View source for Steven Chu

{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Steven Chu
| honorific_suffix    = {{postnom|country=GBR|FREng|ForMemRS|HonFInstP|size=100%}}
| image               = Steven Chu official DOE portrait.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 2009
| office              = 12th [[United States Secretary of Energy]]
| president           = [[Barack Obama]]
| deputy              = [[Daniel Poneman]]
| term_start          = January 21, 2009
| term_end            = April 22, 2013
| predecessor         = [[Samuel Bodman]]
| successor           = [[Ernest Moniz]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1948|2|28}}
| birth_place         = [[St. Louis, Missouri]], U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]<ref>[http://politifact.com/personalities/steven-chu/ Steven Chu's file]. PolitiFact. Retrieved on 2012-02-04.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/02/13/8139/four-cabinet-members-willing-help-democratic-super-pacs |title=Fundraising activities are limited, but star power brings in the bucks |access-date=2012-02-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215101019/http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/02/13/8139/four-cabinet-members-willing-help-democratic-super-pacs |archive-date=2012-02-15}}</ref>
| spouse              = Lisa Chu-Thielbar (divorced)<br/>{{marriage|Jean Fetter|1997}}
| children            = 2
| father              = [[Ju-Chin Chu]]
| relatives           = {{ublist|[[Shu-tian Li]] (grandfather)|[[Gilbert Chu]] (brother)|[[Morgan Chu]] (brother)}}
| education           = [[University of Rochester]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br/>[[University of California, Berkeley]] ([[Master of Science|MS]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
| profession          = Physicist
| occupation          = Politician, writer
| awards              = {{Plain list|
* [[King Faisal Prize]] (1993)
* [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] (1997)
* Golden Plate Award (1998)
}}
| website             = {{URL|https://profiles.stanford.edu/steve-chu|University website}}
| module              = {{Infobox scientist
|embed             = yes
|fields            = [[Atomic physics]], [[biological physics]], [[polymer physics]]
|workplaces        = {{ublist|[[Bell Labs]]|[[Stanford University]]|[[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]]}}
|thesis_title      = Observation of the Forbidden Magnetic Dipole Transition 6<sup>2</sup>P<sub>1/2</sub>→7<sup>2</sup>P<sub>1/2</sub> in Atomic Thallium
|thesis_url        = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302807361
|thesis_year       = 1976
|doctoral_advisor  = [[Eugene D. Commins]]
|doctoral_students = [[Michale Fee]]
}}
| module2             = {{Infobox Chinese
|child             = yes
|hide              = no
|c                 = 朱棣文
|p                 = Zhū Dìwén
}}
}}
'''Steven Chu''' (born February 28, 1948)<ref name="Nobel">{{cite book | editor = Tore Frängsmyr | title = The Nobel Prizes 1997 | url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1997/chu-autobio.html | accessdate = 2007-06-25 | series = Les Prix Nobel | publisher = The Nobel Foundation | location = [[Stockholm]] |chapter= Steven Chu Autobiography | year=1998}}</ref> is an [[Americans|American]] [[physicist]]. He was the 12th [[United States Secretary of Energy]] from 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.<ref name="Nobel"/> 

Chu is the first [[Nobel Peace Prize|Nobel Prize]] winner and the second [[Chinese American]] to hold a post in the United States Cabinet.<ref name="FirstNobel">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/12/a-nobel-prize-w.html|title=A Nobel Prize Winner in the Cabinet|publisher=[[ABC News]]|author=Jake Tapper|date=2008-12-11|accessdate=2009-03-23}}</ref><ref name=.>{{cite news|author=Sky Canaves|title=Commerce Nominee a Locke In China|publisher=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=2009-02-26|accessdate=2009-03-23|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2009/02/26/commerce-nominee-a-locke-in-china/}}</ref> Before becoming the United States Secretary of Energy, he was a professor of physics and molecular and cellular biology at the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. He was also the director of the [[University of California, Berkeley|Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]].<ref name="doe_bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.energy.gov/organization/dr_steven_chu.htm|title=Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy|publisher=[[United States Department of Energy]]|accessdate=2009-02-24}}</ref>  

