Guiding an Oil Tanker Into Renewable Waters

摘要

London—Steven Koonin's career took a surprising turn in 2004. After nearly 3 decades as an academic theoretical physicist, including 9 years as provost of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, he pulled up his southern-California roots and moved to London to become chief scientist of the oil company BE But his new role is not all about oil. BP was the first major oil company to acknowledge publicly that people may be causing climate change. Now, committed to move "beyond petroleum," it is complementing oil exploration with investment in solar and wind power, clean coal technology, and biofuels. Koonin's job is to help allocate BP's $500-million-a-year research funding, plot its technology strategy, and generally evangelize about the energy challenges facing the world. "Sometimes I feel like I've got the most wonderful job in the world," Koonin says.