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2/2/2013, 04:26 PM
Energy Secretary Steven Chu, UR grad, stepping down
Feb. 2, 2013 3:14 AM, | 0 Comments
WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a 1970 graduate and former trustee of the University of Rochester, said Friday he will leave the Obama administration when a successor is confirmed.
“I would like to return to an academic life of teaching and research, but will still work to advance the missions that we have been working on together for the last four years,” Chu said in a letter to Energy Department employees.
The Nobel Prize winner for physics added, “The journey that I began with you four years ago will continue for many years.”
Chu earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and in physics at UR before receiving his doctorate in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1976. Chu was a UR trustee from 1999 to 2009.
“His assignment was to get new sources of energy going that don’t pollute,” said UR physics professor Thomas Ferbel, who is a visiting professor at the University of Maryland. “We don’t know the results yet.”
Ferbel first met Chu at UR when he was an undergraduate. “He is one of the smartestscientists in the world,” said Ferbel, who described Chu’s style as low-key — “very much out of sight.”
While at UR, Chu won the Stoddard Prize, which is presented to the senior physics major with the best term paper.
President Barack Obama praised Chu for helping “move America toward real energy independence” during their time in office.
“Over the past four years, we have doubled the use of renewable energy, dramatically reduced our dependence on foreign oil, and put our country on a path to win the global race for clean energy jobs,” Obama said. “Thanks to Steve, we also expanded support for our brightest engineers and entrepreneurs as they pursue groundbreaking innovations that could transform our energy future.”
In his letter to employees, Chu cited his department’s efforts to develop new and improved energy technologies, clean energy jobs, home weatherization projects, and hybrid and battery-powered cars.
“The Department of Energy serves the country as a Department of Science, a Department of Innovation, and a Department of Nuclear Security,” Chu wrote.
The outgoing Energy Secretary also noted, “although our oil imports are projected to fall to a 25 year low next year, we still pay a heavy economic, national security and human cost for our oil addiction.”
The biggest criticism of the department during Chu’s tenure: The $528 million federal loan to the solar energy company Solyndra, which later went bankrupt..
Feb. 2, 2013 3:14 AM, | 0 Comments
WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a 1970 graduate and former trustee of the University of Rochester, said Friday he will leave the Obama administration when a successor is confirmed.
“I would like to return to an academic life of teaching and research, but will still work to advance the missions that we have been working on together for the last four years,” Chu said in a letter to Energy Department employees.
The Nobel Prize winner for physics added, “The journey that I began with you four years ago will continue for many years.”
Chu earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and in physics at UR before receiving his doctorate in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1976. Chu was a UR trustee from 1999 to 2009.
“His assignment was to get new sources of energy going that don’t pollute,” said UR physics professor Thomas Ferbel, who is a visiting professor at the University of Maryland. “We don’t know the results yet.”
Ferbel first met Chu at UR when he was an undergraduate. “He is one of the smartestscientists in the world,” said Ferbel, who described Chu’s style as low-key — “very much out of sight.”
While at UR, Chu won the Stoddard Prize, which is presented to the senior physics major with the best term paper.
President Barack Obama praised Chu for helping “move America toward real energy independence” during their time in office.
“Over the past four years, we have doubled the use of renewable energy, dramatically reduced our dependence on foreign oil, and put our country on a path to win the global race for clean energy jobs,” Obama said. “Thanks to Steve, we also expanded support for our brightest engineers and entrepreneurs as they pursue groundbreaking innovations that could transform our energy future.”
In his letter to employees, Chu cited his department’s efforts to develop new and improved energy technologies, clean energy jobs, home weatherization projects, and hybrid and battery-powered cars.
“The Department of Energy serves the country as a Department of Science, a Department of Innovation, and a Department of Nuclear Security,” Chu wrote.
The outgoing Energy Secretary also noted, “although our oil imports are projected to fall to a 25 year low next year, we still pay a heavy economic, national security and human cost for our oil addiction.”
The biggest criticism of the department during Chu’s tenure: The $528 million federal loan to the solar energy company Solyndra, which later went bankrupt..