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Nobel Laureate and US Energy Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu, to deliver lecture in DCU
22 October 2010
DCU is delighted to announce that Nobel Laureate, Dr Steven Chu, US Secretary of Energy, will give the inaugural lecture in the DCU Nobel Lecture Series on Friday the 5th of November at 11am in the Helix.
The lecture, 'A Random walk in Science: from laser cooling to global warming' will cover Dr Chu's Nobel Prize-winning research and his current focus on climate change and renewable energy.
The lecture is open to members of staff, students, alumni, invited guests and members of the general public who are interested in global issues.
The establishment of the lecture series was announced by DCU President, Professor Brian MacCraith, at his inauguration in July 2010. Over the period 2010 to 2015, six annual lectures will be delivered, one from each of the six categories of Nobel Prize: Physics, Chemistry, Peace, Economics, Physiology and Medicine, and Literature.
The aim of the lecture series is to stimulate undergraduate students at an early stage in their careers by exposing them to world-class excellence, and to engage with the non-academic community in Ireland to raise the level of discourse around issues of major concern to 21st century society.
Please register your interest to attend this event through the Nobel Laureate Registration Page Link to Registration form.
Seating is limited and requests will be treated on a first come first served basis.
Background information:
The US Senate confirmed Dr. Chu as Energy Secretary in January 2009. He is the first Nobel Laureate appointed to a US cabinet post. Much of Dr. Chu's tenure as Energy Secretary has been focused on crafting a bolder, more science-driven strategy in order to combat problems such as climate change.
In recent years, Dr. Chu has become an outspoken advocate for the need to move to carbon-neutral energy sources, and the need for the technologies that can allow that to happen. He also co-chaired a report for the United Nations that concluded that it is in "the best economic and societal interest of developing nations to 'leapfrog' past the wasteful energy trajectory followed by today's industrialised nations" by focusing on renewables, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
Dr. Chu won the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work in developing a technique to cool down an atom to a very low temperature (nearly absolute zero or -273 degrees Celsius) in order to trap and manipulate it with light. He and his team used laser beams to trap the atoms, creating what they called "optical molasses".
For further details on Dr Chu:
http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Steven_Chu
http://www.energy.gov/organization/dr_steven_chu.htm
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1997/chu-autobio.html