• CERAWeek
  • March 18 - 22, 2024

Steven E. Koonin

Hoover Institution

Senior Fellow

Dr. Steven E. Koonin is a Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution and a University Professor at New York University.  Dr. Koonin served as Undersecretary for Science at the US Department of Energy from 2009 until 2011. Before joining the government, from 2004 to 2009 he was Chief Scientist for BP. From 1975 to 2006, Dr. Koonin was a professor of theoretical physics at Caltech and was the institute’s Provost from 1995 to 2004. His memberships include the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a Fellow of the Council on Competitiveness and a Trustee of the Institute for Defense Analyses. Dr. Koonin has been a member of the JASON group since 1988 and served as chair from 1998 to 2004. He has also served on governing or advisory boards of six national laboratories and the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board. Dr. Koonin holds a BS in physics from Caltech and a PhD in theoretical physics from MIT. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed research papers and supervised some 30 PhD theses. Koonin is the author of the bestselling book Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, And Why It Matters, whose second edition will be published in July 2024.

Sessions With Steven E. Koonin

Thursday, 14 March

  • 09:00am - 10:00am (CST) / -

    Geo-engineering: How real & how immediate?

    Power Technology/Innovation

    Solar Radiation Management or Solar Geoengineering techniques aim to reflect a small proportion of the Sun’s energy back into space, counteracting the temperature rise caused by increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. What is the cost and technical feasibility of these technologies? What are the political, ethical, legal issues? What are the risks of these approaches? What will be some of the potential deployment strategies?

  • 02:00pm - 03:00pm (CST) / -

    Powering the Cities of the Future

    Panel Technology/Innovation

    Cities are at the heart of the energy transition to a lower carbon world. How will innovation in building design and systems evolve to meet increasingly demanding goals of reduced energy use and efficiency? How is technology and data science being applied to shape the urban environment of the future? What are the opportunities and risks for incumbent and new operators to power the city of the future?

Friday, 15 March