Steven Koonin, PhD

Steven Koonin is a University Professor at NYU with appointments in the Stern School of Business and the Tandon School of Engineering. He has previously served as Under Secretary for Science at the U.S. Department of Energy (2009-2011), as Chief Scientist for BP (2004-2009) moving the firm into renewable energy, and as a professor at Caltech (1975 - 2004, the last nine years as the Institute's Vice President and Provost). Koonin is member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the JASON group of government advisors, a Governor of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, and a Trustee of the Institute for Defense Analyses. Among Steven's numerous awards and honors are the Department of Energy's Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award and the Barry Prize from the American Academy of Sciences and Letters. Steve holds a BS in physics from Caltech and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from MIT.

Biography

A theoretical physicist by training, Steven Koonin, Ph.D., has spent 40 years in the energy space, spanning academia, government, and the private sector. His current work at Stanford University's Hoover Institution focuses on energy systems, climate science, and science policy. He is widely recognized for his research in both computational physics and energy policy.

Koonin previously served as the Under Secretary for Science in the U.S. Department of Energy during the Obama administration, where he oversaw science programs, such as the national laboratory system; guided federal research initiatives on energy technology and advanced computing; and strengthened the integration of computational analysis into shaping energy policies. He came to the DOE as chief scientist at BP, where he worked to shape research strategy in energy technology and alternative fuels. Before his time as a public servant, he was the provost at the California Institute of Technology. He also contributed to influential research in theoretical nuclear physics and computational modeling.

He earned his bachelor's degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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