Steven Chu was just in Taipei in December 2008 to deliver an address at a forum marking the 80th anniversary of Academia Sinica, where he and his father Chu Ju-chin make up one of the rare father-son pairs. Although he doesn't speak Chinese, he retains the characteristic modesty and diligence of Chinese people. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

On December 10, 2008, US president-elect Barack Obama, who places great importance on energy policy and advocates major efforts to develop alternative energy sources, announced that he was asking Steven Chu, currently director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to become secretary of energy. This makes Chu only the second American of Chinese ancestry to be given a cabinet post, after current Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.

Chu was one of the winners of the 1997 Nobel Prize for physics. Even earlier, when he was the head of the electronics research group at Bell Labs, he advocated solving the problem of climate change through "carbon neutrality" (for the amount of carbon produced by each person, there should be corresponding carbon reduction measures, such as planting trees, so that net carbon emissions are zero). Four years ago, after becoming the head of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is under the Department of Energy, he changed the direction of research towards high-grade biofuels, artificial photosynthesis, and technology using solar energy, with remarkable results.

Stephen Chu not only heads one of America's leading research institutions, he is also an advisor to the Copenhagen Climate Council and one of the lead writers of the InterAcademy Council's "Lighting the Way: Toward a Sustainable Energy Future." After he becomes secretary of energy in January of 2009, Chu will move from being a scientist to being a political figure. Will this personable and dignified son of an illustrious Chinese family be able to turn his scientific convictions into concrete, feasible policies, and in so doing transform the entire "energy landscape" for not only the USA but even the world, while solving at one stroke the major crises of energy shortages and global warming?

Three days before the good news of his appointment as a cabinet official was received, Stephen Chu was in Taiwan to participate in the "Academy Presidents' Forum" as part of the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Academia Sinica, sharing the same hall with institute leaders from 13 countries around the globe. During his turn at the podium, Chu, who is concurrently a member of Academia Sinica, presented his views about current world energy problems.