Steven Chu, 2009
Dr. Chu was born in St. Louis, Missouri, into a family of scholars who placed an enormous value on education. Both his father and mother studied at MIT, in chemical engineering and economics, respectively, and they nurtured intellectual curiosity in their children. As a young child, Dr. Chu built model airplanes and warships, graduated to Erector Sets, and later, spent his school lunch money on parts for homemade rockets that he constructed with a friend. He matriculated to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he developed a love for physics and mathematics, and from which he graduated in 1970. In 1976, after completing his graduate and postdoctoral work at the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Chu spent nine years at Bell Laboratories. The atmosphere at Bell Labs during that period (1978–1987) was one “permeated by the joy and excitement of doing science,” according to Dr. Chu, and his work there led to the laser cooling and trapping of atoms for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize.
President Paul Kagame, 2008
The news these days from Africa isn’t all bad. In fact, in some places, it’s downright hopeful, as Rwandan President Paul Kagame attests. “Our continent is no longer all about violence and disease and human disasters that scarred many African countries in recent decades,” says Kagame. “We are now becoming a continent of opportunities.” There are those who doubted Rwanda could “constitute a viable state,” says Kagame, but 14 years after bloody genocide and civil war, his country has managed an astonishing revival.
Jeff Bingaman, 2008
For those seeking reassurance that American politicians take climate change and clean energy seriously, look no further: Jeff Bingaman wraps his arms around this enormous issue, and sets forth an ambitious national agenda to address the challenge. Bingaman sees a new attitude emerging in Washington. Politicians have begun to grasp that reduced dependence on foreign oil is not enough, and that today’s energy challenge requires an overhaul in the way the entire world produces, stores, distributes, and uses energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This urgent, immense challenge is happening “in a world of growing demand for energy as billions of people are rising out of poverty.”
Edward M. Kennedy, 2007
Promoting politics at the expense of all else “breeds cynicism and erodes trust, but also threatens the foundations of democracy,” believes Kennedy. Yet he sees an antidote to the problem. Kennedy turns to institutions like MIT, which harbor “a questioning spirit that seeks to find and follow truth.” He has hope that in the near future, science and public policy will once again become partners.
President Oscar Arias Sánchez, 1997
After studying in the United States, Oscar Arias Sánchez (b. 1940) studied law and economics at the University of Costa Rica and engaged actively in the work of the National Liberation Party. Having completed his degree, he went on to finish his doctorate in England, with a thesis on the subject of “Who Rules Costa Rica?”
Robert White, 1995-1996
Robert M. White advises on environment, energy, and climate change, and development and management of organizations and research programs. Dr. White was President of the National Academy of Engineering from 1983 to 1995. Prior to that, he was President of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Dr. White has served in scientific leadership positions under five U.S. Presidents.
McGeorge Bundy, 1968
McGeorge Bundy (1919-1996) was the United States National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961-1966. Bundy was also a noted Professor of Government at Harvard, and was known as a strong proponent for the American bombing of North Vietnam. Bundy later expressed regret over the decision, and was one of the first administration members to do so publicly. He spent much of his later career analyzing and criticizing America’s Vietnam policy. He subsequently served as president of the Ford Foundation from 1966-1979.
