Energy, Policy, and Dr. Steven Chu

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Steven Chu

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With the inauguration of Barack Obama came more than just a change in Commander-In-Chief.  The 20th of January ushered in a host of new politicians and new ideas.  Certainly one who has attracted much attention is Dr. Steven Chu, the Director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the new Secretary of Energy.

In his book, Science, Money, and Politics: Political Triumph and Ethical Erosion, renowned science policy journalist Daniel S. Greenburg, discusses the typical absence of policy-making scientists: 

"On the national landscape, science has settled into its own territory....Scientists in public office, or exerting influence offstage in matters beyond their direct professional cares, are actually rare.  Scientists interested in attaining political goals generally find themselves frustrated by Washington.  Advanced scientific training is astonishingly rare among elected officials at all levels of government; few professional scientists move on to appointive positions outside the government agencies that manage and support scientific work."

Until now.

A 1997 Nobel Prize Winner in physics, Dr. Chu has been working in the scientific field since the 1970s.  A self-proclaimed "mediocre student" in high school, Chu discovered his passion for research as a graduate student at UC Berkeley.  He went on to do work at Bell Labs, and then at Stanford, before becoming a Nobel Laureate.

See this autobiography, which he assembled after winning the Nobel Prize.  He shared the award with Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William D. Phillips for developing methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light.

Dr. Chu has been the director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2004, where he had proven an early advocate of finding scientific solutions to climate change.

According to Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), it is customary for the Senate to confirm non- controversial cabinet nominations at the beginning of a new administration by unanimous consent without first referring them to [the Senate Energy and National Resource] committee. It is also customary to do so immediately following the inaugural ceremony. 

With regard to national energy priorities, Sen. Bingaman regonized the uniqueness of the energy situation in which the US currently finds itself:

Sen. Lisa Murkovski (R-AK) responded:

According to a report by the American Institute of Physics:

In his testimony, Dr. Chu empashized the importance of focusing on alternative energies, as well as committing research to further possibilities for nuclear power.  He encouraged energy independence, fuel efficiency, environmental protection, and the need to fund science that will combat climate change.  Chu cited his varied experience in academia and industry as legitimizing factors in his approach.  His inexperience as a politician could be an asset or a setback.  Which it will be remains to be seen over the course of this term.

It appears that times are changing - no longer are scientists absent as policymakers.  Today's energy and environmental issues - which, oftentimes, are one and the same - require an approach to science and technology policy that is much more holistic than it has been in the past.  Just as Sagan says, science and technology are so pervasive in everyday life that a more unified approach has proven to be necessary.  Educated policymakers will be crucial to protecting and improving that nation's quality of life with respect to these issues.

Steven Chu is taking this type of unified approach - one which is notably consistent with the Obama Administration's platform of change.