Obama wants physics Nobel Laureate Steven Chu for top energy post

If he accepts, Chu, a physicist, would be the second Asian-American to be chosen for Obama’s cabinet.

On the 67th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President-elect Barack Obama announced that he would pick retired Army General Eric K. Shinseki to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Shinseki is the first Asian-American in U.S. history to obtain the rank of Army four-star general. He has been known to clash with then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in regard to the Iraq War.

Once confirmed by the Senate, Shinseki will take the post once Obama takes office on January 20. Shinseki will be the first Asian-American to lead the VA. He will be the first Asian-American to serve as a cabinet member in the Obama administration.

Steven Chu could possibly be the second Asian-American to serve as a cabinet member in the Obama administration. Chu is an experimental physicist known for his research in laser cooling and trapping of atoms which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997. Currently, Chu is the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

So far, it has been revealed that Obama wants to nominate Chu for the position of Secretary of Energy. How much will Chu help Obama? The verdict is still in the air. Chu’s nomination has to be confirmed by the Senate first.

However, it is not known whether or not Chu will accept the nomination. 

Can Tran is citizen journalist with the mindset of a samurai. His articles on topics from politics to social issues are published on numerous citizen journalism websites.