Steven E. Koonin

Steven E. "Steve" Koonin (born December 12, 1951)[1] is a theoretical physicist and Director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress at New York University. He is also a professor in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering at NYU's Tandon School of Engineering.[2]

Steven E. Koonin
Official portrait of Steve Koonin
Director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress, New York University
Assumed office
April 2012
2nd Under Secretary of Energy for Science
In office
May 2009 – November 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byRaymond L. Orbach
7th Provost of Caltech
In office
February 1995 – March 2004
Preceded byPaul C. Jennings
Succeeded byEdward Stolper (acting)
Personal details
Born (1951-12-12) December 12, 1951
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Spouse(s)Laurie Koonin
Children3
Alma materB.S., California Institute of Technology
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Biography

Koonin received his Bachelor of Science from Caltech and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the supervision of Arthur Kerman in the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics.[3][4][5] In 1975, Koonin joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor of Theoretical Physics, and served as the Institute's provost from 1995 to 2004.[6][7] In 2004, Koonin joined BP as their Chief Scientist where he was responsible for guiding the company’s long-range technology strategy, particularly in alternative and renewable energy sources.[8] In 2009, he was appointed the U.S. Department of Energy’s second Senate-confirmed Under Secretary for Science serving from May 19, 2009 through November 18, 2011.[9] He left that post in November 2011 for a position at the Institute for Defense Analyses. On April 23, 2012, Koonin was named director of NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP).[10]

He has served on numerous advisory bodies for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy and its various national laboratories, such as the JASON defense advisory group, which he has chaired.[11] Koonin's research interests have included theoretical nuclear, many-body, and computational physics, nuclear astrophysics, and global environmental science.[12]

Views on climate science

The Trump administration proposed creating "red team" exercises in the EPA to challenge the scientific consensus on climate. Koonin was proposed to be involved in these exercises.[13]

The Trump administration proposed to create a presidential committee in 2019 that would conduct an "adversarial" review of the scientific consensus on climate change. Koonin was actively involved in recruiting others to be part of this review.[14]

Bibliography
  • Computational Physics: Fortran Version, ISBN 978-0-201-38623-3

References
  1. "Steven Koonin". Array of Contemporary American Physicists. American Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  2. "Steven Koonin | NYU Tandon School of Engineering".
  3. "Frank talk on U.S. Energy innovation".
  4. "Koonin, Steven E." history.aip.org. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  5. "Arthur Kerman, professor emeritus of physics, dies at 88". MIT News. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  6. https://www.caltech.edu/content/former-caltech-provost-steven-koonin-nominated-under-secretary-science
  7. "Caltech Appoints Physicist Steve Koonin New Provost | Caltech". The California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  8. http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sop2006/bios/koonin_s.html
  9. Energy.gov: "Dr. Steven E. Koonin - Director - NYU's Center for Urban Science & Progress and Former Under Secretary for Science" retrieved October 20, 2013
  10. "Welcome from the Director | CUSP | New York University".
  11. "Steven Koonin". Department of Energy.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-06-23. Retrieved 2014-07-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Bravender, Robin; E; NewsJun. 13, E.; 2018; Pm, 4:05 (2018-06-13). "Obama official would have led EPA's climate science debate—if all agencies took part". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2020-12-20.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. News, Scott Waldman,E&E. "Skeptics Are Being Recruited for an "Adversarial" Review of Climate Science". Scientific American. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
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