Steven Chu to Speak on Climate Change, Clean Energy at Prestigious Lecture
Image by Charles Watkins/White House photographer
11/10/2016
Media contacts: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – Nobel laureate Steven Chu, former U.S. secretary of energy and a scientist who holds 11 patents, will be presented with an honorary degree by UMass Lowell on Nov. 16.
Chu, the first scientist to serve as the nation’s energy secretary and the winner of a Nobel Prize in Physics, will receive the honorary degree on Wednesday, Nov. 16 when he delivers the annual Tripathy Memorial Lecture at UMass Lowell. Chu is being honored in recognition of his significant contributions to scientific research and the nation’s work to advance the pursuit of clean energy.
Chancellor Jacquie Moloney will present Chu with the honorary degree at a ceremony with UMass Lowell faculty, staff and students at 2:30 p.m. at University Crossing, which will be followed at 3:30 p.m. with Chu’s presentation, “Climate Change and a Path to Clean Energy.”
As the longest-serving energy secretary, Chu recruited outstanding scientists and engineers to the U.S. Department of Energy and launched several initiatives supporting research and innovation, particularly in the area of clean energy. In 2010, he was tasked by President Obama with helping BP end the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Prior to his Cabinet appointment, Chu was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a faculty member in physics and molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, headed the Quantum Electronics Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories and served on the physics faculty of Stanford University.
Today, Chu 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, batteries and more. Chu – who 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 – is a member of groups including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Korean Academy of Sciences and Technology.
“Over the course of his career in academia and public service, Secretary Chu has addressed challenges through innovation. His accomplishments in research and in government have advanced fields that are important to the future of our planet and our society. He is a wonderful example of a true difference-maker for our students to emulate,” said Moloney, who founded the university’s DifferenceMaker Program, through which students from all majors learn entrepreneurial skills they can use to solve problems in business and the community.
UMass Lowell has made sustainability part of its strategic plan and as the university has grown enrollment by more than 50 percent since 2007, it has taken important steps such as increasing recycling by 200 percent, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and constructing and renovating campus buildings that are energy-efficient and have a low overall impact on the environment. For its work, the university has been recognized with several honors, including the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s STARS gold rating, and is nationally ranked as a “Green School” by the Princeton Review.
The Tripathy Memorial Lecture – named in honor of the late Sukant Tripathy, a pioneer in fields including nanotechnology and polymers who was a professor of chemistry and provost at UMass Lowell – annually honors the best and brightest among the scientific community. It is one of four memorial tributes established in Tripathy’s name by the university and his former faculty colleagues following his death in 2000 at age 48.
UMass Lowell will award several other honorary degrees at the university’s Commencement exercises on Saturday, May 13 at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,500 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu