Energy Under Secretary Calls for Cross-training, Innovation
April 28, 2011
The U.S. Department of Energy has historically kept the integrity of its science well insulated from Washington politics, boasted its Under Secretary for Science Steven Koonin at a Harris School lecture.
“But the Department of Energy is notoriously bad at social science,” he quickly added. “It’s rare to find someone in Washington with an economics and technology background.”
The event, held on April 27, was jointly hosted by the Harris School Energy Policy Institute and the Harris Energy Association student organization.
Sitting on a table in the front of the room, Koonin said that cross-training in science and policy is critical for advancing energy technology in the U.S., recommending that students get a grounding in the physical sciences before moving into the social sciences.
Confirmed by the Senate in May 2009, Koonin was previously a distinguished professor and provost at the California Institute of Technology. He also worked in the private sector as the chief scientist at BP, where he developed the long-range technology strategy for alternative and renewable energy sources.
Fielding questions from a room of students and faculty from across the University, Koonin covered the gambit of science-related issues—from to battery manufacturing to nuclear safety, improving the grid, and energy security.
Among them, Koonin touched on the challenge of keeping the U.S. competitive with China. “Can we beat them in manufacturing? Probably not,” he said. “But we can lead in innovation.”
He also discussed how he plans to foster advances in energy technology research within a fiscal climate of budget cutbacks. “You hear the president talking a lot about energy these days,” he said, optimistic of the DOE’s involvement in future policy decisions. “We should not do things that the private sector can do or are doing.”
Moving forward, Koonin said the department’s top three priorities will continue to be oil security, U.S. competitiveness, and emissions reduction. “We’ve made real progress on the first two,” he said.
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