8:50 a.m., Jan. 31, 2011----Steven E. Koonin, undersecretary for science in the U.S. Department of Energy, will speak at the University of Delaware on Friday, Feb. 11, from 4-5 p.m., on the topic of “Addressing America's Energy Challenges.”

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The colloquium, which is sponsored by the Department of Physics and Astronomy, will be held in 130 Sharp Lab, followed by a reception with light refreshments.

Koonin will speak about the domestic and international challenges facing the United States in terms of energy security and the environmental effects of energy use, as well as issues of economic competitiveness. He will also discuss possible solutions to those challenges and the obstacles to implementing them.

Appointed undersecretary for science in May 2009, Koonin was previously a professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology, later serving as Caltech's provost from 1995-2004. During that time, he was involved in identifying and recruiting one-third of Caltech's professorial faculty and in numerous research initiatives.

From 2004-2009, he was BP's chief scientist and developed the company's long-range technology strategy for alternative and renewable energy, in addition to managing BP's university-based research programs.