Steven Chu

Steven Chu (born February 28, 1948 in St. Louis) is a Chinese American physicist who, with Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William D. Phillips, was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics for their research in cooling and trapping atoms using laser light. He is the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Professor of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Related Topics:
February 28 - 1948 - St. Louis - Chinese American - Physicist - Claude Cohen-Tannoudji - William D. Phillips - 1997 - Nobel Prize for Physics - Laser - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - University of California, Berkeley

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2005 Chu proposed a theoretical and novel way to produce ethanol from wood to solve the world's energy problem by duplicating the digestive track of termites. Termites digest cellulose and convert it into ethanol via a carbon-neutral process of digestion.

Related Topics:
2005 - Ethanol - Cellulose

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He became a professor in the physics and applied physics departments at Stanford University in 1987 and went on leave 2004 when he took on the directorship of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Related Topics:
Stanford University - 1987 - 2004 - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chu is married to Jean Chu (formerly Jean Fetter), an Oxford-trained physicist and former physics professor at San Jose State University in CA, as well as Stanford dean of admissions.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steven Chu's older brother is Gilbert Chu, Professor of Biochemistry and Medicine at Stanford University, and his younger brother is influential lawyer Morgan Chu of southern California.

Related Topics:
Gilbert Chu - Morgan Chu - California

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~