Jump to content

Steven Chu

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steven Chu

FREngForMemRSHonFInstP
Official portrait, 2009
12thUnited States Secretary of Energy
In office
January 21, 2009 – April 22, 2013
PresidentBarack Obama
DeputyDaniel Poneman
Preceded bySamuel Bodman
Succeeded byErnest Moniz
Personal details
Born(1948-02-28)February 28, 1948(age 76)
St. Louis, Missouri,U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1][2]
Spouse(s)Lisa Chu-Thielbar (divorced)
Jean Fetter
​
(m.1997)​
Children2
FatherJu-Chin Chu
Relatives
EducationUniversity of Rochester(BA,BS)
University of California, Berkeley(MS,PhD)
OccupationPolitician, writer
ProfessionPhysicist
Awards
WebsiteUniversity website
Scientific career
FieldsAtomic physics,biological physics,polymer physics
Institutions
ThesisObservation of the Forbidden Magnetic Dipole Transition 62P1/2→72P1/2in Atomic Thallium(1976)
Doctoral advisorEugene D. Commins
Doctoral studentsMichale Fee
Chinese name
ChineseChu đệ văn
Hanyu PinyinZhū Dìwén

Steven Chu(born February 28, 1948)[3]is anAmericanphysicist.He was the 12thUnited States Secretary of Energyfrom 2009 to 2013. Chu is known for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, along with his scientific colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William Daniel Phillips.[3]

Chu is the firstNobel Prizewinner and the secondChinese Americanto hold a post in the United States Cabinet.[4][5]Before becoming the United States Secretary of Energy, he was a professor of physics and molecular and cellular biology at theUniversity of California, Berkeley.He was also the director of theLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.[6]

Before teaching at Berkeley, he was a professor of physics atStanford University.He has argued for more research into alternative energy andnuclear power.He thinks the world should shift away fromfossil fuelsto help withclimate change.[7][8][9]For example, he discusses a global "glucose economy". This is a form of a low-carboneconomy, in whichglucosefrom tropical plants is shipped around likeoilis today.[10]

Early life[change|change source]

Chu[11]was born inSt. Louis, Missouri.He has ancestry from Taicang,Jiangsu.[12]He attended andgraduatedfrom Garden City High School.[13]He received both aB.A.inmathematicsand a B.S. inphysicsin 1970 from the University of Rochester. He went on to earn hisPh.D.in physics from theUniversity of California, Berkeley,in 1976.

Career[change|change source]

He wrote a paper on gravitational redshift published inNature(463, 926–929) in Feb 2010[14]and a second one co-authored in July 2010.[15][16]

Under his leadership in 2010 theDepartment of Energyupdated the water usage regulations on toilets and showers.[17]

Secretary of Energy[change|change source]

Steven Chu meeting with President Barack Obama on February 5, 2009.

His nomination to be Secretary of Energy was unanimously confirmed by theUnited States Senateon January 20, 2009.[18]On January 21, 2009, Chu was sworn in as Secretary of Energy in theBarack Obamaadministration.

In March 2011 Chu said that federal regulators should not delay approving licenses for construction for planned U.S.nuclear power plantsbecause of theFukushima nuclear disaster."I think those things can proceed", Chu told reporters on Capital Hill, referring to construction license applicationspendingat the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.[19]

In August 2011, Chu praised an advisory panel’s report on curbing the environmental risks of natural-gas development. Chu responded to the panel’s report onhydraulic fracturing.Hydraulic fracturing breaks up rock to get more oil and gas out of the ground. The report recommendations include: greater data collection of air and water data, “rigorous” air pollution standards and mandatory disclosure ofchemicalsused in the hydraulic fracturing process. “The report... recommends a range of tools for implementing these measures, including regulation, continuous improvement in best practices by industry, and ongoing research and development,” Chu said in a statement. “I will be working closely with my colleagues in the Administration to review the recommendations and to chart a path for continued development of this vital energy resource in a safe manner,” he added.[20]

Republicans in Congress have accused Chu for changing aUS$535 million federal loan to Solyndra, an energy company. When the company went bankrupt in 2011, the government lost the money. A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee asked Chu in 2011 about the loan.[21][22][23]

On February 12, 2013, Chu was thedesignated survivorduring theState of the Union address.[24]

On February 1, 2013, Chu announced his plans to resign.[25]In his resignation announcement, he warned of therisksofclimate change.[26]He resigned on April 22, 2013.

