Obama selects Chu as next Energy Secretary

President-elect Barack Obama on Monday nominated Steven Chu, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to be Secretary of Energy.

"Dr. Chu is uniquely suited to be our next energy secretary," Obama said. "He’s been working at the cutting edge of our nation’s efforts for cleaner forms of energy…the scientists at our national labs will have a distinguished leader at their helm."

Chu, 60, is a Nobel laureate physicist and a professor of physics and molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Chu shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics and is a former chairman of the physics department at Stanford University and head of the electronics research laboratory at Bell Labs.

"I applaud President-elect Obama for his outstanding selection of Dr. Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy," LLNL Director George Miller said.

"Many of the most significant challenges facing this country — the evolving threats to our national security, energy security and environment — can benefit significantly from the science and technological capabilities of the Department of Energy. Dr. Chu’s technical credentials are impeccable and his passion for applying science and technology to important national problems is well known. I look forward to working with Dr. Chu as Secretary of Energy."

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman echoed Miller’s sentiments: "The United States is faced with a series of challenges critical to its long-term energy and national security. Over the past four years, the U.S. Department of Energy has worked to ensure the availability of clean, diverse and affordable energy supplies; to safeguard the nation's nuclear stockpile and support national security efforts; to restore and rehabilitate this country’s Cold War legacy sites; and to maintain America’s status as the world's leader in science and technology.

"To do all this and to do it safely is a task of considerable difficulty. So I am pleased to learn that President-elect Obama has selected Dr. Steve Chu to lead the department. As the director of the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dr. Chu understands the significance of our energy and environmental challenges, and more importantly, understands the technical solutions necessary to address them. He also is aware of the vital role that DOE plays in matters of energy and national security and appreciates the necessity of the department’s voice on these matters. I fully expect the department to continue as the leader of scientific funding and alternative energy technology development in the next administration."