英语原文

Chinese American physicist named as next U.S. Energy Secretary

　　Steven Chu, a prominent Chinese American physicist, was named by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama as the next Energy Secretary on Monday.

　　Obama announced the nomination of the Nobel-Prize winner at a press conference in his transition office headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, as he presented his energy and environment team members to the nation.

　　"They are leading experts and accomplished managers," Obama said of his team. "They are ready to reform government and help transform our economy so that our people are more prosperous, our nation is more secure, and our planet is protected."

　　Chu, currently head of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California, was described by Obama as the one "who has been working at the cutting edge of our nation's efforts to develop new and cleaner forms of energy."

　　"Steven is uniquely suited to be our next secretary of energy as we make this pursuit a guiding purpose of the Department of Energy, as well as a national mission," he said of the energy secretary choice.

　　Obama also noted Chu's appointment sent a signal to all that the U.S. government would value science and make decision based on the facts.

　　Chu, born on Feb. 28, 1948, to a Chinese American family in Missouri, won his Nobel in 1997 with two other scientists for developing methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light.

　　Since 2004, he has been running the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, which is attached to the energy department, and has a budget of 645 million dollars and a staff of 4,000.

　　If his nomination is approved by the Senate, Chu is expected to lead Obama's agenda to create 2.5 million new jobs through "green" and new technologies, and reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil supply.

　　"I look forward to being part of President-elect Obama's team which believes we must repair the economy and put us on a path forward towards sustainable energy," Chu said at the press conference.

　　He defined the role of the Department of Energy as "a major force in meeting the challenges" by supporting "energy research and development" that will lead to innovation in the private sector, to nurture broad-based scientific research that is essential for the country's future prosperity, and to provide scientific leadership to minimize the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons.

　　Other key posts Obama announced to fill include Carol Browner as the newly-created "climate czar" at the White House, Nancy Sutley as chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Lisa Jackson as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

　　He said that nominees for the secretaries of the interior, transportation and agriculture, who he said also play important roles in energy and environment policies, would be announced in the days to come.

华裔科学家朱棣文成为奥巴马政府能源部长

　　美国当选总统奥巴马１５日在电视直播的新闻发布会上宣布新政府能源环境团队名单，其中华裔科学家、诺贝尔物理学奖得主朱棣文被正式提名为能源部长。

　　奥巴马同时提名新泽西州州长办公室主任杰克逊（女）为新政府环境保护署署长，任命前环保署署长布朗内（女）为白宫能源和环境政策主管，以及任命洛杉矶市负责环境的副市长萨特利（女）为白宫环境质量委员会主席。奥巴马说，他将在本周晚些时候宣布内政部长人选。

　　奥巴马在新闻发布会上说，能源问题与美国经济和国家安全密切相关。他表示，刚刚任命的这些团队成员都是能源环境领域的一流专家和管理者，将帮助美国更好地应对气候变化和开发新能源的挑战，以增进美国的繁荣和安全。他说，能源和环境问题是美国当前面临的具有决定性意义的重大考验，将成为他总统任期内的优先议题。他还说，虽然发展新型能源经济和保护环境是长期任务，但必须从现在开始付诸行动。

　　朱棣文是奥巴马提名的首位华裔部长。他１９４８年２月出生于密苏里州圣路易斯，祖籍中国江苏太仓。朱棣文先后就读于罗切斯特大学和加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校，获得数学和物理专业学位。１９８７年，他进入斯坦福大学任物理学教授，成为该校第一位华裔教授。１９９３年６月，他被选为美国国家科学院院士。１９９７年，朱棣文因发明了用激光冷却和俘获原子的方法获得诺贝尔物理学奖。从２００４年８月起，他担任劳伦斯·伯克利国家实验室主任，成为首名掌管这个美国能源部下属国家实验室的华裔人士。朱棣文还是中国科学院外籍院士和上海交通大学名誉教授。

　　奥巴马在１１月４日举行的美国总统选举中获胜后，一直在进行组建新政府和权力交接的工作，陆续任命白宫官员和提名内阁成员人选。此前他已任命白宫主要官员并宣布了经济团队和国家安全团队名单。