President-elect Obama has selected Dr. Steven Chu to be Energy Secretary. Dr. Chu has been the Director of the Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory. Prior to his tenure at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dr. Chu was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work with lasers and developing a technique to trap atoms with lasers.

While at the Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory, Dr. Chu supported research into alternative energy sources as a method to reduce green house gas emissions associated with global warming. Dr. Chu will be positive influence for coal and petcoke gasification in his new position as Energy Secretary.