Ernest Moniz

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Ernest Moniz
File:Moniz official portrait standing.jpg
13th United States Secretary of Energy
In office
May 21, 2013 – January 20, 2017
President Barack Obama
Deputy Daniel Poneman
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall
Preceded by Steven Chu
Succeeded by Rick Perry
Personal details
Born Ernest Jeffrey Moniz
(1944-12-22) December 22, 1944 (age 79)
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 former United States Secretary of Energy, serving under U.S. President Barack Obama from May 2013 until January 2017. 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 (2013–2017)

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

References

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  3. ↑ President Obama Nominates Candidates for Energy and Environmental Team March 4, 2013 PBS NewsHour
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  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of Energy
2013–2017		 Succeeded by
Rick Perry
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by as Secretary of Transportation Order of Precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Energy		 Succeeded by
John King
as Secretary of Education
United States presidential line of succession
Preceded by as Secretary of Transportation 14th in line
as Secretary of Energy		 Succeeded by
John King
as Secretary of Education
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