Moniz, Ernest Jeffrey, 1944-

<p>Ernest Jeffrey Moniz, GCIH (born December 22, 1944) is an American nuclear physicist and former United States Secretary of Energy, serving under U.S. President Barack Obama from May 2013 to January 2017. In June 2017, Moniz became co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to prevent catastrophic attacks with weapons of mass destruction and disruption—nuclear, biological, radiological and cyber. He served as the Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President of the United States from 1995 to 1997 and was Under Secretary of Energy from 1997 to 2001 during the Clinton Administration.</p>

<p>Moniz is one of the founding members of The Cyprus Institute and has served at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, as the Director of the Energy Initiative, and as the Director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment.</p>

<p>On March 4, 2013, Moniz was nominated by President Obama to replace outgoing Energy Secretary Steven Chu for his second term. His appointment was confirmed by the Senate in a unanimous vote on May 16, 2013.</p>

<p>Ernest Moniz was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1944. He graduated from Boston College with a degree in physics in 1966 and then received his PhD in theoretical physics from Stanford University in 1972. The following year, he joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, Moniz became the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems. He also directed the MIT Energy Initiative, which combines research, education, and policy focused on energy supply, security, and environmental impact.</p>

<p>Moniz served as associate director for science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President from 1995 to 1997. He was also undersecretary at the Department of Energy from 1997 to 2001.</p>

<p>In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Moniz to the Science and Technology Advisory Council. President Obama nominated Moniz to be secretary of the Department of Energy in March 2013. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2013. As secretary, Moniz pledged to explore alternative forms of energy such as nuclear energy to meet the country's energy needs while also working to increase energy efficiency and combat global warming.</p>

<p>Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz was named the new chief executive officer and co-chair by the Board of Directors of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) in March 2017. He began serving in June 2017.</p>

<p>Ernest J. Moniz served as the thirteenth United States Secretary of Energy from 2013 to January 2017. As Secretary, he advanced energy technology innovation, nuclear security and strategic stability, cutting-edge capabilities for the American scientific research community, and environmental stewardship. He strengthened the Department of Energy (DOE) strategic partnership with its seventeen national laboratories and with the Department of Defense and the broader national security establishment. Specific accomplishments included producing analytically-based energy policy proposals that attracted bipartisan support and implementing legislation, leading an international initiative that placed energy science and technology innovation at the center of the global response to climate change, and negotiating alongside the Secretary of State the historic Iran nuclear agreement. He reorganized a number of DOE program elements, elevated sound project and risk management, and strengthened enterprise-wide management to improve mission outcomes.</p>

<p>Dr. Moniz served on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty from 1973 until becoming Secretary of Energy in 2013 and is now the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems emeritus and Special Advisor to the MIT President. He is co-chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a non-profit organization that has advanced innovative solutions for securing nuclear materials, building international cooperation for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, preventing the spread of disease and reducing radiological threats. He is the inaugural Distinguished Fellow of the Emerson Collective and CEO of the non-profit Energy Futures Initiative.</p>