Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz
13th United States Secretary of Energy
Incumbent
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 December 22, 1944 Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Naomi Moniz
Alma mater	Boston College Stanford University

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, and he later 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 also 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 also worked in the United States Department of Energy, serving as Under Secretary of Energy from 1997 to 2001.^[11] Moniz is also one of the founding members of The Cyprus Institute, wherein 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)

Moniz was nominated by President Obama to be the next United States Secretary of Energy. 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.

For President Obama's 2014 State of the Union Address, Moniz served as the designated survivor.^[13]

Secretary Moniz has 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

Honors

• Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry, Portugal

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. 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. Miller, Zeke J. (January 28, 2014). "This Man Will Be Your President If The Worst Happens: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is tonight's 'designated survivor'". Time. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
14. "An Iran Nuclear Deal Built on Coffee, All-Nighters and Compromise". New York Times.
15. "Iran nuclear deal shifts tectonic plates in the Middle East". Aljazeera America.

External links

• Moniz Nomination: Hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, to Consider the Nomination of Dr. Ernest Moniz to be the Secretary of Energy, April 9, 2013
• Dr. Ernest Moniz at the United States Department of Energy
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• "Why We Still Need Nuclear Power", Making Clean Energy Safe and Affordable by Ernest Moniz in November/December 2011 Foreign Affairs