President Joe Biden on Thursday announced plans to nominate Geraldine Richmond as undersecretary for science at the Department of Energy.
Richmond is currently a presidential chair in science and professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon, according to the White House press release.
Richmond’s research focuses on the molecular characteristics of water surfaces, which has relevance to environmental issues such as oil remediation and alternative energy sources, the Biden administration said. Richmond received the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama in 2016 and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from President Bill Clinton in 1997
During the Donald Trump administration, the DOE Office of Environmental Management reported to the undersecretary of science, although the Biden administration so far has the nuclear cleanup office reporting directly up to the deputy secretary of energy.
The undersecretary of science during the Trump administration was Paul Dabbar, a Wall Street investment banker whose background included a post on the DOE’s Environmental Management Advisory Board and serving on a nuclear submarine during his military career.
Also Thursday, President Biden said he plans to nominate Andrew Light as DOE’s assistant secretary of international affairs and Sam Walsh as the department’s general counsel.
Light was previously professor of philosophy, public policy and atmospheric sciences at George Mason University in Virginia, and distinguished senior fellow at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C.
Walsh is an attorney at Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. He is a former deputy general counsel for energy policy at DOE.
