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U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright ’85 visited MIT on Monday, engaging with Institute officials, discussing energy advancements at a campus forum, reviewing poster presentations from researchers funded through the MIT-GE Vernova Energy and Climate Alliance, and observing energy research demonstrations in the laboratory where he once worked as a student.
“I’ve always been involved in energy because I believe it’s undeniably the most vital industry in the world,” Wright stated at the forum, which featured a panel discussion with industry leaders and a fireside dialogue with MIT Professor Ernest Moniz, who served as the U.S. energy secretary from 2013 to 2017. Wright continued: “Not only is it unquestionably the most crucial industry since it supports all others, but it’s also a flourishing time right now. … It is an incredibly thrilling time to be in energy.”
Wright was welcomed on campus by MIT President Sally Kornbluth, who also provided opening remarks at the forum, conducted at MIT’s Samberg Center. While the Institute has introduced numerous research facilities and buildings since Wright’s student days, Kornbluth noted, the fundamental MIT principles endure.
“MIT remains MIT,” Kornbluth remarked. “It’s a community that values merit, courage, and scientific integrity. And it’s a beacon for those driven to address significant real-world challenges, eager to collaborate with industry, and guided by a sense of national duty.”
Regarding energy research, Kornbluth added, “MIT is pioneering transformative strategies to enhance American energy security, reliability, affordability, and cleanliness — which, in turn, will bolster both U.S. competitiveness and national safety.”
During the event, Wright, the 17th U.S. energy secretary, participated in a fireside conversation with Moniz, the 13th U.S. energy secretary, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems Post-Tenure, a special advisor to the MIT president, and the founding director of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI). Wright initiated his comments by reflecting on Kornbluth’s depiction of the Institute.
“Merit, courage, and scientific integrity,” Wright commented. “That is MIT … to me. That resonated deeply with me when I arrived, and honestly, it’s a significant reason my life has unfolded as it has.”
On energy issues, Wright highlighted the necessity for ongoing innovation across a wide array of technologies, including fusion, geothermal, and others, while advocating for the advantages of robust market-driven progress. Prior to becoming energy secretary, Wright most recently operated as the founder and CEO of Liberty Energy. He also established Pinnacle Technologies, among other ventures. He was confirmed as secretary by the U.S. Senate in February.
When prompted to identify promising technological advancements, Wright centered on three specific areas. Commenting on artificial intelligence, he mentioned that the enthusiasm surrounding it was “immense,” with numerous potential applications. Concerning fusion energy, Wright asserted, “We are on the brink of impactful breakthroughs.” He also claimed that quantum computing would be a “transformative force.”
Wright likewise underscored the significance of federal backing for fundamental research, including initiatives at the national laboratories overseen by the Department of Energy.
“The 17 national laboratories we have in this country are true treasures. They represent the finest of our nation,” Wright expressed. He later remarked, “There are elements, like this foundational research, that are crucial to our country and vital for our future.”
Moniz posed a variety of questions to Wright during the fireside chat, occasionally sharing his own insights regarding the many issues associated with global energy abundance.
“Climate, energy, security, equity, affordability, must be acknowledged as a unified discussion, rather than separate dialogues,” Moniz stated. “That’s what’s at stake in my perspective.”
Wright’s visit was part of the Energy Freedom Tour orchestrated by the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), in collaboration with the Hamm Institute for American Energy at Oklahoma State University. Subsequent stops are scheduled for Stanford University and Texas A&M University.
Ann Bluntzer Pullin, executive director of the Hamm Institute, also spoke at the forum, emphasizing the importance of educating students about the energy sector and inspiring them to “be excited about the difference this career can make.” She praised MIT’s progress in the field, stating, “This is where numerous ideas were conceived and realized that have enabled America to thrive in this energy abundance we’ve experienced for so long.”
The forum also included comments from Roger Martella, chief corporate officer, chief sustainability officer, and head of government relations at GE Vernova. In March, MIT and GE Vernova announced a new five-year collaborative program, the MIT-GE Vernova Energy and Climate Alliance, featuring research initiatives, educational programs, and career opportunities for MIT students.
“That’s what we’re focused on, electrification as the cornerstone of prosperity,” Martella remarked, describing GE Vernova’s initiatives. “When we’re here at MIT we feel like we’re living history every moment as we traverse the halls, because no institution has contributed to innovation and technology more, doing it every single day to promote prosperity for people globally.”
A panel discussion at the forum showcased Wright alongside three MIT alumni engaged in the energy sector: Carlos Araque ’01, SM ’02, CEO of Quaise Energy, a forward-thinking company in geothermal energy solutions; Bob Mumgaard SM ’15, PhD ’15, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a leading fusion energy company and an MIT spinout; and Milo Werner SM ’07, MBA ’07, a general partner at DCVC and an expert in energy and climate investments. The panel was facilitated by Chris Barnard, president of the ACC.
Mumgaard indicated that Commonwealth Fusion Systems launched in 2018 with “an explicit mission, collaborating with MIT still today, to place fusion on an industrial pathway,” although he acknowledged “there’s still much left to accomplish at that junction of science, technology, innovation, and business.”
Araque expressed his belief that geothermal energy is “measurably” more effective and lucrative than many other energy sources. “This is not a temporary solution,” he continued. Quaise is currently working on developing its first power-plant-scale facility in the U.S.
Werner emphasized that the process of effective innovation commences in the laboratory; making an advancement commercially feasible is the vital subsequent step. The most significant impact “is not in the breakthrough,” she stated. “It’s not in the discovery made in the lab. It’s actually once you’ve produced a billion of them. That’s when you truly change the world.”
After the forum, Wright toured several research centers on the MIT campus, including the MIT.nano facility, accompanied by Vladimir Bulović, faculty director of MIT.nano and the Fariborz Maseeh Chair in Emerging Technology.
At MIT.nano, Bulović showcased the Titan Krios G3i, a nearly room-sized electron microscope that allows researchers to examine the structure of minuscule particles in high resolution, with a variety of research uses. The tour also included one of MIT.nano’s cleanrooms, a shared fabrication facility utilized by both MIT researchers and external users, including many from industry.
On a different note, in an MIT.nano corridor, Bulović presented Wright with the One.MIT mosaics, which feature the names of all MIT students and employees, both past and present — totaling well over 300,000. Initially etched on a 6-inch wafer, the mosaics serve as a visual representation of nanotechnology’s potential — and a searchable display, allowing Bulović to find Wright’s name, which is inscribed near the chin of one of the figures on the MIT seal.
The tour concluded in the basement of Building 10, in what is now the renovated Grainger Energy Machine Facility, where Wright previously conducted research. After completing his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering, Wright entered graduate studies at MIT before departing, as he recounted at the forum, to seek business opportunities.
While at the lab, Wright met with David Perreault, the Ford Foundation Professor of Engineering; and Steven Leeb, the Emanuel Landsman Professor, an expert in power systems. Half a dozen MIT graduate students presented Wright with demonstrations of their research initiatives, all related to energy-generation innovations. Wright actively engaged with all the graduate students about their technologies and the specifications of their devices, inquiring about their personal career aspirations.
Wright was accompanied during the lab visit by MIT Provost Anantha Chandrakasan, an expert in developing energy-efficient systems. Chandrakasan delivered closing remarks at the forum in the Samberg Center, highlighting MIT’s “robust partnership with the Department of Energy” and its “long and illustrious history of collaborating with industry.”
Consequently, Chandrakasan stated, MIT has a “responsibility as a resource in service of the nation, so please feel free to reach out to us.”
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