UMass Lowell to Bestow Honor on Steven Chu
Image by Charles Watkins/White House photographer
11/15/2016
Media contacts: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
* Media Advisory *
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2:30 p.m.
What: UMass Lowell will present Steven Chu, Nobel laureate and former U.S. secretary of energy, with an honorary degree in recognition of his contributions to scientific research and work to advance clean energy.
The honorary degree will be conferred by Chancellor Jacquie Moloney on behalf of the university at a ceremony that will include a procession by faculty in academic regalia. It is the first degree that UMass Lowell will present this academic year. Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees will be awarded on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at Commencement, which will include the presentation of several other honorary degrees.
Following the presentation, Chu – who won the Nobel Prize in Physics – will deliver the Tripathy Memorial Lecture on “Climate Change and a Path to Clean Energy.” The annual lecture is named for the late Sukant Tripathy, a pioneering researcher in nanotechnology, polymers and other fields who was a professor and provost at UMass Lowell.
As the nation’s longest-serving energy secretary, Chu launched several initiatives supporting research and innovation, particularly in the area of clean energy, and helped BP end the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Prior to his cabinet appointment, Chu was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley, led the Quantum Electronics Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories and served on the physics faculty of Stanford University. Today, he is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Humanities and Sciences and a professor of molecular and cellular physiology in the medical school at Stanford University. He holds 11 patents and has published more than 250 academic papers on subjects including atomic and polymer physics, laser spectroscopy, biophysics and more. Chu holds bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Where: University Crossing, Moloney Hall, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell. For directions and parking information, contact UMass Lowell media relations.