Ernest J. Moniz is CEO of EJM Associates and the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI).
He served as the 13th U.S. Secretary of Energy from 2013 to January 2017. As secretary, he advanced energy technology innovation, nuclear security and strategic stability, cutting-edge capabilities for the American scientific research community, and environmental stewardship.
He strengthened the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) strategic partnership with its 17 national laboratories, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the broader national security establishment. Specific accomplishments include producing analytically based energy policy proposals that attracted bipartisan support, implementing legislation, leading an international initiative that placed energy science and technology innovation at the center of the global response to climate change, and negotiating the historic Iran nuclear agreement alongside the secretary of state. He reorganized a number of DOE program elements, elevated sound project and risk management, and strengthened enterprise-wide management to improve mission outcomes.
Professor Moniz (Pronounced MO-neez) previously served as under secretary of energy from 1997 until January 2001 with science, energy, and nuclear security responsibilities. Before that, he was associate director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy from 1995 to 1997, with responsibility for the physical, life, and social sciences. He was a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology as well as the Defense Threat Reduction Advisory Committee from 2009 to 2013. He also served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future which provided advice to the president and the secretary of energy, particularly on nuclear waste management.
Professor Moniz was a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) faculty from 1973 until 2013 when he was appointed secretary of energy. Now, he is the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems emeritus at MIT, as well as the special advisor to the MIT president. He is co-chairman of the board of directors and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit organization that has advanced innovative solutions for securing nuclear materials, building international cooperation for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, preventing the spread of disease, and reducing radiological threats.
At MIT, Moniz was the founding director of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and director of the laboratory for energy and the environment. MITEI grew to involve over a quarter of the faculty across the entire institute, launched new educational programs for energy, and established novel models for industry-faculty engagement that simultaneously provided individualized company research portfolios with a common approach that lifted the entire energy enterprise.
Moniz was also head of the MIT Department of Physics from 1991 to 1995 and 1997 and director of the Bates Linear Accelerator Center from 1983 to 1991. His physics research centered on the development of a theoretical framework for understanding intermediate energy electron and meson interactions with atomic nuclei. Since 2001, his primary research has focused on energy technology and policy, giving him a leadership role in MIT multidisciplinary technology and policy studies addressing pathways to a low-carbon world (Future of Nuclear Power, of Coal, of Natural Gas, and of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle). These studies had a significant impact on energy policy and programs nationwide.
Professor Moniz serves on the board of directors of both publicly traded and private companies in the energy and security sectors. He also served on the boards of several nonprofit energy industry organizations and, through EJM Associates, is a high-level advisor to several energy-related companies, investment firms, and policymakers.
He received a Bachelor of Science summa cum laude in physics from Boston College, a doctorate in theoretical physics from Stanford University, and several honorary doctorates, with some from European universities.
Affiliations
- Non-resident Senior Fellow, Harvard Belfer Center
- Inaugural Distinguished Fellow, Emerson Collective
- Fellow, American Physics Society,
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Fellow, the Humboldt Foundation
- Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Awards & Honors
- Award for Excellence in Public Policy and Public Affairs, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun – Japan (2019)
- Richard A. Meserve Public Service Award, Carnegie Science (2018)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt Distinguished Public Service Award (2017)
- Richard E. Neustadt Award, Harvard Kennedy School (2017)
- Charles Percy Award of the Alliance to Save Energy (2016)
- Distinguished Public Service Award, U.S. Department of Defense (2016)
- Distinguished Public Service Award, U.S. Navy (2016)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator – Portugal (2015)
- The Right Stuff Award of the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation (2014)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III – Cyprus (2008)
- Seymour Cray HPCC Industry Recognition Award (1998)
