December 19, 2008
ContactTawanda W. Johnson President-Elect Obama to Name Harvard Physicist John P. Holdren as Science AdviserAPS Commends Obama’s Selection of Second Physicist to Serve in His Administration, Sending Message That Science Is Valued  John Holdren WASHINGTON, D.C. — American Physical Society commends President-Elect Obama’s decision to select APS Fellow John P. Holdren, an international expert on energy and climate change, as his Science Adviser and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. "With President Obama’s selection of John Holdren as his science adviser, the nation has a powerhouse for energy and environment leadership. John will provide strong and effective leadership of the OSTP team dealing with the broad array of highly desirable goals expressed in the Obama/Biden science and technology program.” said APS President Arthur Bienenstock. Holdren, who served as a top adviser to the Obama campaign, is the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director of the Program on Science, Technology and Public Policy at the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He is also Professor of Environmental Science and Policy in Harvard’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. From 2005–2008, he served as President-Elect, President and Chair of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Holdren, who served as a top adviser to the Obama campaign, is the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director of the Program on Science, Technology and Public Policy at the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He is also Professor of Environmental Science and Policy in Harvard’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. From 2005–2008, he served as President-Elect, President and Chair of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1995, Holdren received the APS Burton Forum Award, "for his many insightful contributions to the analysis of global energy issues, for his unstinting leadership in arms control and for the clear and lucid presentation of these ideas to scientists and to the general public." Trained in fluid dynamics and plasma physics, Holdren has devoted much of his career to energy and climate change research. In an opinion piece published in 1998 for APS, he wrote that “the greenhouse gas most responsible for the growing threat of human-induced disruption of climate is carbon dioxide, some of it emitted by deforestation, but mostly coming from the combustion of fossil fuels.” To effectively address the greenhouse issue, he called for “increased investments in the science of climate and climate-change impacts.” Holden is the second physicist slated to join Obama’s Administration. His selection follows that of Dr. Steve Chu, Nobel Laureate, APS Fellow and lifetime member, who has been nominated as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. |
About APS
The American Physical Society is the leading professional organization of physicists, representing over 47,000 physicists in academia and industry in the United States and internationally. APS has offices in College Park, MD (Headquarters), Ridge, NY, and Washington, DC.
