Steven Chu: Difference between revisions

| image = Professor Steven Chu ForMemRSin 2024 at Stanford headshot02.jpg

| caption = Chu at his lab in 20142024

| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]<ref>[http://politifact.com/personalities/steven-chu/ Steven Chu's file]. PolitiFact. Retrieved on 2012-02-04.</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2024}}<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>

Chu was born on February 28, 1948, in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Missouri]],<ref name="Eljera">{{cite news |url = http://asianweek.com/102397/cover_story.html |newspaper = [[AsianWeek]] |title = Stanford Professor Steven Chu graduates to the rank of Nobel laureate |author =Bert Eljera |date = 1997-10-23 |access-date = 2008-12-16 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081215170744/http://asianweek.com/102397/cover_story.html |archive-date = 2008-12-15 }}</ref> with Chinese ancestry from [[Liuhe, Taicang|Liuhe]], [[Taicang]], China.<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 |access-date= 2009-07-15}}</ref> He attended [[Garden City High School (New York)|Garden City High School]] in [[Garden City, New York]].<ref name="Kerr">{{cite news |url= http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-century_of_science_dissons,0,7662594.story |title= They Began Here |newspaper= [[Newsday]] |author= Kathleen Kerr |date= 2008-07-16 |access-date= 2008-09-17 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080609022451/http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-century_of_science_dissons,0,7662594.story | archive-date= 2008-06-09 }}</ref> He received both a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in [[mathematics]] and a [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] in [[physics]] in 1970 from the [[University of Rochester]],<ref>{{cite news |date=December 15, 2008 |title=Rochester Trustee Steven Chu Named Next Energy Secretary |work=University of Rochester |url=http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=3290}}</ref> and earned his [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in physics from the [[University of California, Berkeley]], under [[Eugene D. Commins]], in 1976,<ref name="thesis-chu-1976">{{cite thesis |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/302807361/ |title=Observation of the forbidden magnetic dipole transition 6²P1/2-7²P1/2 in atomic thallium |date=1976 |publisher=[[University of California, Berkeley]] |type=Ph.D. |last=Chu |first=Steven |via=[[ProQuest]] |url-access=subscription |oclc=892836151}}</ref> during which he was supported by a [[National Science Foundation]] [[NSF-GRF|Graduate Research Fellowship]].<ref name="NSF-GRF">{{cite web |url = http://nsfgrfp.org/why_apply/fellow_profiles/steven_chu |title = Steven Chu, 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics |publisher = [[NSF-GRF]] |access-date = 2009-01-25 |archive-date = 2008-11-20 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081120132612/http://nsfgrfp.org/why_apply/fellow_profiles/steven_chu |url-status = dead }}</ref>

Chu comes from a family of highly educated [[white collar worker|white collar]] [[professional]]s and scholars. His father, [[Ju-Chin Chu]], earned a [[D.Eng.|doctorate]] in [[chemical engineering]] from [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] and taught at [[Washington University in St. Louis]] and [[Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute]], and his mother studied [[economics]] at MIT. His maternal grandfather, [[Shu-tian Li]], was a [[hydraulic engineer]] who earned a Ph.D. from [[Cornell University]], and was a professor and president of Tianjin University. His mother's uncle, [[Li Shu-hua]], a [[biophysicist]], attended [[University of Paris]] before returning to China.<ref name="Nobel" />

Chu's older brother, [[Gilbert Chu]], is a professor of [[biochemistry]] and [[medicine]] at [[Stanford University]]. His younger brother, [[Morgan Chu]], is a [[patent lawyer]] who is the former co-managing partner at the [[law firm]] [[Irell & Manella]].<ref name="Irell&Manella">{{cite web |publisher = [[Irell & Manella|Irell & Manella LLP]] |url = http://www.irell.com/professionals-22.html |title = Morgan Chu |access-date = 2008-12-16 }}</ref> According to Chu, his two brothers and four cousins have four Ph.D.s, three [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]]s, and a [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] among themselves.

After obtaining his doctorate, he remained at Berkeley as a [[postdoctoral researcher]] for two years before joining [[Bell Labs]], where he and his several co-workers carried out his Nobel Prize-winning [[laser cooling]] work. He left Bell Labs and became a professor of physics at [[Stanford University]] in 1987,<ref name="Nobel" /> serving as the chair of its physics department from 1990 to 1993 and from 1999 to 2001. At Stanford, Chu and three others initiated the Bio-X program, which focuses on interdisciplinary research in biology and medicine,<ref name="BioX">{{cite web|url=http://biox.stanford.edu/about/index.html|title=About Bio-X|publisher=[[Stanford University]]|access-date=2009-02-27}}</ref> and played a key role in securing the funding for the [[Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology]].<ref name="chu-77">{{cite web|title=Steven Chu named director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory|url=http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2004/july7/chu-77.html|publisher=Stanford News Service|date=2004-06-21|access-date=2009-02-24}}</ref> In August 2004, Chu was appointed as the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a [[United States Department of Energy National Laboratories|U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory]], and joined UC Berkeley's department of physics and department of molecular and cell biology.<ref name="BerkeleyNews">{{cite news|title=Obama chooses Nobelist Steven Chu as secretary of energy|url=http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/12/15_obama.shtml|author=Robert Sanders|publisher=[[University of California, Berkeley]]|date=2008-12-15|access-date=2009-03-26}}</ref> Under Chu's leadership, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was a center of research into [[biofuel]]s and [[solar energy]].<ref name="Hebert" /> He spearheaded the laboratory's Helios project, an initiative to develop methods of harnessing solar power as a source of [[renewable energy]] for transportation.<ref name="BerkeleyNews" />

