An MIT Alumni Association Publication
Ernest J. Moniz (left) is recognized as an honorary member of the MIT Alumni Association in 2011.

President Barack Obama has announced that he will nominate Ernest J. Moniz HM, a Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems and director of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), to lead the U.S. Department of Energy.

Moniz's research has focused on energy technology and policy, nuclear power, coal, nuclear fuel cycles, natural gas, and solar energy in a low-carbon world. If approved, he will replace Steve Chu, who announced his resignation on Feb. 1, 2013. Moniz was nominated alongside Gina McCarthy, whom Obama has tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, and Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who was chosen to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

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From The Boston Globe:

If confirmed, Moniz and McCarthy will be charged with making good on Obama’s pledge in his inaugural address to “respond to the threat of climate change.” That, environmentalists and others say, would mean tackling carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants and continuing to tighten vehicle emissions and efficiency standards.

An MIT faculty member since 1973, Moniz is the founding director of MITEI, which was formed in 2006 to link science, innovation, and policy and help transform global energy systems. In that time, MITEI has supported close to 800 Institute research projects.

Under Moniz's leadership, MITEI has provided research to policymakers and conducted in-depth studies on the electric grid, natural gas, nuclear fuel, coal, and other energy-focused topics. The initiative has also bestowed more than 250 graduate fellowships, provided more than 100 research opportunities for undergraduates, and created a academic minor in energy.

Moniz’s appointment as energy secretary would not be his first position within the White House. He served as undersecretary of energy under President Clinton from 1997 to 2001 and associate director for science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 1995-1997. He is a current member of President Obama's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology and the Department of Defense's Threat Reduction Advisory Committee.

Moniz received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Boston College and his doctorate in theoretical physics from Stanford University. In 2011, in recognition of his outstanding service to MIT's alumni community, he was elected an honorary member of the MIT Alumni Association.