Uploaded November 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Steven Chu is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at Stanford University. He has published over 275 papers in fields that include atomic physics, polymer physics, biophysics, biology, energy, batteries and holds 11 patents.
Currently, he is developing new optical nanoparticle probes and new optical, acoustic and photoacoustic imaging methods for applications in biology and biomedicine. He is also exploring new approaches to lithium-ion batteries, PM2.5 air filtration, and other applications of nanotechnology.
Chu was the 12th U.S. Secretary of Energy from January 2009 until April 2013. As the first scientist to hold a Cabinet position, he recruited outstanding scientists and engineers into the Department of Energy. He began several initiatives including ARPA-E, the Energy Innovation Hubs, the U.S. – China Clean Energy Research Centers, and was personally tasked by President Obama to assist BP in stopping the Deepwater Horizon oil leak.
Prior to his Cabinet post, he was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Professor of Physics and Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. He was the Theodore and Francis Geballe Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University.
He helped launch Bio-X at Stanford University, a multidisciplinary institute combining the physical and biological sciences with medicine and engineering, and the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology.
He was also the head of the Quantum Electronics Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories.
In 1997 Dr. Chu was the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics for his contributions to laser cooling and atom trapping.
Steven Chu is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at Stanford University. He has published over 275 papers in fields that include atomic physics, polymer physics, biophysics, biology, energy, batteries and holds 11 patents.
Currently, he is developing new optical nanoparticle probes and new optical, acoustic and photoacoustic imaging methods for applications in biology and biomedicine. He is also exploring new approaches to lithium-ion batteries, PM2.5 air filtration, and other applications of nanotechnology.
Chu was the 12th U.S. Secretary of Energy from January 2009 until April 2013. As the first scientist to hold a Cabinet position, he recruited outstanding scientists and engineers into the Department of Energy. He began several initiatives including ARPA-E, the Energy Innovation Hubs, the U.S. – China Clean Energy Research Centers, and was personally tasked by President Obama to assist BP in stopping the Deepwater Horizon oil leak.
Prior to his Cabinet post, he was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Professor of Physics and Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. He was the Theodore and Francis Geballe Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University.
He helped launch Bio-X at Stanford University, a multidisciplinary institute combining the physical and biological sciences with medicine and engineering, and the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology.
He was also the head of the Quantum Electronics Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories.
In 1997 Dr. Chu was the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics for his contributions to laser cooling and atom trapping.
