Armstrong Memorial Lecture | Prof. Steven Chu on "Climate Change and Innovative Paths to a Sustainable Future"

Date: November 20, 2020
Time: 1:00pm
Location: ZOOM (register here)
Speaker: Prof. Steven Chu
Faculty Host: Professor Debasis Mitra

Abstract: The multiple industrial and agricultural revolutions have profoundly transformed the world. However, the unintended consequence of these revolutions is that we are changing the climate of Earth. Alarming new data on climate change will be presented that indicates that the Earth’s climate is more sensitive than previously thought will be briefly presented. In addition to the climate risks, we face many challenges how to provide enough clean energy, water, air and food of a world of 7.7 billion people and likely to grow to 11 billion by 2100. The majority of the talk will discuss potential solutions that could provide better paths to a sustainable future. How we can transition from where we are heading to where we need to be within 50 years is arguably the most pressing set of issues that science, invention and innovations needs to address.

Bio: Steven Chu is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology in the Medical School at Stanford University. He is currently the Chair of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and its past President. He has published papers in atomic physics, polymer physics, biophysics, molecular biology, ultrasound imaging, nanoparticle synthesis, batteries and other clean energy technologies.

He served as U.S. Secretary of Energy from January 2009 through April 2013. Prior to that, he was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, professor of Physics and of Molecular and Cell Biology (2004 to 2009) at UC Berkeley, the Francis and Theodore Geballe professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University (1987 to 2009), a member of the technical staff and head of the Quantum Electronics Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories (1978 – 1987).

Dr. Chu is the co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to laser cooling and atom trapping. He received numerous other awards and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and 8 foreign Academies. He received an A.B. degree in mathematics and a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, and 32 honorary degrees.

Event Contact: Eliese Lissner | el3001@columbia.edu