Burt Richter and his Contributions to Society

Burt is best known for his pioneering development of electron-positron colliders, the leader of the Stanford/Berkeley team that co-discovered the J/Psi particle, and for his leadership as Director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, now” SLAC.” During this time he became a member of JASON, a group distinguished group of scientists that advise the United States government on matters of science and technology. After stepping down as SLAC lab director in 1999, he began to focus his energy and intellect on public policy in science and energy, particularly as it related to climate change. He chaired the APS Report on Energy Efficiency and wrote “Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Climate and Energy in the 21stCentury,” which won the 2011 Phi Beta Kappa Science Book of the Year award. He has been part of numerous distinguished government advisory groups such as a principle advisor for Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), a member of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), and the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee, and the SEAB study of small modular nuclear reactors. This talk will mention of few of his contributions and views on science policy, energy technologies and policies.