Before teaching at Berkeley, he was a professor of physics at [[Stanford University]]. He has argued for more research into alternative energy and [[nuclear power]]. He thinks the world should shift away from [[fossil fuel]]s to help with [[climate change]].<ref name="Hebert">{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008492740_apchuprofile.html|title=Energy secretary pick argues for new fuel sources|author=H. Josef Hebert|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|date=2008-12-08|accessdate=2010-11-09}}</ref><ref name="Tribble">Sarah Jane Tribble, 'Nuclear: Dark horse energy alternative,' Oakland Tribune, 2007-06-18. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20070618/ai_n19308148/pg_4?tag=artBody;col1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829131703/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20070618/ai_n19308148/pg_4?tag=artBody;col1 |date=2013-08-29 }}</ref><ref name="Directors">{{cite web|url=http://www.ne.doe.gov/pdfFiles/rpt_SustainableEnergyFuture_Aug2008.pdf|author=Directors of DOE National Laboratories|title=A Sustainable Energy Future: The Essential Role of Nuclear Energy|publisher=Department of Energy|date=August 2008|access-date=2011-12-13|archive-date=2008-12-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230075242/http://www.ne.doe.gov/pdfFiles/rpt_SustainableEnergyFuture_Aug2008.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> For example, he discusses a global "glucose economy". This is a form of a low-[[carbon]] economy, in which [[glucose]] from tropical plants is shipped around like [[oil]] is today.<ref name=ontap>{{cite news|url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/perspective/article1020822.ece|accessdate=January 10, 2010|title=A scientist who is on tap, on top|date=July 26, 2009|publisher=St. Petersberg Times|archive-date=January 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124115710/http://www.tampabay.com/news/perspective/article1020822.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Early life ==
Chu<ref name="Eljera">{{cite news|url=http://asianweek.com/102397/cover_story.html|publisher=AsianWeek|title=Stanford Professor Steven Chu graduates to the rank of Nobel laureate|author=Bert Eljera|date=1997-10-23|accessdate=2013-12-31|archive-date=2008-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215170744/http://asianweek.com/102397/cover_story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> was born in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. He has ancestry from Taicang, [[Jiangsu]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-07/15/content_8432285.htm|publisher=ChinaDaily|title=Steven Chu: US ready to lead on climate change|author=Brendan John Worrell|date=2009-07-15|accessdate=2013-12-31}}</ref> He attended and [[graduate|graduated]] from Garden City High School.<ref name="Kerr">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-century_of_science_dissons,0,7662594.story|title=They Began Here|publisher=[[Newsday]]|author=Kathleen Kerr|date=2008-07-16|accessdate=2013-12-31|archive-date=2007-07-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703224700/http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-century_of_science_dissons,0,7662594.story|url-status=dead}}</ref> He received both a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in [[mathematics]] and a B.S. in [[physics]] in 1970 from the University of Rochester. He went on to earn his [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in physics from the [[University of California, Berkeley]], in 1976.
== Career ==
He wrote a paper on gravitational redshift published in ''Nature'' (463, 926&ndash;929) in Feb 2010<ref>[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v463/n7283/full/nature08776.html A precision measurement of the gravitational redshift by the interference of matter waves] [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] 18-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" (''Nature'' '''463''' p867)</ref> and a second one co-authored in July 2010.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Borestein | first = Seth | agency = Associated Press | title = Energy secretary's hobby is nano science | work = MSNBC | accessdate = 2010-07-12 | date = 2010-07-07 | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38130342/ns/technology_and_science-science/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1038/nature09163| pmid = 20613725 | issn = 1476-4687| volume = online publication | issue = 7306 | title = Subnanometre single-molecule localization, registration and distance measurements | journal = Nature| series = advance| pages = 647–51 | year = 2010 |bibcode = 2010Natur.466..647P | s2cid = 205221226 | last1 = Pertsinidis | first1 = Alexandros | last2 = Zhang | first2 = Yunxiang | last3 = Chu | first3 = Steven }}</ref>

Under his leadership in 2010 the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] updated the water usage regulations on toilets and showers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/time-shower-it%E2%80%99s-too-late|title=Time for a Shower (Before It’s Too Late) - The Weekly Standard<!-- Bot generated title -->|publisher=|access-date=2011-12-13|archive-date=2012-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105123222/http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/time-shower-it%E2%80%99s-too-late|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Secretary of Energy ==
[[File:President Obama and Secretary Chu.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Steven Chu meeting with President Barack Obama on February 5, 2009.]]
His nomination to be Secretary of Energy was unanimously confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on January 20, 2009.<ref name="Bloomberg">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aFtD02yqOtMw|title=Senate Confirms Seven Obama Nominees, Delays Clinton|author=Nicholas Johnston|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=2009-01-20|accessdate=2009-01-25}}</ref> On January 21, 2009, Chu was sworn in as Secretary of Energy in the [[Barack Obama]] administration. 

