High Importance, Low Impact

Georgia Southern welcomed Nobel Prize winner in physics and former U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu to campus on April 15 at the Performing Arts Center. Chu offered unique insight on our energy future and how advances in science are the key to solving our global issues. His keynote address, “Renewing Our Independence Through Renewable Energy: Challenges and Opportunities,” was part of Georgia Southern’s ‘No Impact Week,’ a weeklong challenge in which participants commit to gradually reducing their impact on the planet. Each day, the focus is on a different area of sustainability including consumptions, waste, food, transportation, energy, water and giving back.

“We were honored and excited to have Dr. Chu speak at Georgia Southern University. Dr. Chu’s talk, which coincides with ‘No Impact Week’ and the University’s Annual Research Symposium, is an event which our campus will not soon forget,” said Vice President for Research and Economic Development Charles Patterson, Ph.D. “Dr. Chu’s great accomplishments as Secretary of Energy and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics are real examples to our students that there are no limits to where application of research and knowledge can take them.”

A distinguished physicist, innovative professor and the first science laureate to serve as U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chu was instrumental in transforming the agency by bringing science to the forefront of America’s clean energy policy. Chu was also a top science advisor to President Barack Obama, where he used his skills to assist BP in stopping the massive Gulf oil leak, and assisted Japan with the tsunami-damaged Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear reactors.

Dr. Chu likened our delayed response to climate change to the negative effects of smoking. “Once people realized the health consequence of smoking to both themselves and to their children, the number of smokers declined dramatically,” said Chu. “The problem now is that our current lag time to recognize climate change will affect all future generations, not just our own.”

Chu’s work in laser cooling and trapping was honored as a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997. He continues to work on solving the country’s energy problems by focusing on new pathways to sustainable, carbon dioxide-neutral energy. Chu gave a nod to Georgia’s rich timber resources. He suggested that we already have better, and soon-to-be cheaper solutions for a renewable energy future. Chu has even spoken with the Dalai Lama about global initiatives and protecting Mother Earth. Said Chu, “The Stone Age did not end for lack of stones, and the Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil.” He concluded by showing the late Carl Sagan’s, “The Pale Blue Dot” video and reminded the audience that “we don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”

While on campus, Chu also visited student posters at the Annual Research Symposium, met with physics faculty and students in a round table forum, and spent time with a host of enthusiastic Eagles at a reception following his talk. Mark Edwards, Callaway Professor of Physics, Martha Abell, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, and Charles Patterson, vice president of research and economic development were all instrumental in bringing Dr. Chu for ‘No Impact Week.’ The event was funded in part by student sustainability fees.