References[change|change source]

  1. ↑Steven Chu's file.PolitiFact. Retrieved on 2012-02-04.
  2. ↑"Fundraising activities are limited, but star power brings in the bucks".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-02-15.Retrieved2012-02-15.
  3. ↑3.03.1Tore Frängsmyr, ed. (1998). "Steven Chu Autobiography".The Nobel Prizes 1997.Les Prix Nobel.Stockholm:The Nobel Foundation.Retrieved2007-06-25.
  4. ↑Jake Tapper (2008-12-11)."A Nobel Prize Winner in the Cabinet".ABC News.Retrieved2009-03-23.
  5. ↑Sky Canaves (2009-02-26)."Commerce Nominee a Locke In China".The Wall Street Journal.Retrieved2009-03-23.
  6. ↑"Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy".United States Department of Energy.Retrieved2009-02-24.
  7. ↑H. Josef Hebert (2008-12-08)."Energy secretary pick argues for new fuel sources".Associated Press.Retrieved2010-11-09.
  8. ↑Sarah Jane Tribble, 'Nuclear: Dark horse energy alternative,' Oakland Tribune, 2007-06-18.[1]Archived2013-08-29 at theWayback Machine
  9. ↑Directors of DOE National Laboratories (August 2008)."A Sustainable Energy Future: The Essential Role of Nuclear Energy"(PDF).Department of Energy. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2008-12-30.Retrieved2011-12-13.
  10. ↑"A scientist who is on tap, on top".St. Petersberg Times. July 26, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon January 24, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 10,2010.
  11. ↑Bert Eljera (1997-10-23)."Stanford Professor Steven Chu graduates to the rank of Nobel laureate".AsianWeek. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-12-15.Retrieved2013-12-31.
  12. ↑Brendan John Worrell (2009-07-15)."Steven Chu: US ready to lead on climate change".ChinaDaily.Retrieved2013-12-31.
  13. ↑Kathleen Kerr (2008-07-16)."They Began Here".Newsday.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-07-03.Retrieved2013-12-31.
  14. ↑A precision measurement of the gravitational redshift by the interference of matter wavesNature18-Feb-2010. According to Nature he worked on this "during nights, weekends and on planes - after putting in 70-80 hours a week as energy secretary" (Nature463p867)
  15. ↑Borestein, Seth (2010-07-07)."Energy secretary's hobby is nano science".MSNBC.Associated Press.Retrieved2010-07-12.
  16. ↑Pertsinidis, Alexandros; Zhang, Yunxiang; Chu, Steven (2010). "Subnanometre single-molecule localization, registration and distance measurements".Nature.advance. online publication (7306): 647–51.Bibcode:2010Natur.466..647P.doi:10.1038/nature09163.ISSN1476-4687.PMID20613725.S2CID205221226.
  17. ↑"Time for a Shower (Before It's Too Late) - The Weekly Standard".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-01-05.Retrieved2011-12-13.
  18. ↑Nicholas Johnston (2009-01-20)."Senate Confirms Seven Obama Nominees, Delays Clinton".Bloomberg L.P.Retrieved2009-01-25.
  19. ↑"Japan crisis should not delay new U.S. reactors: Chu".Reuters.2011-03-15. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-09-24.Retrieved2017-08-31.
  20. ↑"Chu vows to 'chart a path' for safe gas drilling".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-07-24.Retrieved2011-12-13.
  21. ↑http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-11-20/opinion/30423943_1_ceo-brian-harrison-solyndra-loan-steven-chu[permanent dead link]
  22. ↑Wald, Matthew L. (16 November 2011)."Energy Secretary Steven Chu to Defend Solyndra Loan to Congress".The New York Times.
  23. ↑Samuelsohn, Darren."GOP grills Chu on Solyndra".POLITICO.
  24. ↑Weiner, Rachel (12 February 2013)."Steven Chu is the State of the Union 'designated survivor'".The Washington Post.Retrieved2017-07-04.
  25. ↑"Energy Secretary Steven Chu to resign".Politico.Retrieved1 February2013.
  26. ↑"Letter from Secretary Steven Chu to Energy Department Employees".energy.gov.Retrieved17 November2013.

Other websites[change|change source]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSteven Chu.
Political offices
Preceded by
Samuel Bodman 		United States Secretary of Energy
2009–2013 		Succeeded by
Daniel Poneman
Acting
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steven_Chu&oldid=9603724"