Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz
13th United States Secretary of Energy
Assumed office
May 21, 2013
President Barack Obama
Deputy Daniel Poneman
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall
Preceded by Daniel Poneman (Acting)
Personal details
Born Ernest Jeffrey Moniz
(1944-12-22) December 22, 1944
Fall River, Massachusetts,
U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Naomi Moniz
Alma mater Boston College (BS)
Stanford University (MS, PhD)

Ernest Jeffrey Moniz GCIH[1] (born December 22, 1944) is an American nuclear physicist and the United States Secretary of Energy, serving under U.S. President Barack Obama since May 2013. He has served as the Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President of the United States from 1995 to 1997 and in the United States Department of Energy, serving as Under Secretary of Energy, from 1997 to 2001 during the Clinton Administration.

Moniz is one of the founding members of The Cyprus Institute and has served at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, as the Director of the Energy Initiative, and as the Director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment.[2]

On March 4, 2013, Moniz was nominated by President Obama to replace outgoing Energy Secretary Steven Chu for his second term.[3] His appointment was confirmed by the Senate in a unanimous vote on May 16, 2013.[4]

Early life and education

Moniz was born in 1944 in Fall River, Massachusetts, to Georgina (Pavão) Moniz and Ernest Perry Moniz, both of whose parents were Portuguese immigrants from São Miguel Island, Azores.[5] He graduated from Durfee High School in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1962, where he was a member of the National Honor Society and was the president of the school's math club.[6] Moniz attended Boston College, where he received his Bachelor of Science summa cum laude in physics. He received his PhD in theoretical physics from Stanford University in 1972.[7][8]

Career

Moniz joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1973, serving as head of the Department of Physics from 1991 to 1995 and as director of the Bates Linear Accelerator Center.[9] He co-chairs the MIT research council. He served in the Clinton administration as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President from 1995 to 1997.[10]

Moniz worked in the United States Department of Energy, serving as Under Secretary of Energy from 1997 to 2001.[11] Moniz is one of the founding members of The Cyprus Institute, where he and other scholars undertook the coordination, research and planning of the project. In 2013, he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid as a recognition of his research on energy policies and technologies.[12]

U.S. Secretary of Energy (2013–present)

On May 16, 2013, his appointment was confirmed on a 97–0 vote by the Senate.[4] He succeeded Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy. Moniz was sworn in as Energy Secretary on May 21, 2013 by Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman.

Secretary Moniz played a crucial role in negotiations toward a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, directly negotiating technical details with the Iranian atomic energy minister Ali Akbar Salehi, an MIT graduate, and reassuring President Obama that concessions important to the Iranians would not pose a major threat.[13] The comprehensive agreement between Iran and the so-called "P5+1" (which includes the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany and a representative from the European Union) was finalized on July 14, 2015, to much fanfare and criticism.[14]

Honors

References

  1. ↑ "Presidente recebeu Secretário de Energia norte-americano Ernest Moniz". President of Portugal. Lisbon. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Faculty & Teaching Staff". MIT Engineering Systems Division. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  3. ↑ President Obama Nominates Candidates for Energy and Environmental Team March 4, 2013 PBS NewsHour
  4. 1 2 Weiner, Rachel (16 May 2013). "Ernest Moniz confirmed as Energy secretary". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "Obama to name Fall River Native to head Energy Department". ojornal.com. 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  6. ↑ Carol Lee Costa-Crowell, Lurdes da Silva (August 6, 1997). "Durfee grad nominated to energy post". southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  7. ↑ Energy (2013). "Department of Energy "About Us"". energy.gov. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Events GCEP Research Symposium 2005 Keynote Speakers Prof. Freeman Dyson Prof. Ernest Moniz Prof. David Victor". stanford.edu. 2005. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  9. ↑ "ernest moniz Professor of Physics and Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor Co-Director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment". mit.edu. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  10. ↑ David J. Unger (February 11, 2013). "Will Ernest Moniz be the next Energy secretary?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  11. ↑ Niraj Chokshi (February 21, 2013). "Who Is Ernest Moniz, Obama's Likely Pick for Energy Secretary?". nationaljournal.com. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Ernest Moniz, Ministro de Energía de EE.UU., nuevo doctor honoris causa por Comillas". comillas.edu. 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  13. ↑ "An Iran Nuclear Deal Built on Coffee, All-Nighters and Compromise". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ "Iran nuclear deal shifts tectonic plates in the Middle East". Aljazeera America.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ernest Moniz.
Political offices
Preceded by
Daniel Poneman
Acting		 United States Secretary of Energy
2013–present 		Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Anthony Foxx
as Secretary of Transportation		 Order of Precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Energy 		Succeeded by
John King
as Secretary of Education
United States presidential line of succession
Preceded by
Anthony Foxx
as Secretary of Transportation		 14th in line
as Secretary of Energy 		Succeeded by
John King
as Secretary of Education
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.