In March 2011 Chu said that federal regulators should not delay approving licenses for construction for planned U.S. [[nuclear power plant]]s because of the [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]]. "I think those things can proceed", Chu told reporters on Capital Hill, referring to construction license applications [[pending|pending]] at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-usa-nuclear-licenses-idUSTRE72E6PM20110315 | work=Reuters | title=Japan crisis should not delay new U.S. reactors: Chu | date=2011-03-15 | access-date=2017-08-31 | archive-date=2015-09-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924151845/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-usa-nuclear-licenses-idUSTRE72E6PM20110315 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

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 on [[hydraulic 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 of [[chemical]]s used 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/177419-chu-vows-to-chart-a-path-for-safe-gas-drilling|title=Chu vows to 'chart a path' for safe gas drilling|publisher=|access-date=2011-12-13|archive-date=2012-07-24|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724091107/http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/177419-chu-vows-to-chart-a-path-for-safe-gas-drilling|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Republicans in Congress have accused Chu for changing a [[US$]]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.<ref>http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-11-20/opinion/30423943_1_ceo-brian-harrison-solyndra-loan-steven-chu{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/us/politics/energy-secretary-stephen-chu-to-defend-solyndra-loan-to-congress.html|title=Energy Secretary Steven Chu to Defend Solyndra Loan to Congress|first=Matthew L.|last=Wald|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 November 2011|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68643.html|title=GOP grills Chu on Solyndra|first=Darren|last=Samuelsohn|website=POLITICO}}</ref>

On February 12, 2013, Chu was the [[designated survivor]] during the [[2013 State of the Union Address|State of the Union address]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/02/12/steven-chu-is-designated-survivor-for-state-of-the-union/|title=Steven Chu is the State of the Union 'designated survivor'|last=Weiner|first=Rachel|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=12 February 2013|access-date=2017-07-04}}</ref>

On February 1, 2013, Chu announced his plans to resign.<ref>{{cite web |title=Energy Secretary Steven Chu to resign |url = http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/energy-secretary-steven-chu-to-resign-87073.html?hp=l2 |publisher=Politico|access-date=1 February 2013}}</ref> In his resignation announcement, he warned of the [[Climate risk|risks]] of [[climate change]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Letter from Secretary Steven Chu to Energy Department Employees |url = http://energy.gov/articles/letter-secretary-steven-chu-energy-department-employees |publisher=energy.gov |access-date=17 November 2013}}</ref> He resigned on April 22, 2013.

== Steven Chu Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Steven Chu NSF.jpg|Steven Chu, 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics

File:Pontifical Academician Steven Chu.jpg|Chu with his medal as a Pontifical Academician, 2018

