring Richard Atkinson as the head of the college system that serves nearly 200,000 students.

Dynes, who served with distinction as chancellor of UC San Diego, has a doctorate in physics and worked for nearly 20 years in the AT&T Bell Labs. He has a reputation as a top-flight intellect and has proven himself to be an excellent fund-raiser. There is little doubt that he will need both skills in his new job.

UC faces a mountain of challenges just to maintain its current stature as one of the nation's elite public university systems.

Because of legislation and other pressures UC is expected to grow by as much as 40 percent over the next decade. The system is already pushing capacity in many of its facilities. That kind of additional growth will be difficult to manage.

Adding to that pressure is the very real probability that funding for the system will be cut substantially because of the state's record-breaking financial crisis. There is little doubt that the UC system will feel the pain of whatever budget agreement is crafted in Sacramento.

Such budget vagaries are harmful to the daily operations of the university system, and are also significant obstacles to the system's ability to continue to attract top teaching and research talent.

Then there is the development of UC's newest campus in Merced. Although some construction work has begun on the long-awaited project, there remain some legal challenges that must be handled in the courts. That sort of activity normally takes time, lots of time.

One of Dynes' greatest initial challenges, however, will be to sort out the messes surrounding UC's operation of the nation's nuclear laboratories for the Department of Energy.

Repeated scandals at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, which is run by UC, have prompted the DOE to call for a competitive bid procedure for operation of that lab once the current contract expires in 2005. A similar fate may await the Lawrence Livermore Lab.

If Dynes hopes to keep those prestigious assignments and lucrative contracts for the UC system, he will have to move quickly and firmly to ensure that corrective steps have been taken and that UC can be trusted to provide a higher level of performance than it has in the past.

It is true that Dynes faces a very big job, but his record would suggest that he may be up to the task. All we can do is wish him the best as he strives to improve the UC system.