US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz will be at UT on Friday, April 25, to provide the Baker Distinguished Lecture on Energy and the Environment and to talk about the Department of Energy and its activities in the state of Tennessee.
Moniz’s lecture will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Room 132 of the College of Law, 1505 West Cumberland Avenue. The lecture is free and open to the public. Overflow seating will be available in Room 135, and the event will be streamed live online.
Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek said he’s pleased Moniz and US Senator Lamar Alexander are stopping on campus during their visit to East Tennessee.
“Secretary Moniz is the perfect keynoter for the Baker Center, which is establishing itself as a think tank for energy and environmental policy,” he said. “It is great that UT, the state’s flagship university, can bring significant policy makers like Moniz and, last week, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, to campus so our students, the campus community, and the Knoxville community can hear firsthand from them.”
Since the DOE first placed its facilities in Tennessee in the 1940s, its operations have made significant contributions to the state.
DOE’s primary presence in the state is the Oak Ridge Reservation in Anderson and Roane Counties. There are three major plant complexes on the Oak Ridge Reservation: the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the East Tennessee Technology Park, and the NNSA’s Y-12 National Security Complex. Also located in the city of Oak Ridge are the DOE’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information, the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, and the American Museum of Science and Energy.
UT has been doing periodic in-depth analysis of the DOE’s economic benefits for Tennessee since 1999. The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy is currently preparing the next report. Those results are expected to be released later this spring.
“It is an honor to have Secretary Moniz with us to talk about the work of the U.S. Department of Energy,” said Matt Murray, director of the Baker Center. “At UT, we are keenly aware that it’s a huge educational and research asset to have ORNL and Y-12 in our backyard. The pending economic study will just underscore the major contribution DOE makes to our regional and state economies through employment, taxes, and other benefits.”
Alexander agreed: “The Department of Energy facilities at Oak Ridge are known worldwide. They have attracted many of the country’s most talented scientists and engineers, creating more than 9,000 jobs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 and supporting thousands more.”
As energy secretary, Moniz leads the DOE in support of President Barack Obama’s goals of growing the economy, enhancing security, and protecting the environment. This includes advancing the president’s energy strategy, maintaining the nuclear deterrent and reducing the nuclear danger, promoting American leadership in science and clean energy technology innovation, cleaning up the legacy of the Cold War, and strengthening management and performance.
Before he was appointed to this post, Moniz was the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a faculty member since 1973.
Moniz also served as undersecretary of the Department of Energy responsible for overseeing the department’s science and energy programs, leading a comprehensive review of nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship and serving as the special negotiator for the disposition of Russian nuclear materials. Prior to that, he was associate director for science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President.
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Moniz is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Humboldt Foundation, and the American Physical Society.
Moniz has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Boston College and a doctorate in theoretical physics from Stanford University.
This is the third Baker Distinguished Lecture on Energy and the Environment. Past lecturers were Governor Bill Richardson and Governor Christie Todd Whitman.
The Baker Center is a nonpartisan institute devoted to education and research concerning public policy and civic engagement. For more information, visit the Baker Center website.
—
PRESS CONFERENCE: Prior to the lecture, US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and US Sen. Lamar Alexander will hold a press conference at 3:00 p.m. in the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, 1640 Cumberland Avenue.
—
C O N T A C T :
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)