Steven E. Koonin

Under Secretary for Science, Energy Department (since May 2009)

(Office of Science/U.S. Dept. of Energy)

Why He Matters

Koonin runs on biofuels. In 2007, he led energy corporation BP (British Petroleum) to spend $500 million on researching its use at a lab led by Steven Chu, who is now Energy Department secretary. Now, as the DOE's under secretary for science, Koonin's history with Chu signals the Obama administration's shift towards biofuels as an increasingly important American energy source.

In May 2009, President Obama proposed a $786.5 million plan for the research and development of biofuels and established a Biofuels Interagency Working Group to be led by the secretaries of Energy and Agriculture, as well as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Chief Scientist, BP (2004-2007); Provost, California Institute of Technology (1995-2004); Professor of Theoretical Physics (1975-2004)
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Alma Mater: B.S.-California Institute of Technology (1972), Ph.D.-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1975)

Spouse: Laurie
DC Office: U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20585, 202-586-5000
Web site

Path to Power

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Koonin left for the West Coast to study physics at the California Institute of Technology and earned his B.S. in 1972. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1975 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then returned to Caltech later that year as a faculty member. He rose through the academic ranks, becoming university provost in 1995.

Chief Scientist at BP

But after 29 years, Koonin went corporate. In 2004, he left Caltech for the job of chief scientist at BP, one of the world's largest integrated oil companies. There, Koonin oversaw long-term technology planning and BP's university research programs, and also consulted with the company's executives on technical matters. He guided BP's pursuit of alternative and renewable energy sources, particularly towards a major initiative in biofuels. Koonin helped forge a 2007 agreement with the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for BP to invest $500 million in a new biofuels research center at the national lab, then led by Chu.

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The Issues

"I am amazed that the world can be, and indeed continues to be, so confused about energy matters," Koonin said in a 2008 speech at Stanford University. He explained that it is necessary for people to understand, through better education of students as well as policymakers, that "in the next several decades, the world will increasingly face (indeed, already is facing) a number of serious and unprecedented problems."

Biofuels

A longtime advocate of biofuels, Koonin pushed BP in this direction as its chief scientist, especially when he struck the deal with UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Biofuels come from organic materials-usually agricultural crops-and are generally known to be more renewable and sustainable than fossil fuels.

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"We must focus on the most cost-effective and material options for mitigating GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions with a level playing field for all technologies, for example not confusing the goal of emissions reduction with that of promoting renewable technologies," Koonin said during his Stanford speech. "Government support for precompetitive research in advanced solar, fusion, fusion, and biofuels is essential."

The $786.5 million federal investment in biofuels proposed by Obama in 2009 will go towards research into new technologies and systems that integrate energy sources, and additional funding will be spent on commercial-scale biorefinery demonstration projects.

Though some critics of biofuels fear that this energy source will curb food production given that it comes from crops, Koonin has rebuffed these concerns. He commonly cites a 2005 joint study by the Departments of Energy and Agriculture showing that around 30 percent of current gasoline demand could be satisfied using biofuels without any significant impacts on food sources or the environment.

Greenhouse Gases

During his 2009 confirmation hearing, Koonin stated that "President Obama has set ambitious goals to enhance energy security and reduce GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions while creating new jobs. Improvements in the technologies to produce, transmit, store, and use energy are essential to meeting these goals. But the scale, duration, cost, and complexity of energy matters pose great challenges."

Koonin believes that a drastic cutback in greenhouse gas emissions is essential in order to effectively address climate change. He has argued that carbon gasses must be cut in half, even as their demand is expected to double by the middle of the century-meaning that Koonin has called for about a four-fold decrease in energy emissions.

He does not believe that the market will adequately respond to this predicament if left to its own devices. Koonin favors "novel forms of public/private and international partnerships" to address these issues, though he has said it will be very difficult. "The usual societal response of dealing with a problem partially is not good enough to deal with the CO2 problem," he said in a 2008 interview. "We really need major changes in the ways we produce and use energy if we're going to prevent [CO2] concentrations from rising. I don't think people understand that."

Energy Security

Koonin has called for greater alignment of foreign and energy policy in order to promote more secure global energy markets. He also supports strengthening the National Nuclear Security Administration's Stockpile Stewardship program, which conducts non-nuclear weapons experimentation, surveillance of warheads, and simulation. Koonin said during his confirmation hearing that this program "has been effective for more than a decade, but faces growing challenges in maintaining technical capabilities."

The Network

Koonin's relationship with Secretary Chu goes back for years, since the two became colleagues in biofuels research. Koonin will also work closely with William Brinkman, who is director of the DOE's Office of Science.

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