He is a member of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|U.S. National Academy of Sciences]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Steven Chu|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/62452.html|access-date=2021-12-03|website=www.nasonline.org}}</ref> the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Steven Chu|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/steven-chu|access-date=2021-12-03|website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences|language=en}}</ref> the [[American Philosophical Society]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Steven+Chu&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-12-03|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> the [[Pontifical Academy of Sciences]] and the [[Academia Sinica]] of [[Taiwan]], and is a foreign member of the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]] and the [[Korean Academy of Science and Engineering]].<ref name="MITWorld">{{cite web|url=http://mitworld.mit.edu/speaker/view/857|title=MIT World Speakers: Steven Chu|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|access-date=2009-01-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227171636/http://mitworld.mit.edu/speaker/view/857|archive-date=2009-02-27}}</ref> In 1994, The Optical Society recognized Chu with the [[William F. Meggers Award in Spectroscopy|William F. Meggers Award]]. The Society later elected him an Honorary Member.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Steven Chu's Profile {{!}} Stanford Profiles |url=https://profiles.stanford.edu/steve-chu |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=profiles.stanford.edu}}</ref> He was also awarded the [[Humboldt Prize]] by the [[Alexander von Humboldt Foundation]] in 1995. In 1998, Chu received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref>

Chu's nomination to be Secretary of Energy was unanimously confirmed by the [[United States Senate|U.S. 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|access-date=2009-01-25}}</ref> On January 21, 2009, Chu was sworn in as Secretary of Energy in the [[Barack Obama administration]]. Chu is the first person appointed to the U.S. Cabinet after having won a Nobel Prize.<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 (United States)|ABC News]]|author=Jake Tapper|date=2008-12-11|access-date=2009-03-23|author-link=Jake Tapper}}</ref> He is also the second Chinese American to be a member of the U.S. [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]], after former [[U.S. Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce]] [[Gary Locke]].<ref name=".">{{cite news|author=Sky Canaves|title=Commerce Nominee a Locke In China|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=2009-02-26|access-date=2009-03-23|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2009/02/26/commerce-nominee-a-locke-in-china/}}</ref>

Chu's scientific work continued, however, and he even published a paper on [[gravitational redshift]] in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' in February 2010<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nature08776| title = A precision measurement of the gravitational redshift by the interference of matter waves| journal = Nature| volume = 463| issue = 7283| pages = 926–9| year = 2010| last1 = Müller | first1 = H. | last2 = Peters | first2 = A. | last3 = Chu | first3 = S. | pmid=20164925|bibcode = 2010Natur.463..926M | s2cid = 4317164}} According to Nature he worked on this "during nights, weekends and on planes – after putting in 70–80 hours a week as energy secretary"</ref> and another one he co-authored in July 2010.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Borestein | first = Seth | agency = Associated Press | title = Energy secretary's hobby is nano science | work = NBC News | access-date = 2010-07-12 | date = 2010-07-07 | url = httphttps://www.nbcnews.com/id/38130342wbna38130342 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nature09163| title = Subnanometre single-molecule localization, registration and distance measurements| journal = Nature| volume = 466| issue = 7306| pages = 647–51| year = 2010| last1 = Pertsinidis | first1 = A. | last2 = Zhang | first2 = Y. | last3 = Chu | first3 = S. | pmid=20613725|bibcode = 2010Natur.466..647P | s2cid = 205221226}}</ref>

In August 2011, Chu praised an advisory panel report on curbing the environmental risks of [[natural gas]] development. Chu responded to the panel's report on [[hydraulic fracturing]], the controversial drilling method that is enabling a U.S. gas boom while bringing fears of groundwater contamination. The report called for better data collection of air and water data, as well as "rigorous" air pollution standards and mandatory disclosure of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. Chu said that he would "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".<ref>{{cite web |last=Geman |first=Ben |url=http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/177419-chu-vows-to-chart-a-path-for-safe-gas-drilling |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 |archive-date=2012-07-24 |title=Chu vows to 'chart a path' for safe gas drilling |publisher=Thehill.com |date=2011-08-18 |access-date=2012-01-26 }}</ref>

Chu faced controversy for a statement he made prior to being appointed, claiming in a September 2008 interview with the Wall Street Journal that "somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe."<ref>{{cite web |last1=King|first1=Bob|title=Chu's Europe gas quote haunts W.H. |url = http://www.politico.com/story/2012/02/chus-europe-gas-price-quip-still-haunts-obama-073138 |website=Politico|access-date=23 January 2017}}</ref> However, in March 2012, he retracted this comment, saying "since I walked in the door as secretary of Energy I've been doing everything in my powers to do what we can to … reduce those prices" and that he "no longer shares the view [that we need to figure out how to boost gasoline prices in America]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guillén|first1=Alex |title=Chu walks back '08 gas prices quote |url = http://www.politico.com/story/2012/03/chu-walks-back-europe-gas-prices-quote-073934 |website=Politico|date=13 March 2012|access-date=23 January 2017}}</ref>

Chu is interested in sports such as [[baseball]], [[swimming (sport)|swimming]], and [[cycling]]. He taught himself [[tennis]]—by reading a book—in the eighth grade, and was a second-string substitute for the school team for three years. He also taught himself how to [[pole vault]] using bamboo poles obtained from the local [[carpet]] store.<ref name="Nobel" /> Chu said he never learned to speak [[Chinese language|Chinese]] because his parents always spoke to their children in [[English language|English]].<ref name="Eljera" />

[[Category:ChineseAsian-American memberspeople ofin theMissouri Cabinet of the United Statespolitics]]

[[Category:Foreign Membersmembers of the Royal Society]]