Steven Chu
A Nobel-winning physicist who brought scientific rigor to the global fight against climate change as U.S. Secretary of Energy.
Born 1948 (age 78)·American physicist and government official·Birthday: February 28·Baby Boomers
Biography
Steven Chu represents a rare bridge between the rarefied world of fundamental physics and the gritty arena of policy. His scientific story is one of exquisite control: he shared a Nobel Prize for figuring out how to use lasers to chill atoms to near-absolute zero, effectively trapping them in light. This work, both elegant and profound, opened new windows into quantum behavior. In 2009, he stepped from his Stanford lab into the political spotlight, appointed as President Obama's Energy Secretary. He brought a data-driven urgency to the department, championing renewable energy and advanced battery research with the zeal of a researcher who understood the planet's deadline. After government service, he returned to Stanford, continuing to advocate for science-based solutions to energy challenges, his career a testament to the idea that deep expertise can inform the highest levels of public action.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Steven was born in 1948, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Steven Was Born
The biggest hits of 1948
#1 Movie
The Red Shoes
Best Picture
Hamlet
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Steven's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1948Born
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1953Started school
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1961Became a teenager
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Could drive
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1966Could vote
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Turned 21
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1978Turned 30
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 40
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 50
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 60
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 70
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 78 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light.
- Served as the 12th U.S. Secretary of Energy, where he became a leading advocate for innovation in clean energy technologies.
- Held professorships at Stanford and Berkeley and served as director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Did You Know?
He is the first person to have won a Nobel Prize and later been appointed to a U.S. Cabinet position.
He initially studied mathematics as an undergraduate before switching to physics.
He is a strong proponent of painting rooftops white to reflect sunlight and mitigate urban heat.
“We're like a patient with a serious illness. We need to take strong medicine now to avoid something much worse later.”