File:OliverInderwildi-FatihBirol-StevenChu-OxfordUniversity.jpg|Chu (right) with IEA Executive Director [[Fatih Birol]] (middle) and Oliver Inderwildi (left) at the [[Oxford Union]], 2010
</gallery>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Other websites ==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://energy.gov/contributors/secretary-energy-dr-steven-chu Secretary of Energy Steven Chu] at [[United States Department of Energy]]
*[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1997/index.html The Nobel Prize in Physics 1997] from [[Nobel Prize]] with biography, lecture, diploma, photos, symposia and links
*[http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Director/ Bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116073002/http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Director/ |date=2009-01-16 }} from [[University of California, Berkeley|Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]]
**[http://energy.berkeley.edu/ Energy@Berkeley: Solutions for Global Warming]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[University of California, Berkeley]], November 13, 2007 includes link to event on [[YouTube]]
**[http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/Currents/Archive/Feb-16-2007.html BP Makes Berkeley World Center for Biofuels] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230130700/http://www2.lbl.gov/Publications/Currents/Archive/Feb-16-2007.html |date=2016-12-30 }} press release on the BP collaboration February 16, 2007
**[http://www.lbl.gov/solar/ipfiles/plenary/chu_Solar_to_Chem_Energy_3-28-05.ppt Alternative Energy Sources] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601042526/https://www2.lbl.gov/solar/ipfiles/plenary/chu_Solar_to_Chem_Energy_3-28-05.ppt |date=2019-06-01 }} March 28, 2005, Chu's PowerPoint presentation
*[http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jan/18/boulders-physicists-give-chu-thumbs-/ Boulder’s physicists give Chu thumbs-up] Article on other Nobel laureates' reactions to Chu as secretary of energy
*[http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/chu.html Biography and Bibliographic Resources], from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, [[United States Department of Energy]]
*[http://www.uctv.tv/search-moreresults.asp?contactID=91446&speaker=yes UCTV Programs with Steven Chu] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130114020916/http://www.uctv.tv/search-moreresults.asp?contactID=91446&speaker=yes |date=2013-01-14 }}
**[http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=11023 Physics Meets Biology] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130113225033/http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=11023 |date=2013-01-13 }}
**[http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=11197 Berkeley's Nobel Tradition] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130113212606/http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=11197 |date=2013-01-13 }}
**[http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=8591 Holding on to Atoms and Molecules with Lasers: Laser Cooling - From Atomic Clocks to Watching Biomolecules Move] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130114011650/http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=8591 |date=2013-01-14 }}
**[http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=8592 What Can Physics Say About Life?] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130113221304/http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=8592 |date=2013-01-13 }}
**[http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=8642 Conversations with History: A Scientist's Random Walk, with Steven Chu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104064955/http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=8642 |date=2009-01-04 }}
*[http://www.stanford.edu/dept/physics/people/faculty/chu_steven.html Bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070603030844/http://www.stanford.edu/dept/physics/people/faculty/chu_steven.html |date=2007-06-03 }} and [http://www.stanford.edu/group/chugroup/steve.html personal page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010181119/http://www.stanford.edu/group/chugroup/steve.html |date=2008-10-10 }} from [[Stanford University]] Department of Physics
**[http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/1997/july16/polymers.html Steven Chu: Uncovering the secret life of molecules] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226232439/http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/1997/july16/polymers.html |date=2009-02-26 }} from ''Stanford [Online] Report'' (July 16, 1997)
*[http://chu.berkeley.edu/ Chu's biophysics research group] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025010503/http://chu.berkeley.edu/ |date=2007-10-25 }} at [[University of California, Berkeley]]
**[http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/10/03_chu.shtml Growing energy: Berkeley Lab's Steve Chu on what termite guts have to do with global warming] from ''UC Berkeley News'' (September 30, 2005)
*{{YouTube|pLr4YbStc0M|Chu's lecture on the Helios Project for renewable energy}} March 12, 2008
*[http://www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com/get-informed/news/climate-disasters-a-significant-possibility-says-nobel-laureate-steve-chu.html "Climate Disasters a 'Significant Possibility'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704075729/http://www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com/get-informed/news/climate-disasters-a-significant-possibility-says-nobel-laureate-steve-chu.html |date=2010-07-04 }} Interview with Steve Chu at ''Copenhagen Climate Council'', November 3, 2008.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V448U2SYU7U Interview with Steven Chu from "Growing Energy" from the PBS series e² energy]
**[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/magazine/19wwln-q4-t.html?_r=3&ref=energy-environment Interview], April 19, 2009
*{{Worldcat id|lccn-no2002-105390}}

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{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Samuel Bodman}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Secretary of Energy]]|years=2009–2013}}
{{s-aft|after=Daniel Poneman<br>{{small|Acting}}}}
{{s-end}}

{{Nobel Prize in Physics}}
{{USSecEnergy}}
{{Obama cabinet}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chu, Steven}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American Nobel Prize winners]]
[[Category:American physicists]]
[[Category:Politicians from St. Louis, Missouri]]
[[Category:Scientists from St. Louis, Missouri]]
[[Category:United States Secretaries of Energy]]
[[Category:University of Rochester alumni]]
[[Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians]]
[[Category:Stanford University faculty]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty]]
[[Category:Educators from St. Louis, Missouri]]
[[Category:Nobel Prize in Physics winners]]