Say Hello to Steven Chu - Secretary of Energy

Lord have mercy. Take a step back and allow yourself a moment to savor this: we now have national leadership that not only respects intellectual achievement, but celebrates and exploits it. Steven Chu will be the new Secretary of Energy. He currently leads Lawrence Livermore Labs in Berkeley. One word: brilliant.

The video is only nine minutes long. You can pick up some interesting factoids -- about climate change, California's success in energy consumption and a grass that produces 15 times the ethanol that corn does. Have a look.

Here is a brief CV;
Professor of physics and molecular and cell biology, UC Berkeley
Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2004-present;
Chair, physics department, Stanford University, 1990-1993 and 1999-2001;
Head, quantum electronics research department, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, N.J., 1983-1987;

Bachelor's in physics and mathematics, University of Rochester;
Ph.D in physics, University of Califorinia, Berkeley, 1976.

Here is what James Fallows says:
"...the ability of an incoming administration to select such people, and -- even trickier -- convince them it will be worth their while to move to Washington and wrestle with the most complicated politico / technical / diplomatic problems, given all the hassles and built-in frustrations and lack of privacy in governmental life, is both surprising and encouraging. Very good news."